Really struggling whether to do a loft extension or buy a bigger place. Need the opinion of others!

JadeHighland

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81990969#Comment_81990969

Our neighbour has one and it doesn't look out of place. 3 adults and a baby living in that place. We lose a bit of our bedroom but honestly, it's not usable space.

RedFraggle

Have you the floor plan for your house? That could help with ideas. Also the plot.

Albermarle

You need to be sure in advance that with a loft conversion you will get a decent amount of living space. A lot depends on the current foot print of the house, and also the shape of the roof.

We had one 20 years ago and it is significantly larger than a normal double bedroom, and it has an ensuite bathroom. The stairs are configured in a way that we lost no space on the first floor, so a great success.

The main house is a 3 bed semi and a bit wider than average. The roof is gable ended. So was perfect for a loft conversion.

However neighbours with a more traditional inter war semi ( 2 beds and a box room and a hipped roof) have loft conversions and you can hardly swing a cat in them…………

JadeHighland

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81991065#Comment_81991065

Where the red line is is what will be removed from the bedroom (so the small cupboard will go)

mlz1413

Adding a bedroom at the top will give you a decent bedroom, but will you have space for an ensuite too?

It sounds like you can afford either option, so you may need to do some views to decide if you want to leave where you are.

Brie

Personally I would pay more simply to have my own drive. Until we moved a few years back I hadn't quite clocked just how much stress there was for us not having one. And it was not helped by us living within walking distance of a premier league sports ground so every home game meant we had no where to park if we used the car that day. Might not be on your radar but in a few years the kids will be wanting to drive too and that may well mean you getting a second car which will just compound the issue.

and for what it's worth - we live now in a bungalow that the previous owners converted to add 2 bedrooms and a bathroom in what was the loft, having raised the roof as well. It looks tiddly from the outside but it's a bit of a tardis as there's a huge amount of space - helped perhaps by being well designed.

JadeHighland

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81991365#Comment_81991365

Yeah, bedroom and bathroom

JadeHighland

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81991369#Comment_81991369

When we got the house, parking wasn't an issue. There were 5 spaces and everyone was out and about so parking there wasn't an issue. Since then, our neighbour across the road has got all weird about parking. He literally purchased a car so he can swap them around and always keep a space.

He's now taken it one step further by conning the council for a disability badge, getting once space removed to install a wide disability bay just for him and swapping out his cars so the only space he leaves free is the disabled one. Essentially, he's reduced the parking spaces from 5 to just 1.

Council has said we could pave over part of the grass area to create an area we so we could have a drive, but that would come at our own expense. Ideally, I would actually prefer to not have a drive and leave the grass areas outside alone. One neighbour messing things up for everyone else.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81991386#Comment_81991386

You need to be sure before going ahead, how much usable space there will be for a bedroom. That means how much can you actually stand up in, as parts of the ceiling will be sloping. Is a dormer part of the plans, as that can help?

Herzlos

How do you feel about the area, garden, house etc? How far away from the high school are you?

Would you gain by moving to a bigger plot somewhere else?