raising roof and loft conversion in a bunglalow?

Nenen

skintlass wrote: »

I've done the converting the loft part - didn't have to raise the roof. Cost about 30k but so much effort and pain and stress etc - I wouldn't do it again. I only needed building regs for mine.

Sorry to hear that skintlass.
Why was it so painful and stressful? Did you do it yourself or get builders in? Was your loft conversion in a bungalow?

barnaby-bear

Nenen wrote: »

"complicated, messy, difficult"... story of my life Barnaby! :D My problem is that I want what I can't afford in this area (a decent sized 3-4 bed home with space for my family and not too far from the city) and the only way I can see of getting it at the moment is to 'think outisde the box' and take on something that might be a bit "complicated, messy, difficult" but (hopefully) worth it in the end!

You might like to know that we went to see the house you were drooling over in Cherry Hinton... will probably put an offer in on that one first but that needs just as much work doing on it (possibly more) including an extension! :eek: There were also loads of people viewing... much to my disgust as it wasn't supposed to be an 'open viewing'... we had a timed appointment... unbeknown to us, so did about 6 other couples! :eek:

I know and I feel for you it's pretty typical scenario with such limited housing and transport options in this area.... basically your average family home buyers will have a dual income 60-80k and 50-100k of equity or deposit (if not more) and for every 5 such sets of buyers there will be one not ideal 3 bed house.... it's just a bad location for what you are looking for.

I think there's always going to be room to think outside the box and compromise though - just seen a lot of people rush into too extreme compromises/mad commutes/odd areas out of desperation.... bloody ugly seems to be a good compromise - because you don't have to look at it from outside :rotfl: but I still dream of those pretty looking normal houses hence I guess the interest in the other one....

As an engineer I'm still quite intimidated by the idea of turning a bunglaow into a house, foundations, layout etc so I'd research it carefully as snags could easily add months of extra rental waiting for it to be done and bills could go up.

I'll have a think - I keep trying to solve the Cam-sub region family house in ok location problem myself.....

Cowabungalow

Hello, I just came across this thread after googling bungalow conversion and wondered if you ever went ahead with it. We have just bought a 1920's bungalow and are looking into the loft conversion and would be interested to learn from other people's experience/mistakes! The roof would not need raising but other wise very similar to your description, currently 3 bed bungalow and want to put 3 beds and bathroom in loft. Any nuggets of wisdom?

Owain_Moneysaver

It may be cheaper to demolish the existing house and rebuild.

If the garden is big enough (and it doesn't have to be very big - you just need 2 x parking places) then a 2-storey (or 2-storey + basement) semi gives you one house to live in and another house to sell.

If however the bungalow is in an area of similar, PP for 2-storey a lot less likely to be granted than if there are other 2-storey houses around.

Gorgeous_George

Why buy a bungalow if you want a house?

GG

PasturesNew

I was born in CH and lived there in my mobile home

Owain_Moneysaver

Gorgeous_George wrote: »

Why buy a bungalow if you want a house?

GG

Because they often come on good sized plots and are pleasant quiet neighbourhoods.

Gorgeous_George

... until people change them to houses and move in with their kids.



GG

ali702

We bought a 2 bed 1930s bungalow in November 2004 with the intention of having a loft conversion as loved the location and the large garden. We needed planning permission and building regs.
To cut a long story short we used a local recommended carpenter, who project managed the whole thing and the total cost was £57,000 + an extra £6000 for the plumbing and bathroom fixtures and fitting, including new central heating system.
For this price we got 3 double bedrooms inc en suite and a family bathroom in the loft and a 2 story side extension of approx 21ft X 12 (enlarged kitchen, cloakroom and utility). The whole roof was raised and we opted not to have the plastic cover over the scaffolding, as would have cost an extra £8K. The builders made everything water tight every evening and we only had a very small amount of water damage after a storm one night. From start to finish the building took about 6 months. We lived in the house throughout the whole process and yes would definately do it again.:)

abbotts_3

Hi ali702

Did you have to have the foundations checked and if so how did you go about it? Did it result in any work having to be done strengthen the foundations?

We are looking into buying a bungalow to convert into a house.