Advice re bungalow extension - upwards

dubwarrior2

Have been looking around my town recently and noticed there are a lot of decent sized bungalows with three bedrooms and good sized gardens and was pondering, is it possible/feasible/legal to buy a bungalow, remove the roof, add a first floor and refit the roof?

Yes, I know you will have to do other work such as reshaping rooms and adding a staircase, but it seems like a fairly cheap way of making a good sized house massive.

I am guessing that you will need planning permission for such a project but can't see any reason as to why it would be refused as you are not increasing the base area of the build.

Would the foundations be strong enough to cope with the extra weight of a second layer or would you need to build the next layer out of timber? If so, that would be great as you could pre-fabricate all the walls before removing the roof.

I would be extremely interested in any answers to this.

arnie&caseysma!

I don't know all the ins and outs of it but it may be possible.

I drove past the back of a house today which started life as a bungalow and has now been extended to include a 2 storey extension. It is somewhat strange looking now and I do not know how it got permission as it does not fit into the surrounding area but they got away with this unusual premises

littlereddevil

Loads of people do this but imo it spoils a good bungalow

Steel_2

Hubby and I were talking about this the other night.

I think it can look ok if it's in keeping with the rest of the neighbours houses. I've seen dinky little bungalows sandwiched in between a row of two storey houses and they just looked odd and out of place, especially if the other houses are of a similar era.

Regarding foundations, building regs are pretty tough about the depth foundations have to be to support a two storey house and it also depends on the type of soil the property is on.

To give you an example, our 1950 3 bed semi has about 2-3 feet of concrete foundations, which by today's standards is pitiful but is obviously adequate. When we were doing the foundations for a new half-brick conservatory, we were told by the conservatory company, the builders and the council that because we had clay soil we had to go one metre deep and one metre wide to support the weight of the structure. If we wanted an extension that would have had to go 1.5 metres deep, if not more.

I suspect the local council will want you to verify the depth of the foundations it sits on and may well knock you back if they believe it's not strong enough by today's building reg standards. And the only way to find that out is to buy a property and dig down, which could leave you stuffed if it doesn't work out in your favour.

Also, regarding the option of building the second floor structure out of wood, don't forget the weight of the roof and tiles. I suspect wood timbers will bow under the weight of several tons of traditional roofing materials unless the style of the bungalow was changed dramatically to spread the load better.

Personally, other options which would be easier to get planning permission for (and quicker in terms of project turnaround) would be a loft conversion with some type of dormer extension. To compensate for the lack of storage once the loft has gone, you could also add an extension somewhere onto the property for extra space (for example to extend a small kitchen out, add another bedroom or a garage if necessary).

Alternatively, if it's feasible and in keeping with the rest of the properties on the street, knock it down and build a two storey from scratch. I think the amount you'll spent putting in a second floor will go some way towards the cost of building a new house, which could in fact make you more money in the long run if you found a bungalow with an adequate sized footprint and the replacement was designed well.

Whatever you decide, spent a lot of time planning and costing every option out, including potential market, potential resale value, cost of building and labour, how much you'll be taxed on your profits, and all the fees.

There is one other thing to consider. A three bedroom bungalow at a push would house your average sized family with 2.4 kids and a dog (although it's a tad more expensive than a traditional three bed semi.) Once you've added a second floor and added a huge amount of value, who will have the money to buy it and will it hang around on the market for much longer than your average house because affordability has pushed you into a narrower market base?

Hope this helps

takoo

Hi Dubwarrior2

You would need to check for any restrictive covenants on building up - particularly if the bungalow is on a estate.

Takoo