kitchen extension or loft conversion?

[livvyliv]

We plan to done one of the above over the next couple of years but just wondering which would add more value to the house?
The loft is already boarded and we could get 2 rooms up there.The kitchen extension would involve knocking through to the dining room and adding a sun room(as well as replacing the present kitchen)
I imagine the kitchen extension would be much more expensive but would it add more value to the house?
Not sure if this is our forever house as husbands job moves about.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

[MollysChambers]

How many bedrooms / public rooms at present?

[lalalonglegs]

Which do you need? If you have a two bedroom house and two or three children then I'd say loft extension. If you have four bedrooms but poky living rooms then obviously not only would the kitchen extension make sense but it would probably add more value. Added value also depends on how dated your present kitchen is.

The boarding of the loft is probably irrelevant as you would need to insert a heap of RSJs to strengthen the floor.

[livvyliv]

Thanks for the responses.
The house is a large semi with 3 double and one single bedroom(we have 3 children and lots of guests visiting)
The kitchen at the moment is the weak link.It's small and has cheap kitchen units.By extending out and knocking a wall we could get a good size kitchen/diner.We already have a separate lounge,dining room and playroom.
I would like to do the kitchen and my husband the loft first.

[Fiddledee]

You need a big kitchen for that size house. Definitely the kitchen would add more value. I would do both in the long term though.

[annh]

On the basis of what you have said, I would go for the kitchen. I don't think it would necessarily be more expensive than the loft. You realise that if you want to use the rooms in the loft as regular bedrooms, you will have to have a fixed staircase going up to them which may well mean you lose an existing bedroom? Depending on the construction of your house,you may also need to strengthen the existing structure to take the additional floor, thus adding to the cost. If this is not your forever house, I think if you sell it will be more attractive to buyers as a four-bedroom house with great living/dining/kitchen space rather than a (possibly) six-bedroom house with a small, cheap kitchen. Get a builder in to give you some idea of costs for doing both jobs and take it from there.

[ChessyEvans]

Hi, I'm not sure where I saw it but I'm sure I've seen on property ladder etc that a loft conversion generally adds on the same or less value than it costs. It's therefore normally only advised to do this if you need the space rather than to add value. Will try to find the article I saw (when we were looking at the same dilemma).

I would say a decent kitchen / diner is more important for a family home in terms of resale. Also I think when viewing a house it can be good to think "boarded loft, could convert to more bedrooms / large playroom etc" - it's potential but manageable! Viewing a house and thinking that you'd have to extend / redo the kitchen can be more offputting in my opinion.

[livvyliv]

Thanks for all the info.I do think the kitchen would make a difference to the house.This could be our forever house so plan to do both if we stay here.We can only afford to do one though and whilst the girls would love their own bedrooms they're still quite young and can continue to share for now.
I'll need to get an architect in to give us a price as at the moment the kitchen is slightly higher than the dining room and we would need to build on where the decking is at present.
RE: planning permission would you be allowed to do both?

[Fiddledee]

yes you will be allowed to do both - no problem with planning permission unless none of your neighbours have done a loft extension

[MollysChambers]

Kitchen without a shadow of a doubt.

DH is wrong!

[ChessyEvans]

Not 100% sure but don't think you need planning permission to convert a loft, just building regs, fire regs etc. So I think normal rules apply to your kitchen extension - up to 50% of existing house.

As a rule of thumb we were told to budget £1000 per sq m for our extension just for the shell (including electrics and plumbing etc) - ours would be single storey as it's a bungalow.