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Property/DIY

Best way to add third bedroom to my 2 bedroom mid terrace house?

46 replies

littlecrystal · 03/05/2013 09:58

Hello, I am looking for an advice from the wise mumsnetters. My house is fairly typical 2 bed, 2 up 2 down Victorian mid terrace (no extension at the back). The layout is good and the rooms are spacious, apart from the kids bedroom which is about 2.4m x 3.3m. I could fit 2 single beds in there (they are in junior beds now) but it leaves no room for anything else (especially wardrobes? ideally each of them should have a wardrobe).

I can think of several options:

  1. Take up DC?s bedroom, and divide our front bedroom in to two equal bedrooms (two windows in there) - my heart cries here as our master bedroom now has a ?wow? factor and then it will be just ?meeehh? three small bedrooms.
  2. Create a super small 3rd bedroom (1.8m x 2m) off our master bedroom and let one DS have it. The problem I can think of is sound insulation with our bedroom, would DS hear everything DH and are I up to?
  3. Bite the bullet and extend to the loft, and let one or both DC have their space up there. Even without a dormer it should give us a decent space (around 4m x 4m). What worries me that if I come to sell in 5-10 years time, the asking price of option 1, 2 and 3 will be similar because all will be called 3 bedrooms even of ridiculous size but we would have invested in the loft and will likely to lose out financially. What surprises me that people still go for the no. of bedrooms rather than space and some completely disregard the sq. footage!

    Any advice will be very much appreciated.
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chocoluvva · 03/05/2013 10:17

I'd go for number of bedrooms and wouldn't want more than two bathrooms.

It's hard for an older child to have a very small bedroom - they can't invite friends in to it.

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cooper44 · 03/05/2013 10:19

I would do the loft. I would think slicing up your rooms to make smaller ones would be off putting when you sell. Depends where you are of course. But the wow factor counts for a lot when selling.

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Triumphoveradversity · 03/05/2013 10:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SavoyCabbage · 03/05/2013 10:33

I would get some loft conversion quotes to see if its an option.

Could they not share the master bedroom so they have more space, then it wouldn't be permanent?

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littlecrystal · 03/05/2013 10:38

Thank you. Still amazes me how houses with a miniscule 3rd bedroom (e.g. 1.8m x 2.5m) sell for 30-40k more in our area. This is one of the reason which prevents us from moving.

I am thinking of simple loft conversion (no dormer, no ensuite) due to budget, but we have big family bathroom on the 1st floor and will soon have a downstairs cloakroom.

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littlecrystal · 03/05/2013 10:42

I see nothing wrong in DC sharing a bedroom and initially thought of just swapping our bedrooms, but unfortunately DC1 has some behavioral traits which makes me think he will need a separate space.

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titchy · 03/05/2013 10:47

What's your downstairs accommodation like?

If prices in your area are determined solely on the number of bedrooms you could always have the loft as the master (get a small en-suite up there), then split your current bedroom into two and voila - a 4 bed house!

I agree go into the loft though. If budget restricts the option of an en-suite at least get the plumbing put in for one.

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CheesyPoofs · 03/05/2013 10:55

I was going to say bunkbeds, but I see you would prefer them to have a separate space.

I would say loft as well.

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ouryve · 03/05/2013 10:59

If you're not planning on moving in the next few years, then you need to do what works for you - going up into the loft, if you have space up there (we don't, as ours isn't full height) would work the best for you in terms of space and flexibility and would still be cheaper for you than moving.

And I agree with what titchy said - you always have the option of turning it into a 4 bedroom house, then, if the footprint of the house gives it sufficient living space.

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littlecrystal · 03/05/2013 11:00

My downstairs is hallway + living room + big kitchen/dinner + conservatory + downstairs cloakroom off conservatory. I will probably sound very house proud but currently kitchen/diner, master bedroom and bathroom have wow factor because of their size. True I could make it 4 bed, even 5 if I divide loft into 2 rooms :) but I refuse to make a joke of my house.

So I am warming up to the loft idea!

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MortifiedAdams · 03/05/2013 11:06

If its something temporary, as in, you would plan on selling in a couple of uears and buying a three bed, could you and dh have the lounge as your bedroom, use the kitchen,diner, conservatory as all living space, then the boys in a room each upstairs?

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happyAvocado · 03/05/2013 11:15

get quotes for loft conversion which would include shower upstairs, it may be more than 40K by the time you add changing doors to all bedrooms etc

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littlecrystal · 03/05/2013 11:19

Actually I just tried to sell my house in a bid to buy a 3 bed house in our area, but as much as we viewed we need to add 20-40k for a tiny 3rd bedroom, or all bedrooms are medium/small size, or the downstairs is very small (cottage type 3 bed with extension at the back) with a galley kitchen, so we do not feel it is switching to such. This made us look for alternative solutions how to create extra space.

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MadBusLady · 03/05/2013 17:28

I was going to say be wary of extending into loft if the downstairs isn't really big enough to balance out, but actually it sounds like it is. I hate "unbalanced" houses and always look at square footage (I realise I'm in the minority as a buyer though!) Your house sounds like three decent sized bedrooms would be perfect for it.

Am very much in sympathy over the not wanting to make a joke of your house thing, but if you do the loft extension now you've always got the option of later selling your soul and putting a stud wall into the current master to sell it as a 4-bed. Wink

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littlecrystal · 03/05/2013 21:38

I just found out that our neighbour has 3 bedrooms on the 1st floor (master and 2 singles) and a windowless bathroom squeezed in between front and back bedroom. Hmm.. two singles would suit our kids, but windowless small bathroom... not so sure.

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greenformica · 03/05/2013 21:47

Do the loft. It's not as expensive as extending and you will get your money back. Make it the mater bedroom with en-suite.

Your kids room is presently 8 by 11 feet. I'd leave it as it is as it could still be the guest double bedroom with built in wardrobes.

I'd split your front room evenly and stick your boys in there.

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SquirtedPerfumeUpNoseInBoots · 03/05/2013 21:55

Could you build upwards on top of your conservatory?

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Serafinaaa · 04/05/2013 08:12

I'm in the process of buying a house with 3 beds but a smallish windowless bathroom. We are planning to put a sun tube type thingy in to bring natural light into the bathroom. It might not be too bad?

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flow4 · 04/05/2013 08:28

Fwiw, I considered turning my bathroom into a small bedroom and creating a windowless bathroom at the back of my 5m x 3.5m bedroom, but my builder said it would cost around £10-12k and the value I gained from the extra small bedroom would be lost from the windowless bathroom...

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littlecrystal · 04/05/2013 15:21

I just saw my neighbour's house with the windowless bathroom squeezed in between the bedrooms and then the 3rd bedroom made from the bathroom - I LOVED the house along with the 1st floor layout and the windowless bathroom looked loved and lovely. I would buy that house in an instant. It is a shame that when it was on the market I disregarded because it of the windowless bathroom without even looking.
I realize that changing the layout to a windowless bathroom will not add the value but it would work for me.

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UptheChimney · 04/05/2013 17:30

What worries me that if I come to sell in 5-10 years time, the asking price of option 1, 2 and 3 will be similar because all will be called 3 bedrooms even of ridiculous size but we would have invested in the loft and will likely to lose out financially

But you'll have had 5-10 years use of the extended house. Can you quantify that in monetary terms? The convenience, the family harmony, the sense of not being squashed?

If the house were an investment, yes, you might be over-capitalising, but have a look at similar properties in your area. And 5 years is usually enough time to absorb costs into the capital value of the house.

And frankly, the "slicing" you're talking about is far more likely to put off buyers than a well-done, according to regs loft conversion. Well, it would put me off -- I like simple "clean" space, not messed about with.

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Jaynebxl · 05/05/2013 05:45

Houses may go on the market for significantly more just because they have an extra, possibly tiny, bedroom, but that doesn't mean they will easily sell for that much. Once people view I guess they would prefer the loft room with a bit more space. I know I would, plus as the poster above said, it gives you good, useable space now, which is invaluable.

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flow4 · 05/05/2013 07:32

Yes, me too. I offered on a house that had been 'sliced', and knocked off the cost of putting it right. A loft that has been done well, to building reg standards, will add value.

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MortifiedAdams · 05/05/2013 08:44

Whilst a third bedroom on the first floor and a third in the loft will both amount to the same - a thirs in the lofr will be much more wow and will be viewers forst choice, and as such, would fetch a higher price.

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AntoinetteCosway · 05/05/2013 09:01

If you do look at doing the loft conversion do bear in mind the staircase. We got some quotes for a LC and all of them said that the only way to do it would be lose DD's (tiny) room to put in the staircase, so in our case although we'd be getting a much bigger room in the loft, we'd be losing a bedroom to get it and when we sold we'd almost certainly not get our money back.

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