Hi, Im looking in the very near future to start the ball rolling with my bungalow conversion. I basically want as much space as i can afford. Currently i have a 2 bedroom bungalow, (8x10M) and would like ideally to lift the roof off and go up another floor and make a garage (8x4.5M) on the side to create 4 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Would anybody in the know care to comment on whether this is even remotely possible within my budget of £40K (absolute max, and id like to tidy up the outside too) or should i look for other options. I will be doing as much work myself as possible, but things like the brickwork and roof (and architects drawings) id like to get someone in to build the shell so we can live there and i can finish the inside at my own pace. Major costs i can see are brickwork and roof, new central heeting system, scaffolding, architect fees, full bathroom suite, windows. id like to render the whole house too so could blocks be a cheaper option? I know there are other house building forums, but ive seen people on here answering similar questions before and after all, we all think along the same locost lines! What do you think? Thanks

[Edited on 9/8/10 by andrew-theasby]

[Edited on 9/8/10 by andrew-theasby]

I've just been through a similar exercise. In my opinion, there is no way you can do it for 40k. We built up on the back above a single storey and along the side 2 storeys - I paid a builder for a water-tight shell then all of the internals apart from wiring and plastering DIY. Way over my budget and still going! Every new job costs about 2- 2.5 k

Really? Im struggling to think of any other ways of making it bigger as the loft isnt tall enough at the mo, you can only stand up in the apex by about a foot. What sort of prices does xxxmetres square of brick/blockwork cost? Materials and labour? I hope i dont sound like i know nothing, but it is all new to me. Ive saved my hardest since i could afford to, knowing that i couldnt do anything till i had some money so i am only just staring to look into it in detail now. Thanks

What about big dormers in your loft?

They'd have to start at the ridge and have virtually flat roofs. Its a possibility if its all i can afford, but i really would like to re do the roof anyway. Ill post some pics of it sometime for ideas!

[Edited on 9/8/10 by andrew-theasby]

Guide £1500 m²

8x10 + (8x4.5)x2=152m2=£228,000 is that what you meant?

A single storey extension you can work on £1000 m²
for a double storey extension £1500 m².
So somewhere in the middle should fit your guide, obviously you can reduce it considerably for the work you will undertake yourself.


http://www.housebuildersbible.co.uk/

Your best bet is to have a word with an architect to see what is possible and get some plans drawn up and then you can get a proper costing. As others have said £40k isn't going to get you a second storey and a garage of those proportions but an architect will be able to give you some alternatives. I am a builder based in Hull and could recommend a very good architect who is very reasonably priced.
We have done a fair bit of work in that area as i am originally from Howden and have a mate we did a large extension for that lives in hemingbrough

Trouble with trying to go cheap is the time it takes.
Took me over a year to get a 2 story extention built then over another year to do the interior of the old and new build.
The construction cost around £750 a meter, it's labour time that costs.
A tip for you, when you get the plans drawn up make sure there is a large trunking from fuse box to the roof and consider a 22mm water feed from the main

[Edited on 10/8/10 by snapper]

Around here 40K gets you a loft conversion with a dormer and couple of velux's! OK thats a finished job, good bedroom plus bathroom up there.

Down the road from me some very nice houses and bungalows. Several bungalows have become houses, conversion 200K+ they are big though and one was recently up for sale (and sold quickly) for a million odd. I doubt there was a lot of profit from the conversion work though. (I live at the cheap end of the area!)

Speak to an architect who knows the local planning authority. Find out what the planners will allow before deciding what you want. An extended bungalow was in the local news new me recently for going beyond their planning permission. It was their own fault, they had permission for a modest extension and built a huge house instead. The planning inspectors made them remove the roof and lower the roof line to the limit set in the permissions and made them move the front wall back about a metre to the maximum line they permitted.

In your specific case, there may be a maximum high in force in your area which would limit the amount you could raise your roof line by.

In terms of costs, £1000 per square metre seems optimistic for a single storey extension (I got several quotes, all of which were quite a bit more). The builders did say that most of the cost was in the foundations. You won't have to pay this. You will have to pay for the old roof to be removed and the ceiling joists replaced with floor joists. Given that I've seen the build cost for a 4 bed dormer bungalow to be about £80k, half that for an extension seems possible.

Tell the Architect and Builders that you have £35k max for the build if you want to spend £40k and don't let on that you have the extra right until the end.

One potential show-stopper if you intend building UP is the strength of the existing foundations (or lack thereof). You'll have to prove them capable of the additional extra theoretical floor loading (+ extra building mass), or have them strengthened - which would blow the budget at the start....

Thanks for the advice, the bungalow is the only one near by, theyre all houses around it. It was worth 140k and i expect what id like would be worth 250k but i wouldnt want to sell it. thats why i cant blow the budget. Underpinning is a worry but just in conversation, people have suggested it should be ok at its age, though its definitely one of the first things i need to check. Times not too much of a worry, as long as its liveable. The downstairs would do us for now if i could just get a shell built then work upstairs while we lived there. Thanks, and any more advice greatfully recieved. PS hate to say this but if i had to do without the garage and room above that, it would be a option for now as i could have a wooden workshop later at the bottom of the garden.

Is there any leeway to lower the ceiling on the ground floor, to give you maybe a foot extra in the loft?

Call your local building control about the foundations, they are usually happy to chat and give advice.

there not noticably higher than any where else, presume thyre just normal height. dont think youd want them a foot lower

Hi

I work for a Architectural Firm as a Architectural Technician.

I have seen this done before. and could be done on the budget you have if your willing to do the work your self.

First you should call in a structural engineer who will tell you if your existing walls/roof/foundations are suitable for the changes you want to make.

Once he has given you the nod then you need to call on your local architects/technicians who will work with the engineer to provide you with a design.

Hope this helps

Ok, thats good to hear thanks, i wouldnt be doing the brick laying myself and to get it watertight quick id want someone putting the roof on, but the rest of it internally and any labouring i would do myself