[compostqueen]

My husband might be pulling the wool over my eyes about a doer-upper bungalow he has his eye on now that we've sold our rambling Victorian house. In his quest to slash our heating bills he's chosen a small 1930's bog standard two bedroomed bungalow.

He assures me that he can extend upwards into the roof space which will increase the size of the house by 100% (says he)    Called me a cynic but I think that's an over simplification and he's over-egging it somewhat in an effort to re-assure me that this place is infact a tardis and that there'll be bags of space. The room sizes at the mo are small

Can anyone tell me what the actual percentage increase in size/space that could realistically be achieved by building a couple of dormers in the roof space. Is there a rule of thumb calculation a layperson like me could use

Thanks

[dugless]

Sorry I do not know the rules on planning but I live in a bungalow and there is not a lot of head room in mine, perhaps the one you are looking at has a steeper pitch even so with it being buyers market I would have thought buying one the right size would not only more coveinient (think of all the mess covertion makes, I know I have done it) but in the long run cheaper. But that is only my oppinion.

[compostqueen]

that's what I said.  He plans to live in said shoebox while doing it up. The thought horrifies me having done it three times now but always in larger houses where it was at least possible to have somewhere to escape the mess

The thing with the bungalow though is that it's where we want to live, it's on the flat and has a third of an acre. Cheap too

Decisions, decisions 

[dugless]

You could always get a cheap caravan in the garden to escape to whilst the work is going on

[noshed]

I would have thought with the state of the housing market you would be able to buy a bigger place for not much - if you swan in with the wherewithall to buy most sellers would bite your hand off.
I'm only saying this because my one experience with a building site house was dreadful.
Having said that my nephew has just had a dormer extension to create two new bedrooms and a shower room and it seemed pretty painless. And it looks great.

[digalotty]

if the bungalow has a traditional roof then you should be ok,you will most definately have to strenthen the ceiling as this will become the new floor and accomodate a stair case then it should be straight forward,if the roof is truss then it could be a strip off.
now as far as restrictions go if there are two story properties or other dorma's in the area you should have no trouble getting permision ,now if the area is all bungalows and non converted,there could be a restriction as i have come accross this before,
so check the area, if you have all that land why not just extend outwards.

[Trillium]

I'm with digalotty: only a structural engineer can determine whether or not the existing ceiling rafters can hold another floor above, even a small one. Not all houses were built equal and a bog standard bungalow easily fits that slot. You just can't risk substandard by today's codes rafters to both keep an upstairs room intact as well as not shower the main floor with plaster and a surprise visit from above. If OH is that keen to buy this place, insist he pay the few quid for a proper inspector who might find far more problems than are apparent at the moment and will cost far more in the long run than pricey heating. I've seen too many people doing this surprised with pest infestations, inadequate supports, damp and mold, haphazard drainage, etc.

[GrannieAnnie]

Surely you'd only get 100% extra space if you had a tall square roof with straight sides??? lol  but next door's had their bungalow done in the roof but only got a master bedroom with en-suite up there, and the bungalow does have a very high pitched roof.

Any chance of extending sideways? although that would obviously cost more

[olde9856]

Check in the local papers for a structural engineer and ask them to have a look for you, there will be a small charge but could save you a fortune. The ease of any attic conversion depends on the type of construction the roof has, type of trusses, pitch etc. but all would be easily assessed by an engineer

[crowndale]

would you not need to check the foundations as well?  I guess if you're only doing a loft conversion it might not matter but if the plans are for structural changes I'd have thought the foundations would need to be asessed for their suitablity too?  I would love to trade in my current house for a bungalow with some land but as ex is still paying off the mortgage I am stuck for at least another 5 (and up to years.  such is life.  mind you, I'd not be looking for a 'fixer upper'!!

[FRUITFULL]

We have an extension in the roof of our bungalow.It is exactly the same floor space as downstairs but with the odd sloaping ceiling here and there.As the work is being done in the roof it doesnt disrupt downstairs,as long as theres a garage or somewhere to store stuff.
Your council tax wont go up for the extra room you creat until you sell then the next buyers get clobbered.
We had 2 bedrooms/lounge/kitchen/bathroom downstairs and now have 2 bedrooms/lounge or further bedroom/bathroom and walk in wardrobe upstairs.All was done for £20 000
I think if its the area and land you are looking for go for it.

[compostqueen]

thanks for that folks    Food for thought there.  I hadn't realised about the council tax staying the same - I thought it would have increased so that's a good point. 

I was doing some typing for a builder yesterday so I asked him about it and he said there is so much extending you can do even without planning consent, which I wasn't aware of either

Our house looks definitely sold now (barring accidents  ::)so I can go and have a look at this bungalow and see if it's worth doing up 

[Trillium]

Crowndale, an engineer would definitely check the foundation supports because if the foundations couldn't hold the load, then there's no chance of an extra floor above. And for extensions, the engineer might even order soil tests to see if the soil will support new loads. Not all soil will. During many house searches, I was appalled at what was allowed for foundation work, and what unknowledgeable homeowners had done to their foundations trying to obtain a higher basement/cellar in their search for extra lower rooms. It's always far more expensive to fix someone else's mistakes so its best to pay the proper person who will spot what most buyers miss.

[poultrygeist]

Hi CQ. I think you are entitled to 70% by volume (i think) permissable development, either up, sideways or down but you need to comply with building regs, informing the council, and get all the certs including leccy, gas and double-glazing.
You would still need planning permission for anything apart from moving non-structural walls,etc.
You would also have to bring everythign up to current strict building regs as soon as you have any major work done. That's insulation, sound proofing, access, etc.

Plus all that's been said already.

Rob

[compostqueen]

going to look at two likely candidates tomorrow