Pls help me decide! Losing ensuite for a 4th bedroom

[LisaM198]

Looking for some help/advise & opinions. We live in a 3 bed house with a downstairs loo, 3 decent size bedrooms & ensuite. We'd originally decided before our lb arrived that he was going to share with his sister (26mths & 5mths) my oh now wants all our children to have their own room, he also has a 12yo son from a previous relationship. Ideally I'd like a loft conversion but as we'd need a new roof & planning permission & cost being £40k+ that can't really happen for a few yrs. my oh has proposed that we lose some of our large master bedroom (14'9" box bay 12'10") & ensuite to make a new family bathroom (with no windows) and turn our current family bathroom (8'10"x 5'7" reducing to 3'5") to a 4th bedroom.
I'm taking a lot of convincing & would like others opinions & experiences. We've looked at moving but we love where we live & cant really afford to move. Thanks in advance!

[Cyclebird]

I can't get my head round the room sizes but we have a family bathroom with no windows and it's absolutely fine. In fact, now I prefer it. It is on an outside wall so has a good extraction fan direct to outside. Could you consider still fitting in an ensuite into your bedroom? It doesn't have to be big but a second loo upstairs is handy.

[SoPassRemarkable]

Sounds like the bathroom would make a tiny bedroom. Once you've put a single bed in would you be able to put any furniture in? I wouldn't spend money doing such a lot,of work for such a small bedroom.

[LisaM198]

The bathroom/new bedroom would fit in a toddler bed & chest of drawers, it reduces to 3' at the entrance to the bedroom. I've attached a pic of bathroom
Cyclebird - there wouldn't be enough room for ensuite sadly but the main bathroom would be a decent size & on an outside wall. Good to hear you now prefer your bathroom, do you have a light tunnel or just good lighting?

[PickAChew]

Well a toddler bed isn't going to be much use after a few years, is it?

You'd be better off telling your OH to get real and save the money the conversion would cost towards the future extension.

[Bubblysqueak]

Our main bathroom doesn't have a window bug does have a sky light.

[SoPassRemarkable]

But what happens when the toddler outgrows a toddler bed? You're left with a room which is too small to use as a bedroom?

Personally I would save your money and put it towards an attic conversion which would be of more use and also add value. I'd normally say losing an ensuite and adding a bedroom would add value but I'm not sure if it would here.....I think it might lower the value of your house as most people would see the house as a 3 bed with a large cupboard.....guess you could use it as a walk in wardrobe which would be nice?

[Bubblysqueak]

Sorry posted too soon. Would that be an option?

[Oly5]

I wouldn't do this at all. The kids can share for a good few years - they'll probably love it!
All the while you can save for a loft conversion, adding value to your house to boot.
If you do your husband's plan, you're very at risk of putting off future sellers

[LisaM198]

Thank you for your replies, you'd fit a single bed under the window but not a lot of other furniture. Even more confused now. An estate agent told us the 4th bedroom wouldn't be any smaller than other houses on our estate. I'd def prefer the loft conversion option though just the cost of them & cant imagine our lb in our room for the next year or so, I need sleep!

[5rivers7hills]

How much would it realistically cost to do this? I think £10 to £15k.

Remove bathroom sanitary ware.
Cap off.
Plaster.
Carpet.

Remove ensure sanitary ware.
Knock down wall.
Build new wall.
Plaster new bathroom.
Plaster and decorate bedroom.
Keep existing flooring in bedroom I guess?
Install new bathroom (would you reuse your currents stuff?)

Basically I think why spend £10k+ on a not very ideal solution when you could save up a bit more and do the loft - unless you think you will never have enough for the loft.

[LisaM198]

Thank you 5rivers7hills, this is my thoughts exactly, I'd rather keep the layout as it is and go into the loft with a master bedroom and ensuite, leaving all 3 children on the 1st floor. My other half thought he could do the work for £7k but that's still £7l towards a loft conversion !

[namechangedtoday15]

If you're desperate for an extra bedroom, I would look at altering one of the other bedrooms / your bedroom (so your bedroom becomes 2 rooms and you move into next biggest bedroom) by putting up a stud wall and leaving the family bathroom / ensuite as it is. Then when you do the loft you can just take down the stud wall which should be relatively straightforward.

[JungleExplorer]

Completely agree with namechanged and do a temporaty divide of the biggest room or second biggest. Use the money you would have spent on the teeny bedroom for the loft conversion instead.

Or could you lose a reception room downstairs to become your bedroom until you can afford the loft conversion?

It seems ridiculous to create a teeny room that can only be used for such a short amount of time. If you really want something (loft conversion) you will find a way to save for it. And yes, we saved £25k for an extension. I didn't buy any new clothes for me or Dh or go out for meals and we had very cheap holidays. Totally worth it.

[JoJoSM2]

I think that would be a terrible bodge and you'd end up with a series of cupboard (calling them rooms would be a stretch). If financially doable, I'd save up for a loft extension. Otherwise, I'd probably have two children sharing rather than doing the bodge anyway.