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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

House renovation - aibu to lose a bedroom to make bigger bathroom?

45 replies

HogHedge · 10/04/2013 14:57

There is a house we are hoping to put an offer in on. It is 5 bedroom, well 4 and one box room which just about fits a single bed. The bathroom is TINY and about a meter wide. We want to turn one of the bedrooms into a bathroom but would the house lose value being a 4 bed plus decent bathroom rather than a 5 with a minute bathroom?

OP posts:

EssexGurl · 10/04/2013 15:03

PersonallyI have never seen the need for a big bathroom and would always go for the extra bedroom. Our bathroom is big and I do think it is wasted space. Bedroom/ play room or study would be the way to go for me. But it is personal choice I am afraid.

Original poster

HogHedge · 10/04/2013 15:06

The new bathroom wouldn't be too big, about 3.5m x 3 m. The bathroom at the moment is so strange, it runs along the landing and is a meter wide then a bit wider at the end with a bath in it, they have halved the landing to create it.

OP posts:

SkinnybitchWannabe · 10/04/2013 15:08

I think it would be best to ask a few estate agents whether losing a bedroom would effect the resale value.
But I think it wouldn't matter to me because I'd want my house to suit my needs rather than if it would knock a few grand off the price...specially one that would still have 4 bedrooms.

StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes · 10/04/2013 15:11

are you planning to stay in it? if so make it fit your needs, if you are intending to move on then take estate agent advice.

WhenSheWasBadSheWasHopeful · 10/04/2013 15:17

I would usually say extra bedroom a bathroom is just a functional space.

We are planning to do the opposite (sort of). We have a good size bathroom next to a small bedroom. We plan to move the stud wall between them about 1 1/2 foot into the bathroom so we can have a slightly bigger bedroom.

This is about number 12 on our list of things to sort in the house so goodness knows when we will actually get round to it.

lottiegarbanzo · 10/04/2013 15:17

Round here there are lots of houses like that, five bed Victorian with one small bathroom. Many have extended / converted the bathroom. I'm not sure it changes the value, just they appeal to different buyers.

I'd be tempted to keep the small bathroom and put an en suite into the largest one, so you get both 5 beds and two bathrooms. That's what we were going to do when we nearly bought one of those houses. A ground floor toilet would have been another bonus, perhaps as part of a kitchen extension / conservatory at the back.

CleverClod · 10/04/2013 15:44

I'd rather have 4 good sized bedrooms and a big bathroom. Miniscule bedrooms (boxrooms) are just a waste of space, nothing useful to be done with them.

As for en-suites. boak. No. Thank. You!

WhereYouLeftIt · 10/04/2013 16:02

Do you need 5 bedrooms? (i'm guessing not, otherwise you wouldn't ponder living with 4.)
how long do you plan to live in that house?
Could you live with the bathroom as it is, for the length of time you plan to live in that house?

It really boils down to how long you plan to live in the house. If you plan to live there a long time, you should prioritise having a home that suits the way you live. If you only plan to be there say, 5 years, then it's a balance between impact on resale value and how much it is worth to you to be comfortable in your own home. But either way - can you live with a bathroom you don't like or find practical?

FWIW, I've just 'sacrificed' a bedroom in favour of a nice bathroom. I plan to live here until I die, resale value will not be my problem . But I anticipate years of pleasure from my lovely new bathroom.

Original poster

HogHedge · 10/04/2013 21:08

Thanks guys, no we don't need a 5 bed house, the 5th bedroom is too small to use as a bedroom anyway. If we turned the 4th into a bathroom (5th could be a study) our DD will have her own room and our two DS's will have to share. I don't think we can feasibly leave the bathroom as it is, the bath is not even a full size bath and it is wall to wall in the widest part of the room.

DH says we could make the box room/study/5th bedroom into a bathroom, it's possible. I think you need an adequate sized bathroom though in a family home, not sure everyone would agree though and am worried about knocking masses off the value

OP posts:

HollyBerryBush · 10/04/2013 21:13

I agree with your DH - convert the box room and you can convert it back if need be.

WhereYouLeftIt · 10/04/2013 23:27

Could you take the bath out of the current bathroom and turn it into a decent shower room, and maybe change the boxroom into a bathroom (bath only; no toilet, no basin)?

LRDtheFeministDragon · 10/04/2013 23:32

I'd say do it. It might be different if it were a 2/3 bedroom house as you might imagine someone starting a family wanting to use a tiny room for a baby.

You will love having a full size bath, and for most people, a 5 bedroom house without a full size bath would be a pretty big drawback, I think!

I agree about asking estate agents, but can you also have a good browse on rightmove? It is brilliant for this sort of thing - you can compare all the four and five-bed places in your area and see what the asking prices are.

HorryIsUpduffed · 10/04/2013 23:35

Will you end up with two bathrooms? If so, a 4-bed house with a bathroom and a shower room (say) is very attractive.

DontSHOUTTTTTT · 10/04/2013 23:46

It sounds like a good plan to me.

Inertia · 11/04/2013 00:14

I agree with your DH- convert the box room into a bathroom, and have 4 decent size bedrooms rather than a huge bathroom + 3 bedrooms + boxroom.

I'd also convert the existing bathroom into a shower room.

A house with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms- even if not big- works better than a house with 3 usable bedrooms and one enormous bathroom.

What's the size of the smallest bedroom?

Xmasbaby11 · 11/04/2013 00:22

Agree with Inertia! I think the trend is for more bathrooms now. Our house also had 5 beds and 1 bathroom when we bought it. We are changing it into 4bed, one with en suite. I think that appeals to people more now. In any case, we want a second bathroom so it will suit us.

Original poster

HogHedge · 11/04/2013 12:08

Here is the link to the house, the floorplan is on there. The bathroom is in a real state as well as being so narrow...

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38213572.html

OP posts:

WhereYouLeftIt · 11/04/2013 12:34

Ooh, not an easy layout, is it? I'd consider moving the doorway to the inner hall (leading to three of the bedrooms) down as much as possible, allowing where the bath currently is to be extended all the way to where the current door is. This would give far more space; maybe one bathroom and one shower room.

Or - bigger job - that inner hall extends the full length of the house, nipping off a bit from the two bedrooms it would then run through, and entered via a right turn from the staircase. All the landing to the left of the staircase (as you ascend) is then redundant as hallway, and could be absorbed into two rooms. You could then have a decent-sized bathroom and a 5th bedroom still.

EasterHoliday · 11/04/2013 12:41

what you have there should be a shower room - that's like a japanese hip bath rather than a proper length bath, you'll never stretch out in it.
Definitely say convert boxroom or add en suite to master bedrooom so have 4 beds / 2 baths. I agree with Xmas baby - 5 beds with only 1 bath is q off putting to a lot of people (would you want to share your only bathroom with TEENAGERS? guests / an au pair etc?)

CadleCrap · 11/04/2013 12:42

The "5th"bedroom can barely fit a bed - very strange shape for I would definitely make 2 bathrooms.

If you are concerned about resale I would prefer a house with a loo upstairs and one downstairs - doesn't look possible on this plan

sugarplumfairy · 11/04/2013 12:59

We also went from 5 beds to four, and changed one bedroom into a large bathroom. This means we have four bedrooms, one shower room, and one bathroom. Two bedrooms and one bath/shower room on 1st and 2nd floors.

I think this is more balanced than five beds and one bathroom, we felt that an en-suite would detract from the Victorian rooms, and we have seen many awful boxed off en-suites. We have three children and so thought this made more sense for us.

We have been here for 12 years, and are currently getting it ready to put on the market so we will find out if this has affected the possible value?!

SlipperFrog · 11/04/2013 18:36

The thing with moving the thick walls around is that they are supporting walls and it would be major work... What about knocking out the corridor bathroom altogether, creating a nice landing and turning either box room or back bedroom into bathroom? Or turning original bathroom into just shower room and taking the rest out to make big landing, then having box room as bathroom

BreakOutTheKaraoke · 11/04/2013 18:44

Box room is only similar size to current bathroom though, possibly smaller (think they've dressed it as a study on the floorplan?). I would think about moving the landing walls to be honest, to give more space to either the bathroom or the boxroom, to make a bigger bathroom.

BreakOutTheKaraoke · 11/04/2013 18:45

Oh, and think there is a loo downstairs as well isn't there?

SarahStratton · 11/04/2013 18:47

I've done exactly this, my house was 5 bedrooms, with one tiny one on the top floor. It's now 4 bedrooms, and the top floor has 2 double bedrooms and a bathroom, instead of 2.5 bedrooms.

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