Garden Office or Loft Extension?

[Merryoldgoat]

I have a larger than average 3 bed house. We have two kids who have their own rooms and downstairs is an odd layout - kitchen with a small table but very large living area with dining table etc.

There is very little space to get away from the general clutter of family life and as we’re both wfh our work stuff is everywhere too.

We have a fair bit of equity in our house and could afford to either build up into the loft, or do a fancy garden office.

The cost difference is quite big but the end result is not dissimilar - two extra rooms for ‘us’.

The end result would be that we’d both have our own office/personal space.

My thoughts:

It would be nice to have everything under one roof so if money were no object I’d go into the loft for preference as we’d actually get master, bathroom and office up there.

Garden room is much cheaper and could be repurposed to teen den in a few years when kids are older.

So

YABU - do garden room
YANBU - loft is better

What a lovely dilemma!

I think that unless you can afford the loft conversion you really want, then don’t do it. Invest in the garden room instead and make it exactly as you’d wish. Then use it as a hangout for the DC in future years. You will enjoy an uncluttered living space downstairs whilst they’re outside in the garden room!

Yes - it IS a nice dilemma and I’m trying to focus on stuff like this rather than all the other shit going on!

I think that to get a lovely garden room would be £15k but the loft I really want would be £60k.

We could afford both (by remortgaging) but obviously the garden room wouldn’t stretch us nearly as much.

Oooh! 50/50 split! 🤔

You’d likely recoup more via the value of your house if you go for the loft bedroom/office/bathroom option. If you can afford it, I would go for it!

Definelty garden room..loft extension is a big disruptive job.

I'd go for the loft. If you ever come to sell your house this could add ££££. A garden room would make your garden smaller and at the moment we need all the outside space we can get!

@MollieMaeve

You’d likely recoup more via the value of your house if you go for the loft bedroom/office/bathroom option. If you can afford it, I would go for it!

I know this is true but I think we’re unlikely to move anytime soon so I’m not AS concerned about the house value.

I can see arguments for both sides. After you likely to try and sell at any point? Some people will find a loft conversion a bonus, but some people will be out off as it will cut down on the storage space.

Loft extension will add more value. And likely be cheaper to heat in winter too.

Is your loft full of stuff? If so, where will you put it if you convert the loft?

Also, how big is the garden? Will you be sacrificing a lot of space for a garden Room?

@HandsFaceSpaceHopper

I'd go for the loft. If you ever come to sell your house this could add ££££. A garden room would make your garden smaller and at the moment we need all the outside space we can get!

Our garden would be massively improved as it’s a strange shape and the place the building would go in a ‘dead’ space - it’s about 40m long so there’s lots of space

It depends on the size of your garden, and also how much stuff you have in your loft. I would hate to lose the storage of a decent loft space!

Personally if I had a big enough garden to spare the space, I would go for a garden room. But if you want to add value, don't need the storage and don't mind a big building work job, the loft extension would probably make more sense.

Be really sure exactly what space you get with the loft conversion - head room, usuable space etc. I always think they sound great, but when I've actually been in them they seem really cramped and small.

What age are your children - I wouldn't have liked to be on a different floor from my DCs at night when they were small - night wakings, being ill etc If they are old enough to cope on their own, obviously it's nice to be able to get away

Personally I would value the loft space more.

We don’t have lots in the loft as I don’t like keeping too much stuff. We would be able to have a small storage area in the eaves if we went up.

I’m very conflicted now.

I suppose I’m a bit wary of the garden as the weather can be so miserable so dashing out when I want to sew or knit or DH traipsing in for the loo in the rain.

I like the idea of both. My only issue with loft conversions are if you’re likely to be there forever do you imagine going up 2 flights of stairs to bed at 80? Also what about storage, our loft is full despite having a spare room with loads of storage.
But it’s be nice to have your own suite type space And will add value.

A garden office feels like your going to work, you can shut the door on it. If you move the office back to the main house when kids aren’t home you have a lovely summer house. It’s cheaper.

I think I’d go for loft extension but not try to add too many small rooms. My friend has one and ended up with too slightly pokey rooms instead of one fabulous space.

What about remodeling downstairs si it works better for you?

Im voting garden office as i prefer the 'away from the house' aspect - but you've said you dont like that prospect so obvs my opinion is meaningless

We have more useable storage in our loft after conversion than we ever did before, though I accept it is dependent on the house & loft construction.

Contrary to a previous poster, our loft conversion was surprisingly undisruptive.

However being in a separate building for WFH would mean fewer interruptions, but it would have to be well insulated.

If you have a decent-sized garden, I'd go for the garden room. It gives a completely self-contained space, which is great if you want to get away from the kids or them from you!

And once they've left home, you could do what some neighbours of mine have done: let it out on Airbnb for £90+ a night. It's just a studio with a kettle, a microwave and a shower room with WC, but they have plenty of people renting it. They don't see them, they just give them the code for the key safe and let themselves in.

Garden room. Cheaper, quicker, and won’t cause months of disruption to your home. Especially in light of the pandemic - imagine if you start the work to the loft then the workmen have to stop coming for months leaving everything a mess.

Depending on where it would be in the garden - could you have a sort of covered walkway/patio area that leads to it?

I'd definitely do the loft. I've never been in a garden room which didn't feel like a posh shed - even brick built ones have a sort of damp quality to them.
Also, the walk there and back can feel quite off-putting in winter/rain.
Also, if you have kids of any age the reality is that it's useful to be within earshot.
New buyers won't pay extra for a garden room - they think of it as a nice extra.
And when your kids are teens you might want to change who sleeps where - one of mine wanted to play guitar late at night and we moved everyone around.
A loft extension affects the emotional feel of the whole of the rest of the house too - everything feels more expansive and less claustrophobic.

A loft extension can imbalance a house - there needs to be a proportionate amount of living to bedroom space and it sounds from what you have said that the living area is already compromised.