AIBU to extend

[thegreenlight]

We live in a small 3 bed semi in a lovely area - box room, tiny bathroom, no garage. We are a family of 4 so not bursting at the seems (yet) we have a back extension to give us an open plan kitchen/dining/living with a utility and downstairs bathroom in addition to the original (small) living room which was done by previous owners.

We love it here and bought at a good time. We are (now) commuter belt and to get an extra bedroom and garage would require us to more than double our mortgage. I have an idea of extending into the side passage (it’s over a meter) to add 1m onto the side of the bathroom and box room as well as a walk in shower and built in wardrobe to save even more space - underneath would have to be some sort of tunnel to access the garden.
I would also like to extend a meter out the front to add another meter to the front of the box room and create a porch too. We have a really large drive so it would be away from the road and someone has done something similar to this on a nearby road.

We can’t convert the attic as the pitch is too low and not keen to build on top of the extension as we would need to drop the ceiling and we like it being high. We do have room to build a building at the bottom of the garden (to replace wooden out buildings) about 4m x 10m but in a wedge.

What do you think? Is such a small extension worth it or should I just put up with the small rooms and concentrate on building space at the back (would be a hang out spot for the kids and a workshop for DH to replace the garage that’s missing - the two rooms would be in the same building but separated).

I mull the dilemma over daily - anyone got any ideas?

1m is too small. And remember that the walls will be very thick and will take up a lot of the available space so the internal space could be tiny.

Also a tunnel to access the back garden??

In your position I would probably bite the bullet and move. You may have to think outside of the box or compromise on something but ultimately if you need more space it could be worth it.

Ah, I see now you mean extend the upstairs, leaving the ground floor access to garden.

Apologies; I had thought you were extending at ground level and the "tunnel" would be underground

I still think it would cost an awful lot to not gain much space.

That was my worry - I don’t think it would add a lot of value but would make a difference to us. Our house is worth £300k, we owe £170k - if we were to buy a 4 bed with a garage (extended semi) we would be looking at £400k minimum, £450k if detached, £480k for new build. Prices round here are really high as we are 1 hour direct train from Euston.

How old are you? Based on those figures I would be tempted to move. Life is too short to live in a house you don't feel happy in.

I'd rather pay £100k for an extra bedroom, garage and more space in general, than £30 / £40k for a 1m extension.

Have you had a look to see what's available? You could get something cheaper / I extended that needs work done that you could do overtime.

We love our house, we love where it is. I suppose moving is the best option though DH is very anti moving as he likes the security this house gives us.

Would you even get permission? Places are often very reluctant to allow front extensions. I think I'd explore whether it's even possible first

Stay where you are and use the space in your garden to create a beautiful and useful multifunctional garden room with a mini kitchen and a loo. Everyone can enjoy the space - your DC will love it as they get older.

A 1m extension isn’t going to give you much space for your money. I’d build a garden room instead, which can become teen hangout and additional storage space, particularly if you could add a small WC to garden room.