Granny Annexe

[Thevirginmummy1]

I'm after some ideas and inspiration! We are looking to move my 70+ year old Mum in with us. She's still got all her marbles and is generally fairly able though her back gives her a fair bit of grief. We considered extending the house either outwards or into the loft but neither option is really viable (architect advice) so now we're considering converting our single garage. Has anyone done this and can provide a rough idea of cost and grief-factor? I've also looked at purpose built one's (though not looked into this much yet). Has anyone gone down this route? We've got a pretty decent sized garden so the potential is there I think. With either option I want it to feel like 'home' and not like she's camping in the garden!
Any feedback or further suggestions would be gratefully received. She wants her independence and to be able to come and go as she pleases.

Thank you!

Bump

We had a mobile home installed for my gran. Linked up to the plumbing and central heating of the main house. She came in for meals and could potter round the garden. Being in the little hoose she could have her own routines and share the family and cat. The planning permission was for her lifetime.

We converted our integral garage into a room, many years ago. There was an existing utility room and shower room already built as an extension behind it , so it was possible to turn it into a run of bedsit/kitchen/shower room IYSWIM It was designed to turn into a self contained granny flat, but we never actually needed it. Main problem was head room ( it has a flat roof ) - the floor had to be built up to the existing floor in the hall/kitchen. With hindsight, it would have been better to have had a new roof, but would have cost a great deal more, which we didn't have at the time. Biggest challenge was keeping it warm, as we couldn't link it to the central heating. Its insulated to within an inch of its life , with its own room wall heater.
I don't think its of any use telling you how much it was - its been built for at least 28 years now :)

That's interestingposter Rosings25. Did it have any kind of kitchen for her? Can you give a rough estimate of the size of it?

Bookbook that sounds ideal (apart from the cold!). We'd have to extend out the back of the garage I think.

Thank you!

Xxx

It was just the sort of mobile home you find on holiday sites. So room for a double but with a single bed enough space to get round the bed. I think the bench seating that normally gives a second bed in the living room was removed so her own table and a couple of chairs plus a couple of armchairs fitted in. Kitchen had cooker, fridge and washing machine and bathroom had a bath.

It came in and eventually out over the wall. The electricity, water, sewage and central heating pipes went under paving slabs and combined with sunshine kept the slabs free of ice.

The planning dept were happy as it was there for a limited period without foundations and was not high enough for neighbours to object.

I have just done the calculation and it was in the garden for ten years.

Pity a beech and a larch was planted after it went.... bloody things are 50ft tall and are going to be a nightmare to remove.

We converted a barn and cart shed attached to our house for 2 elderly relatives - 2 beds, wet room, large kitchen/ sitting room and separate living room. All to current insulation standards, underfloor heating, all switches sockets at height to be operated from a wheelchair, ramps between levels and all doors wide enough for the chair and a stairlift to the upstairs bedroom.

It cost us just under 100k but a lot of that was taken up trying to please the council as the buildings were listed and we live in a no build conservation area.

Eventually it will be let as a disabled access holiday flat when it's no longer needed.