What tends to be the cheapest way to add space?

[thebabynanny]

Thinking about adding space to our existing home rather than moving - what would be the cheapest way to do it?
Convert the garage?
Convert the loft?
Single storey extension?

Never done any building work before so no idea really what we'd be looking at.

I guess it depends what you need - a loft conversion gives you a bedroom and maybe an ensuite, a garage conversion gives you an office or playroom, an extension a bigger kitchen or an office/playroom. A garage conversion is cheapest but the least room

Also depends on the structure you already have and what is likely to get planning permission for. Some areas don't like garages being converted. Does your loft space have enough head height to allow for the internal height plus insulation that is now required, without dropping the ceiling below?

Convert a garage to a bedroom is the cheapest but if you want an en suite then it starts to get expensive if you cannot pick up water & waste.

Divorce, good for weight loss too!

In my experience, the cheapest is garage conversion, then loft conversion, then single storey extension. When we looked into it, a loft conversion (the kind where you extend the roof from hip to gable and add a dormer) was almost half the price of an extension.

But an extension will be more expensive if it’s adding a kitchen and/or bathroom, and cheaper if it’s “just” living space.

It depends on what you need the space for. For us, a separate garden room was much cheaper than a loft conversion, but we needed office/guest room/music space etc that works better not being part of the house. If we needed eg an extra permanent bedroom, we’d have had to go with a loft conversion instead.

Thanks for your replies. Will probably look at converting the garage into an office/playroom space initially and maybe a bedroom in the loft later.