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Experience with changing upstairs layout or adding an upstairs extension

26 replies

TheBirdintheCave · 30/12/2025 22:17

At some point in 2026 we'll have the funds to buy and renovate a larger home. We've found a house we love, it's in the road behind my brother's house is within budget and the downstairs floorplan works well as it is. Upstairs is less favourable. The master bedroom lacks an ensuite and the bedrooms that would become our kids rooms are smaller than their current (shared) bedroom.

I've drawn up some basic plans on PowerPoint of what I might do to correct the issue. After expenses to replace the 70s kitchen and convert the garage into a playroom/guestroom, we'll have about £70k left for any further remodelling. The area is a big mixture of differently priced houses and we're looking to make a forever home so I'm not worried about resale price.

I'd love to know if anyone here has had this sort of work done before and what it cost you. Would a £70k budget actually cover any of this or am I dreaming? 😅

Options:

A: Change the walls to create a new master with ensuite, two more evenly sized (though still small) kids bedrooms and a small study.

B: Add an extension over the garage to create a master bedroom with an ensuite and knock through two of the bedrooms to make three large bedrooms in total and one smaller guest room/study.

C: Stop trying to force the house to fit our needs and hope something else comes up that's more suitable.

I feel like C is the most sensible option unfortunately but my heart isn't ready to let it go just yet! 😂

Experience with changing upstairs layout or adding an upstairs extension
OP posts:
TheBirdintheCave · 10/01/2026 22:08

MidnightScroller · 09/01/2026 07:00

you can do a loft conversion for your office - if it’s not going to be slept in it doesn’t need the same construction requirements so can be much cheaper to achieve than if you’re adding a bedroom. For less ££ you could have a fabulous big office with amazing views and restructure the walls below to have 3 big bedrooms - quicker and less disruption too.

I had a look into a loft conversion but the pitch of the roof looks so low (70s house) so I don’t think there’d be much we could do with it sadly :( Otherwise that would be a good option. No one else in the close or roads around is has done a loft conversion either :(

OP posts:
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