Has your family outgrown the amount of space in your home so that you often feel like you are packed in a tin of sardines? If so, you are not alone. Perhaps it’s the economy or maybe a shortage of homes being built, but there just doesn’t seem to be larger homes on the market these days.
Sadly, those which are being listed for sale have asking prices much larger than you could afford in this lifetime. Even if you sold your current home, you’d never be able to keep up with mortgage payments, so you either need to suffer through an elbow-to-elbow walking room (a bit of an exaggeration) or find ways to add living space to your home. Actually, that’s not a bad idea and there are several ways you could approach it.
Is a Loft Conversion Possible?
Maybe this idea has been lingering right above your head the whole time – pun obviously intended. Many homes, especially older homes, have a tall enough space in their lofts to accommodate a loft conversion. These may take time and resources to complete, but if you will not be making any structural changes to the roofing structure or home, you probably won’t need planning permissions.
A Patio Off the Rear Entrance
Since you have been using one of the bedrooms for a family room, you might want to consider building an enclosed patio off the kitchen where the back door is located. You will almost certainly need planning permissions for this, but consider the benefits once the room is complete.
This can be your new family room with an entertainment centre like those on the VidaXL website and if you add a set of nesting coffee tables, it will make the perfect place to enjoy streaming a movie from one or more of your favourite sites like Amazon or Netflix.
What About a Garden Building?
Sometimes you can slide by without planning permissions when building these, but if you intend to use it as a bedroom, home office, or family room, you might want to check with your local authority. Although some rules and regulations are fairly standard throughout the UK, some local authorities have amended or added to those regulations.
Don’t automatically assume that the size constraints meet local building exceptions. Most often the square footage and height will factor into the necessity of obtaining planning permissions and other times you can just go ahead with your DIY build. You might want to use this as the family room and then turn the bedroom you were using as a family room back into a bedroom.
If you get creative, there really are ways to add to your usable living space. One major plus to adding room is that your property value should go up accordingly. Maybe at some point you will be able to get a decent offer on your home and then you’d have the money for one of those larger properties. Until then, enjoy the space you’ve added.
