So true.Major shortage of bungalows in many areas including mine. As a result they exist in a micro market with significantly higher cost per Sq FT. Those that come available also require 150k on top to modernise them. Therefore limited cash is generated from the downsize.
I have family downsizing at the moment. They won't make much if any money doing so, but they will gain a warmer A rated home, and easier to maintain. This is valuable to them. Larger older homes can of course be upgraded to be efficient and warm too, but it's huge money and remains a large house to clean, heat, and maintain as you get older.
Yet again the root problem is a lack of zoned, it won't pay any developer to build a decent volume of bungalows let alone a large number with a garden bigger than a stamp.
The flip side of that is if you have leg or back issues, then stairs are not good for you. Exercise is absolutely but not always stairs.The exercise of walking up and down stairs is not noticed but is very good for you.
Bungalow Houses or Stairless Homes May Hasten Decline Associated with Aging
Climbing stairs is a crucial exercise that slows signs of aging and prevents people in their later years from having bungalow legs.www.sciencetimes.com
Brendan
The flip side of that is if you have leg or back issues, then stairs are not good for you. Exercise is absolutely but not always stairs.
Interested to know why you didn't go route of better BER rating and why you think a waste of time. Surely your full renovation resulted in a better BERWe went from a 2500 sq foot house to a 1000 sq ft bungalow just before Covid. Early 40's couple no kids. We had to do a full reno, but not a full gut job, floors/roofs were left, no walls knocked...we did rewire though. The house was stuck in the 80's & we brought it into the modern age. When we reno'd we didn't want to go the route of bringing up the BER rating as I personally think it's a waste of time.
Upper windows can be left open.
There are threads in the sites, planning, self-build forum on this, and why the focus should be on a comfortable home rather than chasing a BER rating.Interested to know why you didn't go route of better BER rating and why you think a waste of time. Surely your full renovation resulted in a better BER
If you can't climb stairs, then you need a bungalow.
Surely a stair lift would be a lot less expensive than moving just because you can't negotiate stairs.
Here is a very good breakdown from the Warmer Homes Scheme: The interesting point is the difficulty in insulating the roof space in dormer bungalows.We're empty nesters (early 60s) and we love the aspect and location of our mid-sixties bungalow. However with 5 bedrooms (one a cold attic room) and an aging perspex-roofed conservatory, the house is too big for us. It is also draughty and consequently expensive to heat (oil). Mrs. P has arthritis so needs a warm house. We want to modernise re. building a new 'proper' conservatory at a different part of the house. We want to relocate and modernise the kitchen and also the attic room. We have given it a lot of thought and really do not know where to begin.
Our budget is roughly 400k. Is the notion of knocking the bungalow down and rebuilding with a smaller, passive-type house as crazy as it sounds? Or even feasible for that kind of money? Opinions welcome!