converting 3 floor terrace to flats

P

phoenix_n

Guest
hi,

has anyone here converted a 3 story town terrace house into flats(3 to 4 one bedroom flats). i am trying to estimate the cost and have been asking people but quotes range from 50 to 150k.

basically 3 floors. 5 bedrooms. in v good nick. 3 bathrooms. neighbouring houses have 3 to 4 doorbells so it can be done.

any ideas ? anyone know of pictures on the web showing the layout of what can be done?

thanks.......
 
Be very careful here. Not too sure but you would need plenty exits etc and a fire cert. Would imagine that it would be difficult to insure adequately unless all of this was in place.
 
I'd say get an architect or an engineer on board asap.
We are in the process of doing up a three story terraced house at the moment and the costs to turn the house into flats was very high indeed.
There are a lot of regulations such as the stiars pitch, distances from base of stairs to front doors, fire escapes etc to consider.
Add to this the cost of plumbing for all the new toilets an kitchens you will need, re-wiring, new doors, possibly moving internal walls etc and it all mounts up very fast.
Our engineer was able to give us a ball park figure based on the amount of work he predicted we would need to do.
Our house has been gutted from top to bottom now and it will cost us roughly 45 grand to do the internal works.
This isn't including finishing and furnishing.
This inlcludes, plumbing, wiring, two new stair cases, new windows and doors, plastering and a lot of new timbers for joists etc.
I know I not comparing like with like as you say your house is in good nick, But given that we put a figure of about 30k on the job based on a few quotes I reckon it pays dividends to get someone in from the very start to draw the layout for you.
Our drawings cost us 700 euro to draw a new internal layout and he showed us possibilities we would not have even considered.
How about knocking on one of the next door houses, finding the owners name and asking for a look around, we did this and got a good feel for what the house could look like based on what the neighbors had done.
 
Thank you for your time in replying. I do understand that it will involve alot of work but since the neighbouring terraces are already converted i know that the existing config of the house lends itself to conversion. The top floor already consists of two bedsits which the landlady must have been using as additional income for the last 10 years.

I have an engineer looking at the place on friday and have already researched rental returns. Will be asking him his opinion and if i go ahead will try to source someone who has done a simmilar conversion. Would you recommend a engineer or architect for the plans.

Basic layout which may be simmilar to yours is

  • Basement (prob used as storage space for flats?)
  • Ground floor - Hallway, Sittingroom, kitchen, Toilet/Shower, Yard
  • Second Floor - Bedroom, Main Toilet, Small study
  • Second Floor up a small flight - 2 bedrooms
  • Third Floor - 2 bedsits, Toilet
Any ideas on config. How many flats? Estate agent recommends 1 bed over 2 bed.

I am happy with your figure of 30-45,000. 700euros for drawings looks like money well spent. Is that tax deductable. I am unsure whether 'just' to make it into flats or do make a really good job of it.

I read posts on how you can claim costs but does the property need to be rented first before you can claim for 'upgrading' the property.

Again, thanks again for your input. Would love to hear more about your 'venture' (or adventure)



Bamhan said:
I'd say get an architect or an engineer on board asap.
We are in the process of doing up a three story terraced house at the moment and the costs to turn the house into flats was very high indeed.
There are a lot of regulations such as the stiars pitch, distances from base of stairs to front doors, fire escapes etc to consider.
Add to this the cost of plumbing for all the new toilets an kitchens you will need, re-wiring, new doors, possibly moving internal walls etc and it all mounts up very fast.
Our engineer was able to give us a ball park figure based on the amount of work he predicted we would need to do.
Our house has been gutted from top to bottom now and it will cost us roughly 45 grand to do the internal works.
This isn't including finishing and furnishing.
This inlcludes, plumbing, wiring, two new stair cases, new windows and doors, plastering and a lot of new timbers for joists etc.
I know I not comparing like with like as you say your house is in good nick, But given that we put a figure of about 30k on the job based on a few quotes I reckon it pays dividends to get someone in from the very start to draw the layout for you.
Our drawings cost us 700 euro to draw a new internal layout and he showed us possibilities we would not have even considered.
How about knocking on one of the next door houses, finding the owners name and asking for a look around, we did this and got a good feel for what the house could look like based on what the neighbors had done.
Click to expand...
 
We have an engineer on board as we figured we needed more structural advice than aesthetic advice.
In our case we are actually initially keeping the house as a unit with the plumbing installed and hidden for future conversion to flats.
We have gone with an open floor ground floor, with potential to be a self contained unit at a later point and then a large bedroom and bathrrom on floor one and two bedrooms on floor two, with ensuite.
In time we will convert to two separate flats so all the plumbing and wiring will be done at this point but not the actual conversion as we have people willing to rent out the building as a unit initially.
Our engineer showed us the best layout in terms of positioning stairs etc.
We were fairly constrained in terms of layout as there were not too many alternatives.
The ground floor could be converted to a shop unit at a later point too for say a boutique or the like with an apartment over head.
To this end we made sure that there will be room for separate entrances with minimum fuss and alteration.
Your property sounds considerably larger than mine.
It is definately worth while asking an estate agents opinion, we did that too.
I am not really up on the financial side of things that is my husband's department. I am involved more in the design and fit out side of things.
We intend to finish this house/flats to a fairly high spec.
We already rent out a very basic three bed house and you can get a good bit higher rental yield where you put in better quality of fixtures and fittings.
But then look at your area, if it is surrounded by flats which are very basic and are being rented then maybe that is the way to go.
No matter how nice your property is people will judge it on location and surrounding properties anyway.
Good luck with it.
 
I think my next life i will come back as an engineer or architect as everyone (down south) is too busy to do an assesment.

So....

I am just looking for a ballpark figure to convert your normal Town 3 story mid terrace house into flats. The two adjoining have already been done so its possible.

Is a figure of max 50,000 euros sound right ?
 
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