Turning a 4 bed into a 3 bed

Danmo

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This may sound crazy but we are thinking of knocking down the wall between our bedroom and the boxroom and making a huge master bedroom. On one hand, I think this is madness and will knock value off the house however on the plus side, we would have a spacious master bedroom (not a great size at the moment), we don't really use the "office" that is the boxroom and we still have 2 extra bedrooms (we have no kids). Given that we don't intend to move ever again - this is our last mortgage given age etc. does anyone have any advice to offer? Would appreciate it.
 
based on what you say in your post - it would be crazy not to knock down the wall. At least then you will have a good big Master Bedroom instead of a mediocre sized room beside an unused box room.
 
If you are planning on staying there for the forseeable future then you should do what you want with the place. If you were planning to sell in a few years then the potential impact on market value of such structural changes would be more relevant. Obviously you should make sure to get expert advice on the structural changes (e.g. don't knock out supporting walls without appropriate reinforcement, make sure building regulations are adhered to etc.).
 
If you're not planning to sell it then go for it.

Are you planning on having kids? If so how many? Be sure of this before you knock the wall though.
 
Thanks Guys. It's unlikely we will have kids - if we do.....it's unlikely we will need more than 2 bedrooms......and there's always the attic!
 
We cannot always worry more about the market value than the real value in terms of suiting your lifestyle of houses.
Go ahead and make your house more suitable for your needs.
 
If you use part of the extra space from the boxroom to make an ensuite bathroom, that would likely enhance the value of the property.
 
Bamhan said:
We cannot always worry more about the market value than the real value in terms of suiting your lifestyle of houses.
Go ahead and make your house more suitable for your needs.

You are so right..........that reminds me about the saying about cynics i.e. they know the price of everything and the value of nothing. What's the point in worrying about "market value" when we can have a home that REALLY services our needs....
 
We are currently building and the number of people who have told us that we could have made two bedrooms out of our 'master suite' to add value.
The most valuable thing I can think of being able to relax in my own bathroom unintterupted and actually be able to walk into a wardrobe and find all my clothes.....
Luxury over economy any day.
 
At the end of the day if you ever did decide to sell...although only three beds from a four bed(is it a 4 bed estate) i would prefer to have a big master bedroom as after all you and your partner will be using this room alot!! and so will whoever would choose to buy the house, also if the other room is not used alot its a waste on heating as well as space. Go on do it, you'll be chuffed with the results(providing you get a professional in!) and if decorated and accessorised properly it should have no problems selling anyway! Most people are clever enough to look for quality not quantity...we viewed plenty of Four beds and all the rooms where shoeboxes...literly...one room you wouldnt have fit a bed in so dont know how they can class that as a bedroom!All in all i would have prefered a large bedroomed 3 bed house than a tiny so called four bed!!
 
Hi,

We did exactly this with our 4 bed about 5 years ago, except we got in touch with the builder before he had finished studding the upstairs. We got him to stud for a door opening into where the box room would have been just in case we wanted to put the fourth bedroom back and also leave out the dividing partition between our room and the box room.
We moved all the wardrobes into the boax room and were left with a great space and it really gave us the sense of light and air that adds so much to quality of life. We sold the house a year and half ago to a couple in same situation as us - married no kids and they loved it.

Also we got a quote done up to show prospective buyers that it could be converted back very easily (about €450) so we didn't suffer from a price drop at all because we sold as a 3 bed.

I say do it - it's great.

Cheers
 
Nai is right (sorry for the glitch)
we looked at a house in Cork 3 bed semi where the boxroom was knocked through and made into a walk-in wardrobe. It did not affect the price in the least, it actually went for 10k more than others in the same estate.
The owner was a builder and said he would be willing to negociate or put back the door and stud wall to make into the bedroom again if we liked. De hubbie said the space was great and it was something he wanted to live with and he could manage to do the refurb himself in time (i hated it! or the thoughts of himself attempting the refurb...) so No i don't think it would bother your resale value.
 
We did the same with our house this year except we knocked into the largest of the three spare bedrooms! I have absolutely no regrets - love my new bedroom to bits and am so glad we did it. We built in new wardrobes in the spare room section and took out our original ones in our bedroom and the space is fantastic. If like the other posts say you are not planning a large family the two remaining bedrooms should suffice.
 
on a slightly different point, we are buying a house and are thinking or redesinging the layout, any ideas on software/how to get teh most appropriate ideas for a redesign. We are incorporating the garage into existing house and extending, but don't know where to start to get ideas before going to architect/engineer.
 
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