Thanks Derek and Bronte, the surveyor was helpful alright and reckons we would need planning on a single storey extension as well, and can also recommend builders to us.
House has some rising damp in it, and all the usual stuff you would expect in an old house, needs pointing, insulation, central heating, and replacing some roof tiles. only thing that was a surprise and a worry is the rising damp and that the windows will need to be replaced, i was hoping to keep the windows but to try and upgrade them if possible.
So will a builder be able to deal with rising damp or is a specialist needed and what are the likely costs?