Q I live on the second floor of a Victorian tenement and would like to have a conservatory. Is this possible? If I was able to convince my neighbours on the ground and first floors that they need one too, could we build it up?

Sylvia Ashley, via e-mail

I can understand why you would like a conservatory, and agree that a three-storey one would be quite spectacular. There are, however, some big hurdles to overcome. First, you need to get the freeholder’s permission, and they may charge for this. Even in the unlikely event that they don’t, they will certainly charge you for their solicitor’s costs for it to be agreed. Then you must persuade all the other flats in the block to agree, for it is not just your downstairs neighbours who would be affected: presumably, the outside space you want to build on is communal. Each tenant would then need to change their title deeds, again through a solicitor, and probably inform their mortgage company. If the block is not too big, you may be able to sort all this out. Then, you must consider the actual structure. It will be very, verypricey, so I would advise a style that has large sections of glazing, but is not made up mainly of glass, as a traditional conservatory would be. Good luck. I have to be honest, though: you are likely to get a conservatory much more quickly and cheaply by moving house.

Q I have bought a 1937 Tudor-style house and want to extend the kitchen to create a utility room and a breakfast/morning room. We are only the second couple to live here, so nearly everything is original, and we are keen to maintain the property’s character. The kitchen is 15ft x 8ft, with the original quarry-tiled floor and Easiwork units. To stay in keeping with the period, what should we use in the extension? I have been trying to research English houses of this period via the internet, but I seem to get only American websites.

Hazel Atkins, via e-mail

If you want to stick with the original design, there is a great book called The Surrey Style (Surrey Historic Buildings Trust £9.50), which should help you with the details. Or ring the National Trust (0870 458 4000, www.nationaltrust.org.uk) and find out where its nearest house of this period is. Go and take a look at it – and take a sketchbook and a tape measure, so you can make notes about the detailing.

Q We are converting our ugly four-bedroom detached dormer with integral garage into a five-bedroom, 2½floor property with a one-storey extension over the garage. On the ground floor, we have a south-facing kitchen with a small dining area, a separate dining room and a small second lounge that faces north. The long, narrow utility room leads off the kitchen, and a door from that opens onto a small full-glass conservatory.

I want a kitchen space where people can sit and chat or watch television. I cannot decide whether to knock the kitchen through into the second lounge or into the dining room (which we use two or three times a week), or to move the kitchen to the front of the house, so it faces north, and use the rear for living space, to make the most of the sun. I am also wondering whether we should replace and extend the conservatory, building in folding doors from the existing kitchen, or replace the conservatory with a garden room that leads off from the kitchen. We have £180,000-£200,000 for the total rebuild.

Sue McIntyre, via e-mail

I think you need some doors. What you want is a big room that can also not be a big room. Don’t extend at the rear of the property: a five-bedroom house needs as much garden as possible. You could knock through the existing dining room, kitchen and second lounge, and spend the money allocated for a new conservatory on really great sliding doors. You could even have them sliding into a wall cavity, so they are invisible when open. Converting the north-facing sitting room into the kitchen, and having doors between it and the old site, means the latter could double as a breakfast room or dining room; getting away from the sight of pots and pans is then just a matter of closing the doors.

Q My elderly parents live in a three-bedroom semi in a desirable area of Loughton, Essex, but they need to move into residential care. Eventually, my sister and I will have to sell their house to fund their care. They have reasonable savings, so we don’t have to rush, and the semi next door belongs to a good neighbour, recently widowed, who also wishes to move. Each house has a large garden, and we and the neighbour think that both properties might interest a developer. Or could we even take on the development ourselves?

The houses are at the end of a long cul-de-sac, and there is a precedent for redevelopment. About 30 years ago, the detached bungalow opposite was demolished and three houses were built on the site. Also, all the other properties in the road have been extended beyond recognition. My sister and I are both enthusiastic buy-to-letters, and own seven properties between us, but neither of us has any property-development experience and we have no idea where to start. Help!

Glenna Blackwell, via e-mail

There is no reason why you could not develop the land yourself, although you may find that the real money is in putting the scheme together, rather than actually carrying it out. Arm yourself with Ordnance Survey plans of the plot and the local area, then go and talk to your local planning department. Look at a copy of its unitary development plan to see what its housing priorities are for the area. If there is a possibility that the planners would look favourably upon redevelopment of the adjoining sites, ask an architect to come up with some suggestions. You and the neighbour need to work out whether you can afford to buy their property if they need to move before any redevelopment takes place. Get started as soon as you can. The planning process takes some time, during which nothing actually needs to happen to either property. The value of the properties is likely to be higher with planning consent for redevelopment, but keep checking the financial bottom line. Big family houses with large gardens are becoming increasingly rare; it may be that there is more profit to be made by simply extending what is already there.

Have you got a question for Sarah Beeny? Send your queries to sarah.beeny@ sunday-times.co.uk or write to her c/o Home, The Sunday Times, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST

Times recommends

• Interior design: It's time to end our craze for open-plan living
• How to make cool bedrooms for kids
• Inside Zaha Hadid's East London apartment