Q I have converted an old school into a three-bedroom home.Theoriginal
plans had a two-storey extension, but it would cost £40,000 to build another
ensuite bedroom and a separate dining room. The house is valued at £480,000.
Do you think I should go ahead with the work?
Peter Hayward, Stourport, Worcs
You need to decide whether you can afford it and, if it is to be your home,
whether it will make life more enjoyable. If the answer to those questions
is yes, I’d say go ahead.
If, however, it is a development you intend to sell on, there are other
considerations. Is the garden big enough for a four-bedroom family home? If
it is not, the property will be difficult to sell.
Is there a balance between living space and bedrooms? Are there enough
bathrooms for bedrooms? It sounds as though the house is well balanced – and
as your proposed extension would add a bedroom, a bathroom and a dining
area, it would probably not alter that.
I would add that £40,000 does not sound much for a two-storey extension. Go
over the figures carefully before you commit.
Q I have been trying to sell my 16th-century, Grade II-listed former
alehouse for more than a year. I have lived in it for 26 years, and wish to
move to Spain. I had it valued by three estate agents and put it on sale at
£319,500. I expected a lot of interest, but that didn’t happen, so in March
I dropped the price to £299,950 and listed it on two websites. Still nothing
– what more can I do?
David Bailey, Bolton
To be honest, 99.9% of the time, if a property doesn’t sell, it’s because it
is too expensive. I would suggest that you take it off the market for a few
weeks and remove all attempts at marketing it – take it off the websites and
take down any boards you have.
I would then find a new agent, but only one, as I have always found this to be
more effective than several. Do not go for the cheapest – choose one that
has the best properties on its books and a top-end presence. Then start a
new session of marketing at £270,000. If there are lots of buyers, the
selling price could creep up. At least you’ll sell – and the sooner you get
to Spain, the better!
Q I bought my three-bedroom Victorian house a few years ago, and aim to
renovate it at some point.The house has suffered subsidence in the past, and
there was a problem with underground drainage, although I was told this had
been fixed.
Much of the house is completely crooked, with virtually all the windows out of
square and noticeably sloping floors. I don’t mind this quirkiness, but I am
worried that the subsidence is recurring.
The property backs onto a railway line and my surveyor told me that, over the
years, the vibrations from the trains may have played a part in causing
minor movement to the foundations.
None of the other houses in the terrace seems to be affected.
Would it be wise, or cost-effective, to sell up rather than invest in
significant works? And would the fact that it is not all square and flat
affect the value of the house and put off potential buyers? I would rather
not put in new floors or windows, as I prefer to keep the original features
intact.
Amy Taylor, via e-mail
The word subsidence sends shivers down many housebuyers’ spines. In reality,
though, it is seldom subsidence that is the problem. The house has stood for
a long time and will probably continue to do so.
Victorian terraces tended to be built with little foundation, partly because
they were only ever intended as temporary housing. That said, they still
seem to be rather more solid than many new buildings. You really need
details of the underground drainage problem, as this may be particular to
your house and may not have been satisfactorily resolved.
Underpinning around the house will solve the problem once and for all. This is
simply a matter of digging great holes under the walls of the property and
filling them with concrete. So, if you were planning on doing works to the
house, this would be a perfect time.
Old houses are often a bit wonky, so I wouldn’t worry about it not being
level. If you are doing works, you can even up floors and doorways a bit to
improve things a little visually. I would certainly agree with your surveyor
that a railway line will cause vibration – and now that trains are faster
and more frequent, this may cause plaster to crack. Underpinning should
resolve this, too. Your plans are likely to cost almost £150,000, though,
so, unless you have this sort of money, you might be better to sell and take
on a less ambitious project.
Q We live in a terraced house with lots of period features, including
solid-pine doors. We planned to convert our loft, but in April the fire
regulations were changed, and we were told we would need to replace our
doors with fire doors. We don’t want to do this, as it would not go with the
period style of our home. Can you suggest any alternatives?
Graham Potts, London SW12
When you convert your loft, you need to make sure the work meets current fire
regulations, although you may not have to remove those period doors. You
could paint them with clear intumescent paint, which is fire-retardant. You
could also fortify your door frame; normally, it is ½in thick, but 1in thick
will stop the fire getting through so quickly.
You could line the door edges with a rubber smoke seal, too. Finally,
self-closers can be installed, either at the hinge or with an arm at the top.
Ask the buildings-control officer at your local council what you need to do to
comply with the regulations.
Q In the sitting room of my mid1980s house is an inglenook fireplace
that sits in a wall of bare brick. A wooden mantelpiece and quarry-tiled
hearth run the length of the wall. The chimney is off-centre and houses a
gas fire. How can we bring a bit of life into this part of the room?
Marie-Therese Knowles, Chester
Obviously, this is a matter of personal taste, but the present style sounds
too heavy for the room. A brick wall can be oppressive, and I wouldn’t have
any qualms about rendering and skimming, or plasterboarding and skimming,
over the whole wall.
You could also make the fireplace smaller. Amazing Grates, in north London
(020 8883 9590, www.gatwoodandelcombe.com),
not only supplies fireplaces but offers great advice on how to change their
design and location. If you don’t need one at all, you could put studwork in
the holes and plasterboard over it (but fit an air vent to allow air up the
chimney). But you may want to keep some focal point to the room.
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
