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Novice in need of advice

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  • 08-12-2005 4:38pm
    #1
    Johnee
    Closed Accounts Posts: 78 ✭✭


    Complete novice to this house building/DIY lark but what with house prices the way they are, Im looking at other options.

    Im looking at converting the upstairs of my parents bungalow to an apartment to live in. The bungalow is quite large - 4 bedrooms, a sitting room, dining room and kitchen.

    It was originally going to be built as a two storey house but never finished. This means however that the attic roof has already been raised to the level needed to put in an upstairs apartment.

    Im looking at the building options at the moment but feel a little out of my depth so have a few questions, which any help with would be appreciated

    1 - Likely cost? Even ballpark? I know this is a bit of a how long is a piece of string question, but does anyone know how much it might be to put in a stairs, velux windows, wiring, plumbing, insulation and flooring. Im not looking to use all of the upstairs necessarily - just as much as I can afford.

    2 - Any recommended tradespeople?

    3 - What about energy efficiency? Id be really keen on using some sort of solar system as the house is located in direct sunlight for most of the day, but Im not sure if its worth it? What about other options? And what's this new system coming in of energy efficiency ratings?

    4 - Heating system - The existing house is run on oil and is pretty inefficient. Im thinking of a relatively openplan design upstairs so is underfloor a crazy idea? What about wood boilers? Any other obvious ideas Im ignoring. Biodiesel?

    Any helps at all would be greatly appreciated. I know some of these matters have been discussed elsewhere on this board but I always get lost with the technical jargon so I thought Id put them in here as a plea for advice in plain English.

    Thanks......


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