Advice needed re possible extension to house

Its a good idea provided you trust the builder, only pay in stages no paying the whole amount up front, dont have a cubicle shower and perhaps have one of your children with you when discussing it with the builder.

My sensible side says do it now before you need it.

My cautious side says 'what happens if I struggle to pay back the loan'

If you leave it till you need it you'll possibly qualify to get it done and paid for by the council but that isn't certain and may take time.

Definitely talk to your children to see if they would help financially IF you need it. Hopefully you won't.

IMO it's a sensible decision but there are some things to think about.

Contact your local authority planning department to see if planning permission is needed, which will be the case if the proposed extension exceeds permitted development rights.

Always erring on the side of caution, I would check this out for myself and not just take the builder's word for it, unless I knew them personally.

Don't pay the builder until the work is completed and has been signed off by a building inspector which includes paying in advance for materials.

I hope it all goes well.

Great advice everyone. Thank you so much.
You have given me food for thought 👍

How sensible is sensible though My house isn’t really ‘me friendly’ but although i m ten years older than you I ve done nothing really, if the time comes I can’t use the stairs safely I ll have a stair lift put in or I ll change my back room into my bedroom so many of these alternatives would not add to the value of the house and I might not live to use them then what a waste of money
Hiwever if you ve got it and it makes you feel better go for it
I m going to take my chances and adapt if and when it’s needed

I agree with all the above. If everything else is in place, I would go for it.
We bought this house because it has a downstairs extension which includes a loo and shower. However it is a cubicle which is now very difficult to use, so I would go for a walk- in shower.

BlueBelle, I actually think the same as you most of the time.
Who knows what will happen to us in the future 🙈

Thanks Cabbie21.
A walk in shower has been advised 💐

Walk in showers are easy to clean, better than those with swivel doors or doors on runners. We have walk ins in all our bathrooms and easy to keep clean plus we think they are safer. Make sure you get a tray with a non slip coating.

MG55 is there also a room you could use as a downstairs bedroom, if you reach a stage where you need a downstairs shower room?

I'm thinking if you need one you'd probably need both?

We had a downstairs loo to which we added a shower cabinet some years ago thinking this would be ideal if either of us became incapacitated.

However after an incident last year when I suffered a compound fracture of the ankle we realised it was impossible to get into the shower with a pivot door.

My DH removed the door and put a stool in there and I could use the hand held bit in order to shower.

It definitely needs a rejig in there.

Good points Silvershadow and V3ra 👍🏻
Fairislecable - another vote for the walk in shower.
Thank you all 👍🏻

While you are considering this , perhaps it would be a good time to look generally at your situation. So is it easy to get to shops, doctors etc , and is there public transport, to places you need to get to?

I am not trying to make it harder for you to make decisions, but just to look and see if other things will affect your ability to remain there. I lived in Richmond on a hill and was fine driving, but could see that I could have problems in the future, and though I was very sorry to leave my garden especially and the upheaval it caused, I actually moved to a ground floor flat, in a quiet area of a town, with good train and bus services. It turned out to be a good move, as I am still able to live my own life here, despite various problems. If I had remained in my house I would certainly be having difficulty. So wishing you good luck with whatever you decide to do, and I do think GN is very good at giving suggestions to consider, which we sometimes have not thought of.