Johnny_A_58 wrote:

Hi, Looking for opinions about whether the resale value of a house would go up or down
after adding a bathroom. I know, sounds obvious, but read on.

I live in a 4 bedroom, ONE bath older house. The bathroom is 6'3" X 12'6". The way the
house is laid out, I could cut the existing bathroom in half, making two rooms that would be
SMALL 6'3" X 6'1" after allowing for the wall in between them.

I could SQUEEZE a full bath in each half with one accessed like it is now, from the main
hallway. I could cut a hole into the master bedroom from the second half so I would end
up with a master bath. But they would be SMALL.

The only other options I have would be to take away part of the walk-in closet in the
master BR, or take the small adjoining enclosed porch, currently used as an office and
convert it into a bathroom.

Both of those options would give me a master bath without touching the existing bathroom,
but then I would lose either the office or a most of the closet. If I took the office, which is
really a sunroom, I would have to do some major reworking of the exterior of the house,
i.e. taking out a bunch of windows and an exterior door, and resheathing and residing to
match the rest of the house.

My wife and I are capable of doing all the work ourselves either way, but we are wondering
what would be the better way to go from a resale standpoint. Thanks, John



If the ONLY reason for the change is resale, forget it. I would not put
a bath on a porch. Is the home one story? Can the
smallest bedroom work as a sink/commode/shower and storage?I would lean
that way if making the change and the layout is
appropriate. I've looked at a lot of older homes with lousy remodels
and absurd layouts......somebody's "dream", but not
mine.