When you have a young one on the way, you may not have the time and resources for moving out or remodelling your home. Space is a luxury many can’t afford, so it’s crucial to make do with what you have at hand. With that in mind, moving things around and engaging in some smart installations can help clear the way for your child’s bedroom.

Let’s look at some important ways to get the job done:

Change Out a Bulky Heating System

For homes that might have a conventional boiler that takes up some extra space up-top, it might be time for a change of heating systems. Water tanks can be taking up space in a loft, for example. By swapping these out for more modern heating appliances, you can have a functional room with a few adjustments.

When you want to take out a water storage tank, you’ll have two boiler options left: a combi or a system boiler. Combis are best suited for homes with low water demand (single-bathroom homes that do not need multiple hot water taps running simultaneously). These boilers provide hot water on demand and do not require a storage tank of any kind.

System boilers can manage hot water supply for larger homes, although they will require a cistern to store some hot water. While larger than a combi heating system, this takes up a lot less space than a conventional boiler. With some proper placement, it can be a space-saver as well, leaving the loft to be used as you wish.

Foregoing boilers for heat pumps is another viable option, although this will require a bit more exterior space for the outdoor unit. Installing an air to air heat heat pump is the cheapest alternative in terms of initial costs. Although they are more expensive than boilers, there are various grants to make them cheaper. That said, heat pumps won’t be suitable for your home if without proper insulation. 

Converting a Storage Space or Office With Some Other Additions

Maybe you have a storage in your home that could be converted, but here’s the kicker: you don’t know where to put your extra stuff. Whether it’s a shed, a storage room, or other space, you can’t free up the place to create an extra room or study to make way for your child’s stuff. Here are a few solutions for you.

Our first suggestion is to create a mezzanine space where you can put a few items up there. This is less costly than putting in a full wall for larger rooms and can be effective in storing things away to free up the area in a storage that you can convert into a kid’s room. Moving things to an extra space can help you make things manageable while also making fewer costly changes (at least compared to adding a new room or extensive changes.

Another option is, if you have an office space, to move it to a shed and free up the space for a new bedroom. However, most sheds and lofts often have inadequate insulation. This can require about £200 worth of materials including insulation batts, foams, and other materials. This can be cheaper than other means of creating a new room, which can cost upwards of £20,000 on average.

Cheaper Extension & Room Addition Ideas

While extensions can be expensive in a lot of regards, some are cheaper than others. For example, building a floor over a garage is easier than laying a new foundation outside the house. This will require quite a bit of work and money compared to the ideas listed earlier but it’s also the most effective. 

Similarly, if you want to convert an office space into a bedroom and move your office elsewhere, conservatories can be a good extension for achieving this. Bedrooms generally have a lot of building regulations including at least 4.5m2 of space and access to sunlight, among other things. Office spaces don’t have such requirements and many types of conservatories can suffice for the exact purposes one might require.

Many pre-bought conservatories can be bought and applied to homes for extensions. They are cheaper than a post-fabricated structure built from the ground up. Buying a basic one can be about £10,000 or about half the price of the cheapest extension. They can have benefits as well since they bring in a lot more sunlight than other types of rooms.

Another possibility is to add a wall between a living room to turn it into two distinct rooms. If your building regulations allow for this, it can be the cheapest way, however, it will require sacrificing an existing space rather than adding something extra.

Hopefully, these ideas have sparked some new possibilities for you and your home can benefit from some rearranging or practical additions.