Have you costed the alterations , and is there that much money to be made from Air B'n'B ?

In other words , is this a vanity project , or is it a viable investment ? My gut feeling ( knowing almost nothing about house prices / building ccsts / Air B'n'B returns in France ) would be to do at least 3 costings --

-- what will you get renting it as is ( you say derelect , so maybe needs $50k or whatever spent ? ) .

-- what will you get after you have done your proposed additions ? Is this greater or less than question 1 ( as a percentage ) ? And which one is more in demand in that area , at those price points ? ) .

-- if you sold your place 'as-is' , and bought a place similar to your proposed plan , what will that cost , and is the difference greater or less than your proposals ?

Even ignoring the fact this will take months or maybe even a year or two , with lots going out and no money coming in , which makes the most sense ?

I'm not prejudging , but locally , I've found its generally better to buy the place you ( or potential guests ) actually want , compared to starrting with something 'with potential' then spending a lot to get to the endpoint you want .

You have posted on the Australian/New Zealand HOUZZ website. Regulations and way of home usage may be different in France than here. Heritage rules etc.

In the countryside where I am from, you loose moeny renovating old barns and so on and so forth. This building is on our property, we have a main house. Therefore it is not an investment to renovate it. Renting it out will help allieviate the costs of the work. That's about it. This house is part of our local patrimony, the other option is to further let it go to ruins, which after many years of not doing anything we have decided to have a go at it.

There are not many rules as far as heritage goes, in the case of this house. We plan to keep its lovely features, such as the fireplace, of course.

That makes more sense , but I also feel you have not understood some of what I was questioning .

Is it financially viable to do a larger , two storey renovation combined with effectively a new build ? Or would you be better to 'just' do up the basic cottage , as it is ?

And likewise , at some stage I assume you will want to sell the property . Having 2 'houses' will add to the value presumably ; having an extra income stream will appeal to most people too .

BUT will the extra income from spending say 5 times as much money for the 'deluxe' 2 storey version , will that be 5 times as much as doing a basic cottage . Similarly , will the likely resale be at least as much as the 'deluxe' renovation cost -- judging by your barn conversion comments , I'm guessing 'No' ?

Of course , if you are merely wanting something to keep in the family for the next 50 or 100 years , this cost won't be of huge importance , but for most people who move after 10 to 20 years , it may not be worthwhile ?

Can u post floor plan with lengths and widths not area

hi Kate, the scales are on the drawings. Does this give us the dimensions?

Dimensions are different to scale. Size is the physical dimensions of an object. Scale is the relative size of objects in relation to each other. For example the kitchen is 6.5m2. What length and width calculates to that square metres. It could be 2m x 3.250m or 3m x 2.16m etc.

Looking at the steep roof it could indicate that you live in a colder part of France so as to allow the snow fall off?. wall to wall measurements of the rooms are best for us to work with, also some idea of ceiling angles. Some photos of the original building would be helpful., internal and external

Ceiling highest to lowest point

The steep roof is to keep the kangaroos off . . . . . . . . . . .

they would hop right over it pottsy99

Thanks so much @oklouise for taking the time to look at this and offer some very worthwhile suggestions.

I have found some dimensions:

It is a tiny house.

I have had a fiddle with your lovely stone house, I think that the staircase placed as per your posted plan works for me as you step out at he highest point of the upstairs ceiling, Looking at the side on drawing of all levels and the human drawn to show how low the ceiling slopes down there's a lot of space that you can't stand up in on both sides I also don't think it necessary to have bathrooms upstairs, a powder room would be enough along with a hand basin in each bedroom. Not knowing your market target, couples or families and how many you want to accommodate,

I suggest that the part of the building that you plan to remove could be retained using those foundations to add a Mudroom and full bathroom. This would have a flat roof , maybe built up with windows on 3 sides, and the new upstairs deck above this., just a thought.

With the central stair, I’d be inclined to put a powder room downstairs where you have shelving to right of stairs. Upstairs one central full bathroom and bigger wardrobes.

The following would depend on the head height when stepping of the stairs, although the stairs could turn at a lower point if needed. Your plans show two support posts which I have included and guessed positions. This plan doesn't include any ground floor additions and removes the old crumbled building. The long narrow window along the kitchen wall will add a lot of internal light and perhaps a lovely outlook which will make the house feel bigger and going by the aspect warmer in winter.. I have struggled to read the dimensions but hopefully I have come close enough to make a few suggestions.

Up stairs, 2 bedrooms with own ensuite, 2nd bedroom has 2 single beds that can be used for a couple when used as shown or separated for kids or singles.

extra head height for siriuskeys new staircase (and bathrooms?) could be provide with more dormer windows on the south side of the roof

agree I thought that Velux opening skylights could also be used as these give extra head height and are European made.

Years ago when family built a new two story house, they couldn't stand in front of the vanity in the upstairs bathroom but by correctly placing a Velux window it was fixed.

The upstairs rooms could do with extra windows

Something else for you to consider depending on what guests you are targeting. I would set it up as two separate apartments to accommodate couples, the lounges could do double duty as extra bedding if needed

As shown by OKL a shared Mudroom laundry could be added downstairs, under the deck if you are in a skiing region this could also have lockers to store equipment.

I should add that the ground floor unit would also be suitable for disabled and older guests

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will let you in as to what we do with the architect!