Single skin wall outhouse uplift

[Cynhennus]

Afternoon all. This is my first post here - sorry if I make any mistakes. I've struggled to find the right forum to put this in, probably for the same reason I've struggled (failed) to find a tradesman to actually do this job for me - I'm not really sure what category it comes under.

I have a single skin brick wall outhouse attached on one side to my house. Picture is attached. From what I can tell (though I'm no expert) the pointing seems mostly ok. The roof is solid concrete. There appears to be a dampproof course, though the house was built in the 50s so whether or not it's any good is another issue.

Inside, there are three main 'rooms'. There is a horrible 'alleyway', a main utility room (dumping cave), and original 1950s (horror movie) toilet. I've shown all this in the pictures. There is plumbing and electricity for the washing machine (and lights), but no heating.

I am preparing to sell the house, and would like to know if it is worth the money to try to do this outhouse up a bit to present it as a nice utility space with downstairs toilet. In the alleyway, I plan to just clean it and paint it. I don't mind doing the toilet out, but the external walls are directly plastered and the plaster is breaking (shown in picture), and I don't want to spend money without sorting that first.

If I wasn't moving, I'd knock it down and totally rebuild it - but given that I am not - I am wondering what the best thing to do is - should I batten dampproofed wood and attach plasterboards, then skim that? Or is that overkill? I can lose a bit of width but not really any height, the roof is low as it is. I don't want to spend too much but think it might help the house value if it looks half decent.

Thanks so much for your time - any suggestions will be really gratefully received.

Lastly - sorry for how horrendous it looks. It really is a dumping ground, and is rarely used.

Thanks again

 

[Cynhennus]

Added alleyway picture

 

[Notch7]

It's not worth doing anything - a "cover up job" would prob raise suspicion and anyway won't comply with any current building practice.

I would say clean it, make sure it smells fresh, but beyond that just be honest - it's an opportunity for extra space, loo and utility, but it needs insulating and plastering.

 

[Cynhennus]

Thanks for the quick reply Notch7. Just to clarify - you reckon it's more money to get it done properly than any value that it might add to a sale price? Thanks again, really appreciate it

 

[foxhole]

You could glue on insulated plasterboard, no batten required , but would not add value as such.A new low level loo would make it look more contemporary.

 

[cdbe]

Surely it depends on where you live, and consequently the value of the property? In London you could spend 5k and add 30k, in South Wales you could spend 3k and add 1k.

At the least I'd clean up, repaint with some breathable paint and replace the flooring with some cheap vinyl. Often people are happy when buying a new house that even if it needs work in the future, it doesn't need doing straight away.