The Doctor won't see you now - Clinic Conversion

[FailHere]

Well, you asked for it. Background, I want to retire and therefore need to downsize and get rid of the mortgage. I'd been starting to look around for something before spotting an old clinic premises that was about to go for auction. It was not at all what I was looking for, for a start there is no garage and hardly any outside space. Nor did it have planning for residential conversion. I'm very risk averse, but somehow ended up asking the auctioneer to put an offer to the Health Authority, this was accepted provided it was exchanged and completed prior to the auction date. Guess who dragged their feet (no it wasn't me), finally simultaneously exchanged and completed two and a half hours before the auction.

Right what is it



It's a big lump of a building, constructed in 1939, it does have a bit of driveway to the side and a couple of basement store rooms on the down-hill side. In it's favour it is very solidly constructed and generally in prety good condition.

There was no planning so I had a few fraught months hoping that it would get change of use for residential, fortunately it did, but with a few Conditions, including no external changes and removal of permitted development rights.

Internally it was a riot of health service blue, apart from where it was health service peach.


It does have quite a lot of the original wood-block floor apart from in the dentist's surgery and two of the consulting rooms. The shot above is the old waiting room in the middle. I like the late deco features of curved walls and built in moulded skirtings.

The layout is a bit of compromise as a dwelling as most rooms interconnect also there are a lot of windows everywhere with most rooms having at least one wash basin/sink.



Prior to getting Planning Consent work was limited to things that didn't need it, so that involved stripping out the surplus basins, computer cables/ducts, horrible vertical blinds, strip lights and multiple notices and rawlplugs, before slapping some paint around.

Whilst the building had been cleared the dentist's chair, which I was told would be going, had been left.
I found out when I went to move it that it was still plumbed into the mains electric, water and drainage.



You can see that the units in the dentist's surgery have already been stripped and gone to the tip.

[FailHere]

That was it for a while, there was no proper kitchen and no bathroom so it was not habitable so it was mainly decoration works until planning came through in case I had to cut my losses and sell it again.

I did take a chance and remove a stud partition wall, this had been put up to make an annex off the dentist's surgery, but cut into the waiting room. leaving it with only one external window, removing it put the proportions back. The section of block floor in the annex had been boarded over. Removing the lino and ply lead to the discovery that about a square yard of blocks were missing and had been filled with concrete. This was chipped out and matching blocks found in a local salvage yard.

You can see the strip lights have gone and been replaced with some of B and Q's finest light fittings, which had the 1930's look.



Also the health service blue is disappearing.

[FailHere]

As I said the layout is a bit of a compromise, there are three rooms across the front which all interconnect.
These will be two bedrooms with a central shared dressing room. The "dressing room" came about as with all the doors and windows there is not really any wallspace in the bedrooms for wardrobes. Also the planning consent is for a two bedroom dwelling.



This is one of the bedrooms part-way through painting



This is the other.

As you can see it still has most of the original cast-iron radiators (which are horrible to paint), fortunately there is a modern condensing gas boiler, which has been serviced and works well.

[FailHere]

As I said there was no kitchen or bathroom. Logically the kitchen should have gone where the dentist' surgery was, however, the gas supply was the other side of the building so the kitchen has gone in the room that had the boiler in it. This does mean I have a door from my bedroom into the kitchen, which will be handy for late night snacks.


The kitchen is still a work in progress



It's bargain B and Q units, the only indulgences being a new dishwasher oven and hob as these are all built in in the other house so will be staying there.



This is the dressing room, between the two bedrooms.

The bathroom will be going where the patients' toilets were, but for the moment a shower room has been squeezed into a former airing cupboard.


Any major work has to wait until the other house sells, so things are pretty much on hold for a while, but I have been filling the place up with "bargain" furniture, not much is coming from the other house as it won't look right here.

[FailHere]

The former dentist's surgery has been stripped out


The floor was wrecked so has been screeded and a vinyl floor put down for now. The chair went on ebay, the money has come in handy for other things



The sofa and shades came from the conservatory in the other house not sure if they will stay.


The sitting room is getting there




The bedrooms are useable





The bathroom is still a work in progress


There were 3 wc cubicles, two are being removed to make space for a bathtub

Edited by FailHere on Wednesday 19th August 19:43

[FailHere]

There's not much outside space, just a bit behind the parking area and a narrow path around. Fortunately I only have to walk down the road and there is access to walks along the river and up into the forestry which suits the dogs.





I will get some more tubs, these are from the old house, I can't face digging up the concrete; also I need to keep it fairly clear as it can be emergency parking if I open the gates up.

In case anyone is wondering, no I couldn't get a mortagage to buy it as it was classed as commercial, also I had to use a commercial property solicitor as my normal one wouldn't touch it. I had hoped to be in for under £10k on top of the purchase price, I have gone over a bit, but that is including the furniture.

It's nowhere near finished, before the winter I need to insulate the loft, there is none up there at all. I want to get the windows refurbished, but that's going to cost a fair bit so will have to wait. At the moment I'm cleaning and painting the basement rooms out as I need to get all the stuff cleared out of the garage at the other house.

Edited by FailHere on Wednesday 19th August 20:03

[FailHere]

I'll try to sort a floor plan, I have one but not in a format I can upload. There was a dentist's lamp above the chair, that also went to the chap, from Yorkshire who bought the chair; he refurbishes them to sell on to start up dental practices.

There were stickers and notices everywhere, I've left one fire exit sign up over one of the doors.

I'm sorry about the photographs, but that's all you're getting; I don't have the money to spend on a decent camera and it would be a waste in my hands anyway as I am no photographer. This is all being done on an shoe-string budget, one reason being that I am absolute pauper, the other being that due to its location it would never sell for much, so it's pointless going for high end fixtures and finishes.

[FailHere]

If this has worked, it is a rough floorplan (rough as in I sketched it, but it was good enough for planning as it uses the existing layout)