Living (& coping!) during loft conversion

[mollyminniemo]

We are due to have our loft converted next month- will involve a dormer put in, but half is part converted (as in a semi usable room with velux windows in already) so its full height and wont involved other ceilings being lowered.

I am home 2 days a week with kids, I'm wandering how mental these days will be during the build? Obviously we go out for say half the day to playgrounds/playgroups etc but the rest of the time- as well as sleeping/generally being in house during it? Is it true in most cases builders go out/into loft from outside so wont be constantly walking through the house? Is the building noise -heard from ground floor with doors to living room closed- carrying down from loft (on what will be 2nd floor) completely bearable or really horrendous?! Thanks.

[BagelGoesWalking]

Our loft conversion is over 10 yrs old and I don't know if every builder works in the same way but, yes, 90% of the work is done via the open roof.

It was when they opened up the ceiling to finish and install new stairs etc that it was a pain with dust, noise etc. But it was minimal pain for a lot of gain!

One suggestion: ask them to put in double the insulation they recommend. The loft is warmer than other rooms in the house during the winter, which is great but can become v v hot during those hot days in summer.

[mollyminniemo]

Thanks bagel much appreciated- I will do that!! I only discovered today they enter via the roof from outside, was literally dreading the thought of builders walking through downstairs rooms/in and out of front door for over a month, so already feel a lot better!

[Bluebellwoods123]

I've not had a loft converted but have (and I currently am) lived in houses throughout the renovation. The noise does travel but it doesn't tend to be continuous for example there's some sawing then whatever has been sawn is fitted to the house, then more sawing. There is often a lot of walking through the house. But the dust is always the biggest issue for me, it seems to get everywhere so I pack up ornaments and anything not being used in boxes and seal with tape. Cover book cases, wardrobes and furniture with old sheets or duvet covers. Any rooms not being used I tape the doors up with wide masking tape. My aim is to reduce the amount the of time I have to spend dusting, hoovering and washing things after the work has finished. It's fairly easy when all the work is happening and it passes quickly. The clearing up afterwards I find harder if I haven't prepared properly. In the evenings after the builders have gone home I Hoover the areas they are working in and where they walk to minimise the amount of dust being dragged around the house on their boots.

[HiDBandSIL]

I have no advice but I'll be in your position in a few months time so I'm watching nervously!

[Toomanycats99]

We had ours done last year. Ours was mostly accessed from outside. They even had a portaloo so they never even came in the house for the loo! Even when they came through the house the disruption was generally minimal. They came in went upstairs and that was it for most of the day. I work from home 2 days a week and was dreading it but no issues. Even knocking bedroom wall down wasn't too bad. I'd say we only had 3 truly bad days. I was when they were doing the first part of the wiring for the smoke alarms we had installed in every room in the house and so were making holes in all the ceilings. The other 2 were the second fix carpentry / electrics days when they were building the staircase and finalising all the wiring. I was pleasantly surprised how stress free it was!

[SvartePetter]

Are you having steels put in? It took our builders 2 days to drill holes for them in our superhard party walls. Impossible to be around in the house, extremely noisy.

I left with the kids ( 2 years old + newborn) after that, on mat leave anyway so went to family. Dp stayed but said it was very cold ( open roof) and very dusty. It was still very dusty when i came back after 2.5 weeks. I think we mopped the floor every day for 8-10 weeks. We had rooms that were off limits for the builders, the bedrooms with extra plastic covers over the doors and the living room where i also set up a sleeping corner with a mattress on the floor.

Our builders were very clean but, they are builders, they live their life in dust...

Our loft conversion is fantastic and well worth the pain though!

My advice- if you can go away, do it.

[mollyminniemo]

Thanks so much all. We are having steels put in yes... We can stay at my parents nearby when it gets really bad but hoping for the most we can stay, doesn't sound too bad. So many keep saying about the insane levels of dust though.