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Anyone here had a loft conversion? Anything you know now, that you wished you knew before starting it ?

64 replies

LovelyYellowLabrador · 19/01/2022 23:06

Looking to get one done this year, but only at the beginning of the process
We can get a builder for the summer

OP posts:
Cathpot · 22/01/2022 10:40

Really interesting to read. We are looking to convert the loft for an extra bedroom, but the other option is to convert the garage. I'm leaning towards garage as I think it will be cheaper and less likely to lead to unforeseen complications (old house). Also it would give a room on the ground floor for visits from grandparents. However it would mean costing in building a workshop for DH as that's what the garage is for now.

DH is absolutely firmly team loft - has been planning it since we bought the house ten years ago - we have drawings and planning done. It would be a lovely room with views. I hadn't considered the heat issue- although we have planned in lots of windows.

icelollies · 22/01/2022 10:45

Our friends live mid terrace, and for theirs the builder sloped the roof to the loft conversion to the front of their house, so that the rain went into the front gutters.
This gave them valuable extra head room in the loft room where they needed it most.

Amber17 · 22/01/2022 11:37

Anyone looked into costs of a third storey rather than loft conversion? As in, instead of a dormer cladded wood frame it's brick built? I've seen pictures of some in areas of London where it's now permitted to go up a storey and it looks much nicer than the dormer version - as someone else said, they can look like you've put a shed on the roof.

MarshmallowFondant · 22/01/2022 11:49

@Diditopknot

Fully opening windows for fire escape too. Big enough for a person to climb out of.
Well that depends on lots of other factors.

Our building control inspector ummed and ahhed about our velux windows being "too high up" and raised concerns about how we would get out in an emergency. Onto a steep roof with a 30-40 foot sheer drop onto concrete below. She was persuaded that with fully wired in smoke/heat alarms, fire doors and all the rest of it, and windows in every other room in the house which open like doors and let people out, that there would be no way we'd be climbing onto the roof.

A good builder who does lots of loft conversions is essential - they will know the Building Regs and will ensure that things like head height on the stair and levels of insulation comply.

Janek · 22/01/2022 12:30

We had ours done a year ago. I would say:

Definitely get a loft conversion specialist, rather than a builder. Ours was really experienced and so knew all sorts of tricks to maximise head height etc.

Have a 900mm shower fitted - I never bang my elbows in our new shower and I always do in showers elsewhere!

As pp suggested, consider making the eaves space a bit bigger and the room a bit smaller - I idly considered this, but never mentioned it. Now our eaves space is fine, but you sometimes need to climb in there to reach the stuff that's furthest from the door and it would be easier and more pleasant if it were a bit wider. Also, the room is over five metres, so the carpet-fitter tried to make us have a join (we ran the carpet the other way in the end, so it is at 90° to the carpet at the top of the stairs so avoided this).

We do not find that it is cold in winter and hot in summer. Ours is south-facing, so when it's sunny in the winter it gets quite warm in there (when the sun is low), in the summer we (counterintuitively) keep windows and curtains closed during the day. We do this in the whole house and it keeps the warm air from outside outside. The insulation and new windows keep the heat out. We only open the windows once it has cooled down outside. The sun is too high in the summer to shine in through the windows too much, and by the time it's lower it has moved round. I suppose it might be hotter in there if it were west-facing.

We don't have any veluxes in the bedroom, we find it perfectly light enough without them. We do have one over the stairs though, and this makes the first floor landing lighter and means you don't have to switch the light on to get up and down the loft stairs during the day.

Our amazing loft men said the conversion would take six weeks and it took six weeks and one day. And I absolutely love the result. It feels like we've gone from a decent-sized house (3-bed terrace) to a mansion!

Chrischross · 08/02/2022 07:17

@Janek any loft conversion specialists you would recommend? I’m in SE. Have so far looked at builders and feeling underwhelmed

Janek · 08/02/2022 07:47

I'm in the Midlands, so probably a bit far. They were called CLC Lofts. That probably stood for Coventry Loft Company...

Janek · 08/02/2022 16:43

Also, with hindsight, a sign that they were good was that they were booked about six months in advance (but that gave us time to get the architect to do the drawings and apply for a permitted development certificate) and they knew exactly when they would be starting. They clearly had several other customers between now and us that they were planning on working for six weeks for.

Chrischross · 08/02/2022 17:29

I see, I am getting £59k quotes for a loft conversion with small former to the front. While we were waiting for planning permission last year we were quoted £35k. Has the cost of materials really gone up that much?

Janek · 08/02/2022 21:04

Our man was complaining after he'd finished ours that he was finding it hard to quote for people because things were going up so much/so quickly/were so hard to get hold of. That was in April, but that sounds like a lot.

We have a (normal-sized?) dorma at the back, and were quoted £46000 + bathroom and tiles. Ours is an end terrace so we needed our hip roof building up to be a gable end. It would have been ten grand less if we'd been mid-terrace.

ilovebagpuss · 08/02/2022 21:19

We had a 2 bed and bathroom loft conversion done in a 50’s bungalow in 2019. Cost about 43k back then no dormer as it was big inside.
We had a certain idea in mind but the loft company were brill as they just did lofts they kind of saw what could be done better.
We listened to them and got a much better space for it. Have plenty of velux windows if you can afford it we had 2 in each bedroom one in the bathroom and a big one on the landing space.
As people have said be ready for extra costs. We had a new front door which was needed but we didn’t really factor it in.
Also our builders skimmed our hall for us as they had made a mess with the stairs going in so don’t forget to use them to do any other little bits.
I would pay to have the tiling and floors fitted don’t think you will finish bits yourself. We did paint however.
Both my DD’s have gone upstairs and they love it it’s like having their own shared flat up there.
Our guys were amazing and on time so it’s not always true that things run over but this was pre Covid/Brexit supply problems.
You reap what you sow in terms of free biscuits and tea and coffee Grin and the odd packet of dohnuts.

twowheelsgood · 08/02/2022 21:28

Did mine in 2013 and has been brilliant. Do not skimp on any Velux-type windows (my one regor on insulation. Remember foil backed insulation keeps heat out as well as it so pack the place with it. Mine’s lovely: has a king size bed and sofa etc, so like a top floor living room. Didn’t cost me anything like the nuts prices being mentioned here but I did much of the pre-engineering design and also project managed it & helped the builder.

Abelard40 · 08/02/2022 21:41

Know there will be some ‘awkward’ corners or spaces whatever.

parentingyrnf · 23/10/2022 22:05

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