Unusual loft conversion ideas ?

[Fishandchipsareyum]

Hello

Thank you to everyone on my last thread. Thought I'd make a break away thread about budget loft conversion ideas, but our house is weird lol 😆

So the loft conversion will need a new hatch and stairs to make it viable. Our existing loft hatch is in a dangerous place and it's in a tiny hallway at the top of a steep flight of stairs. So no clearance for any stairs there.

The new hatch would need to go in the ceiling of the largest bedroom and have decent stairs to pull down.

I've obviously no idea about anything like this as never needed to consider it before now but where do I start ? Should I have an inspection from a builder 1st ( was reading something about making sure the joists are not cut etc...) so before we save up is it possible to get a person in to see if its actually possible to start with? Would there be a cost involved in that ? Sorry it sounds silly...

First of all, it is illegal to convert your loft without making a building regulations application. You could be prosecuted for doing it without one and your house insurance will be invalidated.

You have to have a permanent stair. A pull down ladder is illegal if the loft is habitable. It can be a ‘space saver’ stair with alternate treads if space is a concern. These stairs have to discharge into a route protected at all levels with fire doors. You can’t have access from a bedroom.

Your first step should be to consult a builder or designer with loft conversion experience. There are so many factors to consider. Loft spaces are not designed to have heavy loadings, so significant structural upgrades are necessary. If your house is attached, you may have to serve notice to your neighbours under the party wall act.

You’ve been given some terrible and irresponsible advice on the other thread. Do not think you can do a ‘cheap’ conversion that does not comply. There is no such thing.

I think maybe get someone in to have a look first because they'll know the regulations and be able to tell you if it's possible or not - I'm just thinking re headroom, stairs, if your loft is weight-bearing and suitable for a conversion etc (mine's not). It might be that a loft conversion is just not possible in your house, in which case there's no point saving up and thinking it's the solution when in reality you need to discount it and move on to something else.

I honestly think your best solution would be to move to a cheaper area and buy a 3 bed house if your daughters can't share due to the eldest being violent. An alternative would be to pay for an architect and ask for suggestions on splitting one of the bedrooms. You need planning permission and permanent staircase for a loft conversion.

Thanks , my eldest isn't violent, its extreme anxiety and the girls dont get on due to that.

Thanks , I'll do that then. Ugh it's frustrating isn't it, but I understand why it's the case.

I would love a a loft conversion but we have cross beams in some parts of the roof, and the pitch is quite low.

I have recently been having notions of raising the height of a bedroom by removing the ceiling, or part of it, and going up into the loft space, so that there would be a lot of usable vertical space. This might work for cupboards, shelves, maybe a high bed, leaving loads of space underneath. I don't know if any of that might work for you.
I haven't really looked into it, as it's just a pipe dream at the moment, but the weight bearing issue would be solved, although some beams would need to cut to make space, with the concomitant need to ensure support somewhere else.

I have also seen some really good wooden staircases that fold flat against the wall when not in use, much better than a ladder, or those rather confusing space saving stairs.

I got a strong storage floor put in and I insulated the rafters so my loft space is useable but obviously not to regulations and could never be sold as a habitable room.

@Cavalierchaos was that expensive to do

Not particularly, maybe 2 or 3 thousand at most (also had a velux window put in plus I bought a thick space saver ladder).
It is great as a hobby room or whatever I want, but I don't put any heavy furniture in there as the floor would not hold the weight.

@Cavalierchaos brilliant! Who did it for you was it a loft conversion company or one of these boarding places?

I think it was loft boarding north west, so yeah just a boarding company. They did a raised timber sub floor for me and boarded it. I did everything else (insulation, plasterboarding and decorating).

@Cavalierchaos thank you

Definitely get someone in to have a look,they will have ideas and suggestions that you would never think of yourself. We had a linen cupboard in our landing and that was moved to a bedroom and a staircase put there. Good luck

There shouldn't be a cost to get a general builder or loft conversion company in to look at your loft & see what is possible

TBH - look at your street. if they are similar houses and its possible, some of your neighbours will have converted already

If its not possible, getting someone in may give you other ideas about how you can adjust your space if you really can't move ... it might be moving some of the walls in your house to get another room, or converting another room to get a small bedroom if you can

A builder would also be able to give you an idea of costs, which is hard for someone posting online to do

Friends have done a loft conversion in a standard terrace approx 18 mths ago, I had a similar quote in an old house (same, terrace). When you start having to adjust ceiling heights etc it becomes less appealing as a prospect. Anyone I know who has done this has funded it via extra borrowing on the mortgage - it can be cheaper to move!

Adding a plasterboard wall to split a bedroom is really cheap in comparison - is this an option? Like split sleeper bunks so the room is 'two halves' or something like that?