Can't afford a loft room ; has anyone just had it boarded so better use of the space and a window put in ? If so was it a big job /££ and will it help if we can ever afford to go the whole way ?

[KentnotClarke]

Sorry long question there I'm wondering if it's somerhing we should do ?
Will it help if we do want to do the whole thing ? I'm also thinking maybe it's the only room we could install air con in which may help the whole house keep cool /install a window also ?
Of course it will be better for us in terms of access and storage .any thoughts or costs /up hewval

Why can't you install Aircon anywhere else in the house? I've boarded my loft for storage but I think it's crazy to board it to use as a room. That's not safe, it needs stairs and a fire exit. Putting electrical equipment up there seems even more risky to me.

What would you do if you're up there and a fire starts between you and the exit. Sod that.

No sorry understsnd we can't use it as a room , I mean we can potentially use for air con which will cool down the userable rooms below

I meant better use of space as storage

If you’re fitting air con to only one room, one which you use for living in surely makes more sense than a storage space?! I don’t think cooling the loft will make much difference to the heat below.

You'd be better off insulating it properly to keep the heat out. It would be far cheaper in the long term as it is passive. It would also benefit you in winter when it would help retain heat, while keeping the cold out.

For the loft space to be a usable living space, any other work would need to be compliant with Building Regs.

Heat rises so air con in the loft is really not going to make much impact on the ground floor. If cooling is the main issue you'd be better off buying a fan that blows cold air for downstairs.

No just using the space better for storsge was my aim .

I had read having a window van help the heat escape also though. Heat rises and if we open our loft hatch to get house heat up. The loft is a furnace

Boarding is good for storage. Aircon will only cool the one room unless it's huge and expensive. You will need air movement to get heat out of the roof so some flow from below.

You will probably need planning permission to put a window in.

As per others - heat rises. We have rooms in the eaves and we leave windows and doors open there in heatwaves to allow heat to escape at night. Air con wouldn’t help the rest of the house.

My old flat was a studio with no bedroom but it did have a loft. My dad helped me insulate and line it with plasterboard. We replaced the fixed window with a small casement that could open and put in a wooden loft ladder. I was able to squish a double mattress up there and used it as a bedroom. I sold it as a studio with lined loft. I couldn't call it a bedroom as it didn't meet fire regs. It was pretty cheap to do. Having a proper staircase would have used a lot of my main living room.

Thanks so boarding it helpful but not air con but a window definatly to let heat escape .

Any ideas what it costs and the upheaval ?

No idea on cost, but have just been discussing this with a friend. Her lift is already converted, and she was saying that it was great at drawing the heat up and away from the floor below it, but only is she opened both velux windows, one each side of the house. That created a through draft, that the sucked more heat up the stairs. But it didn't work if there was only one window open. Heat rises, but only slowly. Having 2 windows opposite each other meant that the loft was sucking the heat up, like a good chimney.

99% sure that you need planning permission for loft windows.

I insulated my roof, plasterboarded it, had vents and velux windows installed. I put a large wooden ladder with big steps up to it. I then had boarding put down. It is a fantastic space but not usable as a proper room. Despite the insulation it still gets freezing in winter and boiling in summer. The rest of the time it's perfect. I didnt get any building regs but when I sell it will just be listed as a storage area.

I boarded out my loft, insulated it, floor strengthened, plasterboard it out, electrics put in, proper space saving staircase, velux window. Cost sbout £5k.

Its absolutely not masquerading as a living space, its storage plus. I desperately needed to free up up my 'spare ' bedroom and get stuff from under beds and tops of wardrobes.

For me its much more accessible and usable than a simple boarded out loft with a pull down ladder.
I'm up there most days for something, I have a heated airer up there for clothes drying in the winter which means I no longer have laundry cluttering up my living space.
And my cats treat it as their own personal bedroom.

Thanks at blue bell how much did it cost ?

Yes this is exactly what I want .I also feel sorry for work men having to jump up a ladder to get to our water tanks.

I never ever intended it to be used as any sort of living space I know this I don't know why posters jumped on this 😂

We had ours boarded with a decent ladder about 5 years ago for £2k. Had a velux replaced in a different bit and that was £1500. Might be more to get a new one put in though.

We boarded ours when we moved in and it made such a difference to the storage. We’re also thinking of fitting some vents so that the heat can escape..

@Ted27 btw was this down south and quite recently ?
What sort of company did it for you ?
Also will this mean any future proper renovation should be a little quicker and cheaper ?

@FoxandDuck how much please and what sort of company

Boarding is good and installation of a velux window might help heat escape, wouldn’t bother with aircon up there though. It’s definitely worth considering whether the cost of this would make a future conversion cheaper because it may not unless it’s done in a certain way

We had ours boarded a few years back, 4k, no window as I couldnt justify the cost and cant remember if it needed planning, couldnt be bothered although I would like a window

There is a LOT of stuff up there, OH is a hoarder. I make him take everything up there. Waiting for the ceilings to fall in quite frankly.

We leave the loft hatch open in hot weather to get the hot air to rise up into the loft.

There are different types of aircon, you can have an external compressor and room vents or you can individual units in the rooms. Just get it installed in the rooms you need.

Insulate the loft, that’s a pretty standard thing to do to keep the house warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

Ours is boarded (DIY decades ago) and we have a Ramsay loft ladder that I've gone up and down since childhood - it has deep treads so feels very stable.

https://www.ramsayladders.co.uk/ramsay-original-loft-ladder.html

I don't see how boarding would make it easier to do a loft conversion in future, as surely everything would be ripped out?

There's no point air conditioning a loft. Ours can get to 40 degrees in summer. A roof window will help with ventilation - we have one near the loft hatch which does draw up air from downstairs but I don't think helps cool the rest of the loft. A PP has suggested two windows on opposite sides of the roof to get a cross-draught, which sounds a good idea. No idea about cost - would a roofer need scaffolding? If so, that would be double for two sides.

@KentnotClarke

About 4 years ago. Im in the midlands. I just used a local builder as all the specialist companies cost an arm and a leg and wanted to do stuff I just couldn't afford or didnt want.
Whether any further development would be any cheaper is debatable- depends on the size and shape of your loft I suppose.
Mine is quite small, has no head height except in the middle and has two cross beams which make it unusable as anything more than storage space and can bedroom.
So I would need a dormer window plus structural work. The electrics are sufficient for a light and one socket so would enhancement. The only real plus I think is that the stairs are in the right place.

It was an expensive way to get more storage but I dont have a garage and an extension was beyond my finances. To me it was worth it. It gets used, the rest of the house is a lot less cluttered.