So who's had a LOFT CONVERSION???

[allycotownofbethlehem]

owing to the fact that my DH can't keep his hands off me and I am pg again unless we have a loft conversion I don't have anywhere for the new baba to sleep.

I need all the nitty gritty gory details about what to expect and a rough idea of what I'll pay (if that's not too personal a question)and how long these things take.

Thank you ladies!

We're in the throes of one at the moment!
The actual build is about 6 weeks for us though the whole process (architect, plans, planning permission, building warrant) has taken close to a year. We are putting an ensuite (tiny but fab) in ours and it's ballpark £15k. We may be more expensive cos we've had a dormer put in as part of the process.
HTH

Had a big one recently - two big rooms plus a bathroom.

Expect to employ your own arhitect if it's complex, or if working with the builders, double check all the layouts/ details etc - they don't think about how you will use the space! DH drew it all out in 3D on graph paper .

We budgeted £45k for the build + an additional £8-£10k for decoration/ furniture etc...
It did include a gable end conversion + a proper dormer and lots of Velux windows...

10 -12 weeks

Love it........

I'm interested in doing this but I don't want to lose a bedroom for the stairs.
Where do you put the new stairs in a loft conversion?

I had one done about 18 months ago. One large master bedroom (22'x12'), nursery (9'x6'), shower room (9'x9') - all measurements floor space. Took about 6 weeks. No dormer. Just over £20k for building works to 'decorating ready'. Very little disruption to the main house as they took all materials in through the roof (via scaffold). Only other thing to budget for is the vast quantity of teabag, milk and sugar needed to keep the builders happy

What kind of house do you need to be able to have one?

Avalon - depends on the shape/ layout of your house. Most common way is to run them directly above your existing staircase if that's possible - you may have to put a dormer in to get the height though. This is what we did.
The biggest issue for us was putting in a dormer which a) the council would approve (live near conservation area) and b) wasn't an ugly falt-roofed one...

I think it's important to think about how the conversion affects the 'look' of your property - there's no point adding a room but making your house look pig-ugly as a result IMHO !

"flat-roofed"......

Also architect about £800, building inspections about £200 - I didn't need planning consent but would guess this also adds to the cost.

Thanks, Gameboy.

ditto gameboy

don't forget that you have to redorate the landing, stairs and hall as they are effected when they put the new stairs in....

blimey Avalon - 45k??? I had thought about 25 at the most...

If I'm going to have it done and I think I have to, then I need it before April when DB arrives.
I don't know anyone local who's had one and can recommend anyone so I guess it's trawl through the Yellow Pages?

How did you choose your "tradesmen" ladies?

oops I meant blimey Gameboy!!

Bruce Forsyth

xmasspub - where are you? 15k is about the most I want to spend, but I'm worried it's going to be more.

We had one done early this year and judging by some of the posts here, we were completely taken for a ride in terms of the time it took . But happily, the cost seems to be similar We had restrictions because our house is a listed building within a conservation area. Also, our house is tiny, so the room is medium-sized and no en suite All in all, the job took the best part of 5 months. No I'm not joking. I was pg at the time and thank god it didn't affect my bp, but I broke a few plates in the process!! It took so long because the same company also did our neighbours loft at the same time and basically spent a week with us an week with them etc thus dragging the whole thing out practically indefinitely. We ended up paying around 45K as well, all finished, decorating, carpets etc. it inpacted onto the whole of the upstairs due to various fire regulations, those rooms needed extra fire proofing...

Good luck!

we are looking into having one at the mo.

Approx cost £33k - will have a large bedroom and separate (not en suite) bathroom. 1 large dormer window in bedroom, velux in bathroom.

We've paid an architect to draw up the plans as we live in a conservation area where getting loft conversions through planning is v tricky.

we worked out this is considerably cheaper than moving elsewhere (we're in london) to get the additional space we need.

It cost that much because I live in an expensive area! It would have cost us at least 200K to buy the next house size up, so it was a bargain!

Yes - I know ours sounds expensive, but some of the same things applied as others have posted:

• added more value than the cost to our house immediately
• we had 6 velux windows and specially made french windows
• spent £3500 alone on flooring
• didn't scrimp on bathroom suite etc

You can definitely do it for less - friends of ours did a nice one bed with ensuite for about £30-£35.

Given the size of ours I think we got fair value for money tbh.

Where in the UK are you allycot?

I see Gameboy - you're posh

We're in the north-east - had a quick look in Yellow Pages and it seems there are about three million loft conversion places/builders who do it/atchitects etc. Thois is one of those times when I wish I knew someone who could say "so and so did mine and they were brill"

Hi I wish I could have read this thread before I did mine, I was totally in the dark, however it all turned out well! I?m preparing for my 4th baby and have just had a loft conversion done to make an extra bedroom. I paid builders 11.5K (cash) as they had just finished an identical one next door which looked excellent quality to me. They did all the work in 2-3 weeks (they don't like juggling jobs unlike most builders) and even walked my dog when I wasn?t there! Not sure all builders are so trustworthy but I played on my pregnancy a lot! For that I have a new (tile) roof with 2 velux windows (no dormer) and all insulation, partitioning, plastering, floorboards, electrics (spotlights and power but no heating ? not really necessary as heat rises, haven?t resorted to a heater yet this year despite the snow). I have proper staircase (not a ladder!) and a balustrade around the top, my house is long and narrow so I had the space on my landing to avoid losing a bedroom to do it. The underneath of the stairs takes about a foot out of my bedroom. We didn't need planning permission as it doesn't change appearance of the house but it isn?t building regs but I?m not bothered ? I?m sure the rest of my old house isn?t either! I think the staircase should have been a bit bigger/thicker floorboards and fire doors all throughout ? I have installed an extra smoke detector. We couldn't have afforded the extra time/money. My ex-h is a surveyor and was quite happy with it as being safe for the kids to sleep in. Luckily I still have half the roof space left as a loft.

Oh the room is about 15ft square with two sloping walls and 2-3 ft wide flat bit in the middle (with spotlights). Dp is 6'5'' and he would actually be fine using it as a bedroom.