Please, please could some people tell me how much they paid for their loft conversions...?!

[yosammitysam]

We want to convert the loft in the house we have just moved into. I have spent several weeks trying to get quotes done which has been a bit of a nightmare as builders haven't returned my calls etc and we are still waiting (2weeks on from their visits) for 2 quotes to arrive in the post. There is one company (recommended by a friend) who have been totally reliable and efficient and helpful. They give a guaranteed price and it includes absolutely everything and they sort out planning/building regs etc. We have paid an initial £1k deposit but a friend of mine thinks their quote is way too expensive. I just don't have a clue what the 'average' price is. I don't mind paying a bit more because they seem good but she reckons loft companies charge about 30% more than builders do. Is this true?! We really need the loft doing asap and with the kids driving me mad and my husband flat out at work it just seems the easy option.... Now don't know what to do!!!!

We had a loft done 7 years ago. ~We had 3
quotes, 18k, 26k and 34k.

We went with the middle quote but after adding on the ensuite fittings, lights and all the bits and bobs, the total spent came to aroung 33-34k.

Why don't you look around your road and ask the neighbours (the ones with loft conversions) how much their one cost and if worth recommending. That is what we did.

We had a large loft extension (I say this not to show off but because the house is double-width so there was more expensive RSJs involved etc)three years ago - it was just under 30k to plaster finish using a specialist firm. We had two other quotes for #35ish. We live in London which may or may not be relevant to you.

Well ours has been about £50k, but that's including two bedrooms, bathroom, corridor and balcony, and the builder buggering off leaving us with no roof and lots of problems, and we've done lots of repairs to the front of the house while the scaffolding was up

If the loft company guarantee that they will do all the paperwork to confirm that the work meets building regs and planning reqs, and includes skirting boards, plastering etc, it may well be worth it to have a group who all know what they're doing and not having to wait for the plasterer/electrician/plumber all the time.

We were quoted £35k about two years ago - that was a complete quote from design through to final light fittings etc. We didn't go ahead, and are now in a 4 bed, 3 storey Victorian house and have just had a specialist loft company to quote - and they've said £35k - even though the staircase is in situ and it's just a remodel of what is already there....

Depending on the size of your house, and from talking to several people around here who have had lofts done - either from scratch or, like us, have remodelled - it's about 35-45k.

38 k five years ago but did not include the bathroom or decoration - that came to about another 5k. Included all scaffolding, skips, drawings, plumbing, radiators, electrics, plastering, joinery, roofing, French windows, balcony etc. Good loft companies are worth it as they really know what they're doing - getting it all sorted out separately with builders etc would be really hard work and not necessarily cheaper.

Just finished ours. £30k for 1 bedroom with Juliette balcony and en-suite.

Thank you so, so much- that is all really helpful. I thought around 30k was probably about average- unfortunately no one on the street has had a loft conversion done so we haven't got a direct comparison for prices etc. The quote we have got is £34,500 for 2 single bedrooms in the loft (double dormer across the back) and also includes dividing a current bedroom in half to create a study and bathroom (we have a downsatairs bathroom at the mo). The only thing the quote doesn't include is the actual bathroom suite and decorating- but absolutely everything else is covered and its a guaranteed price . I thought it seemed pretty good and it's the same price the friend who recommended the company paid. Also, as barbarapym says, because they are a specialist loft company they seem to completely know what they are doing and are really on the ball- which I think is really important because all the building regs/planning laws seem to change so frequently. It's just that a friend (who is a small scale developer) said she paid her builder £25k for a loft conversion recently. I don't think that can have covered everything though. I'm too scared to ask though just in case it did! I have afeeling that was just for the basic building work and she must have hired electricians, plumbers etc seperately which I feel would be a bit of a headache. Anyway, the surveyor is coming today so there's no going back! It's exciting!

We had ours done 4 years ago for £26K included everything, we had one large room and ensuite. We live in cheltenham, not sure where you live this may make a difference.

We just paid £27k for ours, but it's only one (huge) room and we didn't put a bathroom in. Plus we did the building control stuff ourselves, though I think their quote would have included it, plus the plans, if we hadn't had them already.

lalalongs legs, who did you use please for your loft. I am in West London and we are need the loft doing in our house we are buying

They've gone bust since .

Mate has just paid £38K for a very basic conversion - SE London - and it's a nice job. Two bedroom and bathroom - not including plumbing.

£33 K ish for a massive loft room with 2 velux windows, balcony, en suite and some re design of the second floor (including lowering the bathroom ceiling and window) to accomodate the conversion. Re wiring and all plumbing, plastering included. That was about 4 years ago.
We got 3 quotes and the highest was £75K !!

Just over 20k, but it was just one big room, 3 velux windows , electric and plastering. Needed a custom built staircase, all building regs etc were sorted too. We are in Cheshire. Your quote seems reasonable to me tbh.

We've just been quoted £15k for ours (we've used builder lots in past so totally trust him to come in within budget).

The central heating and wiring has already been run up there and it is just going to be a bedroom and study area (no bathroom). We are having two lots of velux put in front and back and quote includes everything to make the rooms fully functioning, including a bespoke staircase.

Ours doesn't include a bathroom in the loft, just two bedrooms, but it does include installing a bathroom on the second floor (we are dividing a bedroom in half to create a bathroom and study). It seems so strange to me that there is so much variation in price.... We are in Kent.

SW London 2 beds and a bath - quote 38K acutual without decoration was 45 K.
All quotes were between 38 and 42 K. The builder quote was hte most expensive and they were not as confident I would say, on what could be done.

Should have added we are in Surrey.

Also got quotes for same job a couple of years back - all more than double this one. My builder said most builders are being a "little more realistic" about pricing this year!