Loft conversion - has anyone had any experience

[shinyblackgrape]

We're thinking of having a loft conversion. We currently live in a semi-detached victorian house. We do have a proper stair case up to the top part of the house and have a bedroom and en suite up there which is at the back of the house.

However, there is loft space over the front bedrooms which we are looking at getting converted in to a bedroom/study with an en suite. We are currently getting quotes at the moment. However, I think I have been very naive about the amount of work and mess that there will be. For example, the builders have said they will have to lower the height of the ceilings in two of the bedrooms below - which is fine as they are really high. However, it never occured to me that it would have to be done.

Has anyone had a loft conversion done and was it worth it? Also, how liveable was the house etc during the process? We are assuming we will need to decamp to another room to sleep - probably the lounge whilst the bedroom ceilings etc are being done.

We had our loft done a year or so ago. We live in a 1930's semi. I found the house pefectly liveable during the work, most of the time the builders entered through a hole in the roof, so you don't see much of thedust etc, until the stairs go in. even then I didn't find it too bad, maybe because I was realistic about buliding work = dust!! We didn't have to have ceilings lowered though. A friend of mine did have to have her ceilngs lowered and chose to move out whilst this was done. And yes, it was definiely worth it!

Thanks - that is very helpful! We were going to change the carpets but the builder nearly had cornupations about that (quite rightly!) so now going to wait and do it all in one go.

Sorry - one final question. We were thinking of getting three quotes. Does that sound about right or did you get more?

We got three quotes. They all were around the same price.

I think we actually just got one quote, we saw a firm we liked (a loft conversion specialist), looked at some of their other work and it was very good, and their quote was reasonable so we went for it.

We were away for the work; it wouldn't have made the house unliveable but it made a LOT of dirt, throughout the house, even in places that were apparently far away from the conversion.

It was totally worth it because it meant we didn't have to move to a bigger house at the top of the market. In terms of the value of the house, it will have added what it cost or slightly less, but since it meant we could stay here and didn't have all the moving costs it will have made financial sense even if it actually makes back less than it cost us to do.

I love it. Despite having lowish ceilings it's actually one of the nicest rooms in the house; it has nice views, which I hadn't anticipated.

I'd say you can live when the work is getting done.

My dad started converting our loft when I was 13ish. I was 30 this year and it still isn't quite finished yet