£60k for a loft conversion???? +++

[winkywinkola]

So we've been quoted this for a standard loft conversion plus £15k per dormer window we might want to add on. Our loft isn't at all massive. It would be a good double bed with small shower ensuite.

We live in Bucks.

Is this reasonable? I'm shocked.

We're SW London and did a conversion in our Victorian terrace, adding a good-sized bedroom and en suite. Off the top of my head build costs, including architect, building regs, planning permission and project management was around £38k.

Bathroom fixtures and fittings, tiling, decoration, carpets throughout 1st floor (2 beds, 2 flights of stairs, landing) and the new loft bedroom plus built-in cupboards/storage in the new room all took it to just over £55k I think.

£60k for the build alone sounds steep!

Just had one done for a third of that price!!!

Unless you're idea of 'isn't at all massive' is bigger than mine it sounds like a lot to me.

Phew. I thought I could be being tight!

Ours was £60k but we're detached and it was basically a whole new roof with full width dormer at the back. We had a number of quotes and they were all similar although one was £100k!!! Just get lots of quotes in! We're in the SE.

Oh and £60k included vat...

The quotes keep coming in. All £60k+!

Apparently there is a real shortage of construction workers so those that are a available can bump up their labour costs.

Ours was similar but that was because the loft space didn't give enough head clearance. We had to remove the roof and replace at a new angle.

We're in SE London and having a double gable and one dormer which is about 20ft x 30ft a bathroom with plumbing but no fittings, walk in robe, roof lift (as height too low) and steels, staircase and plastering and electrics but no decoration, a tin hat for the duration of build, cost £53k Inc VAT we have to pay extra for bathroom fittings and flooring. Work due to start next spring. We got three quotes for identical work. The most expensive was £92k.

We are in Surrey- converting loft to include 2 X bedrooms, bathroom and dressing room- was amazed at quote for £47k all in with Surrey Lofts. Signed up immediately! But shows you could def get done for less. I think go for a huge loft specialist firm that do 10s a month, they have exact suppliers/firms they work with know lofts conversions inside out and thus can get it done quickly reducing their costs.

I'm getting quotes at the moment,we are mid terrace and having a dorma and it will be a bedroom plus ensuite. Haven't had any prices yet but my friend has just had one down the road for £40k. She said all the quotes were about the same.
Have you had a quote from Econoloft?Lots of my neighbour's have used them. I believe they work all over.

I doubt you can get away with less that 35k plus vat.Addtional costs are scaffolding and tin roof to protect from bad weather, these can add 10k.materials such as insulation and skips are really expensive .Do you know how much steel is being used? Standard stairs?

Is the quote just for build only?

Keep shopping around, we found a local builder who put together the trades and it worked out around 50k.

You're basically messing around with your roof which plays a massive part in holding the walls up. The cost will reflect the fact that the structural integrity of the house needs to be maintained. Loft conversions are more expensive in comparison to a ground floor extension as it's not a case of just sticking some plaster board up with a few sockets. You could ask the builder to break down the quote to understand if there is scope to reduce the cost.

We found our ground floor extension we did seven years ago far more expensive than the same area for our loft we will be doing next year mainly due to the expense of foundations.

Anyone used Econoloft?

I haven't used Econoloft however a friend who used a company that used different teams had a very different experience from the person who had recommended their firm to them. If you do use such a company try to find out if you can get the same project manager and key site team.
We're using a company that is a local builder who does one project at a time and is highly regarded. He has done a neighbour's loft and will be doing someone else in our street after us.

We have a loft conversion by Loftplan, it was about 25k (big double bed room and nice bathroom, stairs had to be put in plus 3 windows, not dormers though)

It is super deluxe, but the reason it was cheaper is maybe that we had a very high roof pitch, so no need for dormers/roof changes?

we are in Hants btw

I've had some quotes now OP.
Most expensive is Outlook Lofts at £43,800,
Then Selcom at 40,848 and Econoloft at £35,488. My neighbour used Econoloft and he was happy,also some other friends are using them at the moment. However,I did a Mumsnet search on them and there were some scathing reviews.
I wasn't keen on Selcom,they provide the shower room stuff including tiles but I didn't like them,of course you can choose your own.
South London lofts came today and are sending a quote tomorrow.
I think £43k will be too much for us as not much left for the decorating and carpentry in our budget.

We're having ours done (not started construction yet - finalising party walletc so should be soon) our quote was quite a bit over 40k so with everything included, decorating, bathroom etc we've budgeted 50k. This is for nw london, terraced house will get dormer, 2 bedrooms and bathroom in the loft

Typically company charge for loft conversion in london around £45k. There are some other companies that charge a bit less more like £35k. Then you have to take a look at the reviews about the company. Some of these companies often then charge you more later on e.g unforeseen circumstance, Building expenses.

Other day I was reading about company review and there was customer who expressed that he had to constantly chase the company as they were not doing the work and he have to be around all the time because as soon he leaves they would do sloppy job. In the end it cost him more than those people who quoted 10k more.

Yes. I'm thinking £45-£50k seems to be the norm. That's fine.

Now cheesed off because the builders I want have a 14 month waiting list. Everybody is building up rather than moving.

Does a loft conversion add a good amount in value to a house then? Covers the cost of the extension?

Adding a bedroom will always add value. A kitchen extension not always.

That sounds a lot. We just built a first floor extension to add an additional double bedroom and large shower room. It is costing just under 60K. But that has involved completely taking off the roof and building walls to full height as there was nowhere near enough space. 5 months work. We are in a pretty pricey part of the SE (house worth £1mill+). Shower room fittings and all redecoration incl.