Loft conversion - worth it?

[Zapho]

Would really appreciate some opinions.

For various reasons, we might be able to afford to a loft conversion next year.

Our house has recently dropped in value by about £50k but we plan to stay here long term.

It's currently 3 bed, we don't essentially need a 4th bedroom but there are 4 of us, and an extra bedroom/toilet would be amazing (we only have one bathroom currently). I'm also tempted by the idea of it making our house warmer - it's an old Victorian terrace and while it heats up well, it loses heat quickly, and I've been told a loft conversion will help insulate it.

We're being quoted around £60k (have to lower ceilings; all in minus carpets, decorating and sanitary ware/tiling) and are in London outskirts (not technically London anymore).

Is this a ridiculous amount of money to spend? Is it worthwhile? Does the cost seem reasonable?

I don't think so. We are in Yorkshire and were quoted £40-50 for a loft conversion. Not having to lower any ceilings but would have needed a steel support beam and that was without any furnishings/bathroom suite.

(We are moving instead!)

If you are staying long term and you get a few quotes to make sure you are reasonably priced then as long as you as a family feel value to the extra space then that's what I would see it as.

If you are likely to move in say the next three years then maybe be a bit more hesitant.

Not sure how a loft conversion helps insulate? If you have high enough ceilings to have a good amount of "walking space" then it is a good way to extend. Consider how it will be heated - when we had ours done in previous house we were told that we could only have electric heaters up there as it was the same level as the water tank. however, we had a new boiler put in a couple of years later and we were told that we could have gas radiators as long as we had a pressurised heating system (sealed system that doesn't require a header tank above the level of the radiators -still a normal heating system not a combo boiler so fine for larger properties).

Wish we hadn't bothered with ours as the head height was borderline so the room didn't get used as much as we thought, however a friend with a higher roof loves hers. Mind you, the cost is a lot more these days! We are in the South and ours cost about £25k (no bathroom up there, just rooms) 12 years ago!

If you are living in the house long term, it's absolutely worth it. We are now technically 4 bedrooms but the old box room, which was a small but adequate, single, is now very small. However, the overall additional space is amazing. Dh and I have a large bedroom with en suite and kids are downstairs with their own bathroom. We have more storage space, so less clutter, particularly in our bedroom.

The second bathroom alone almost makes it worth it but the storage and larger bedroom come a close second.

Price sounds a little higher than what we paid, but not excessively so. We are in Surrey and paid about 50k, although hard to define as we did some other work at same time and then had to redecorate entire house as a result so the overall total was about £85k. We also spent a LOT extra on built in cupboards but they have been worth every penny.

We live on a road where lots of houses, including ours, have a loft conversion. Lots, including ours, are perishingly hot during in the summer. We have been talking to the roofer about how to try to insulate it without losing internal height or breaking any conservation area rules. But I would definitely advise considering its usability.

Durian, I think that's a good point. Our loft is fine because we have big doors (juliet balcony) with side windows and two velux windows on the other side. By leaving the doors and windows open it keeps it a lot cooler. But I know people who have had a problem if proper ventilation for the summer isn't put in up front.