Adding a loft conversion- worth it?

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Our house is big enough for our small family (3) but I think our roof needs doing and it got me thinking about having a loft conversion. We have a 3 bed semi in an ok ish area probably worth about 550k now ( south east) just wondered whether adding a loft conversion will cost a fortune and will we make that back or not? Any experiences..

I added one but about 8 years ago. It probably cost about what it added to the value but I don’t think that would be the same situation now.

it was worth it for me because I went from 2 to 3 bed. Depends if you ‘need to’ and I’m not sure it sounds like you do.

Unlikely you would make the value back. But if you're not planning to move anytime soon then ultimately a 4-bed house will be worth more than a 3-bed, so any % increase over time will be a greater amount.

I don’t think it necessarily makes you any money, ours has added less to the value than it cost but it has stopped us having to pay moving costs as DC have grown into teenagers and given us more space. I guess it depends on the ceiling price in your area.

We didn't need a loft conversion but like you the roof needed doing and it seemed like a good idea. Think it was one of the best renovations we've done . Won't pretend it wasn't messy & dirty, dusty as hell and so cold at times. Took about 4 months as added full bath room as well as creating huge bedroom/sitting area. Lived there for a further 6 yrs and loved having that space to use. Don't know what it actually added to the house price v cost but made selling very easy as people came up there & fell in love. Still miss the glorious sunsets and views over the roof tops.

I think it also depends on the size of your living area downstairs and if you've got enough bathrooms for a 4 bedroom house. Houses can become too top heavy and people who need 4 bedrooms also need more living space. You probably won't get any change out of 6 figures for a loft conversion, not to mention the disruption while it's being carried out and if you'd even be able to live in the house for the duration of the works.

I would say not, but it depends a lot on the area and extension.

When you add a loft extension you very often increase the bedroom space but of course don't increase your living space. So your house becomes unattractive against similar houses that have living space consistent with the bedroom space. Basically you reduce your market to "financially challenged" large families who don't have enough money to afford the extra living space but need the bedroom space. There have been a couple of houses on here like it.

I would think carefully about how much it would cost to patch the roof.and move vs, the cost of a loft extension.

Snap.

I’d probably get the house valued by an estate agent and then ask them about any increase in value in loft. Then get some builders quotes, at least 3.

our loft cost circa £100k and has added around that or just a little more on. South east. We did it because we wanted to stay here at least another 5-8 years

We paid £75k including Vat and painting/decorating and more expensive clay tiles rather than concrete. In London, standard 1930s semi. Got 2 extra bedrooms and bathroom so went from a 2.5 bed/1 bathroom (2 doubles+ box room) to 4 double bed bed/2 bath. Would have been 4.5 bed but we got rid of the box room to get a wider staircase and 1st floor landing rather than lose space in the larger bedrooms. Also meant it’s more balanced as we have 2 bedrooms and a bathroom on both floors, and 2 reception rooms downstairs too.

We made our money back instantly as remortgage accounts for extra floor space added and we also added a bedroom/bathroom. It took 3 months and we did it over winter as it was much cheaper, it was only 10 days without a roof so manageable and didn’t get the house as dusty as I thought - our builders dust proofed well. We’ll be living here for the next 10 years due to schools so was absolutely worth it for us as we’ve now got exactly the house we wanted.

Just to say this was done late last year so we avoided the covid overpricing too.

I'd do this too.

We had a few estate agents value our place and builders estimate and the cost would have surpassed the ceiling price of the house.

So we didn't proceed.

Also SE.

We did this in our last property and we had it valued before the works was done and then after - we had no intention to sell at that point, we were just intrigued.

The conversion was completed at the same time as we had other major renovation works done to the house - back in 2004/2005. We did it because although we had plenty of living space, I wanted a home office and also an additional bedroom/loft room as we had a real good seaview!

The loft conversion works cost us all in all approximately £75k but this was 20 years ago and we had a high spec finish. Before we had any works completed, the property was valued at £130,000, it was valued at £275,000 after the works were done.

We sold in January 2025 for £485k so the answer to your question is - yes it is potentially worth it.

My advice to you is to do your homework and get quotes first - Don’t go for the cheapest as this may become expensive. Go for a reputable builder.

My DS bought a house with a loft bedroom. Can't call it a conversion because it was built that way, but it is a third storey. It is superking large and has its own bathroom and the fire door etc.

He bought it because he could get a lodger at a decent rate if he wanted to and it was, in part, a hedge against unknown interest rate changes.

Did it add to the property in ££££? Yes I'd say having 3 doubles and 2 bathrooms probably added 10k over a two storey with 1 bathroom 3 bedroom two doubles and one single/box room.

I have no idea about relative costs and values but bear in mind that a loft conversion will reduce the pool of buyers when you eventually come to sell. Some people will not consider properties with LC's.

I’ve never heard of people being put off by a loft conversion. I had mine done 7 years ago which changed my home from a 2-bed to a 3-bed. It cost £40k (midlands) and it’s definitely been worth it.

We are. But this Google AI stuff is quite good. Try putting the following into Google:

"are people put off buying a house with a loft conversion"

We did both a ground floor extension and loft conversion with a company called Home Tales, it was a big undertaking but the loft really has been a life saver for us. My husband works from home so we decided one of the additional rooms should be his office and that alone might have saved our marriage getting his laptop off my kitchen table! It also gave us the room for a proper second bathroom rather than the small toilet we were going to look into for the first floor. I'm hoping overall our investments will have raised the house value, we aren't looking to sell for a good few years but the quality of life improvement has been more than worth it.