Starting a loft conversion need advice

[fishtank12345]

I have a loft. It needs converting in stages due to limited funds. So an ongoing project.

I have no way to put stairs in unless we cut a hole in one of the kids bedrooms. We will have a pull down ladder at first. Is thar enough access for work men.

It is a bare shell. It doesn't even have insulation or a window.

Is it best to put a window in before insulation? How much is an average loft window installation.

I know I need to plan it but since, my head is all over the place, and its needing done in stages, I am confused on where to start.

Has anyone else did this and diy some parts?

How much upheaval is it as my youngest is petrified of work men in the place. How long for each stage roughly.

I know we need the floor strengthened likely as well.

So loft ladder, insulation, window , boarding and flooring as first stage.

Room will eventually be a hang out space for kids and the family. So needs to take weight.

We live in a maisonette ( upstairs downstairs flat) so the loft room will be on the 3rd floor.

What does your lease say? Will the freeholder agree to this work? You will almost definitely need steels put in to support the floor, will there be sufficient head room, over a large enough area without a dormer. it's not going to be cheap and is probably not worth doing,

I'm not sure why Somersetbaker says it's not worth doing. It sounds a fairly standard basic loft conversion. What is your end plan? A proper stair case and dormer window? And what are you wanting to use if for short term? If it is just storage then just adding the floor, electrics and insulation may be enough for a first stage.

Im in Scotland we dont have a lease thing here? I only have 7k currently to get as far as I can in stages. I think I will get a builder out to check.

Hang out space play room etc just extra room for the family.

I think unless you're a qualified builder yourself you're going to need expert advice and to hire a professional builder to plan it and execute for you. You don't want to just nail down some boards until you know the ceiling below can hold weight. You don't want to risk putting in a window without assessing the roof or you could end up with leaks. Then there are standards around electricity to get power, light and heat up there. Also if I recall from ours (a good while ago), there are quite stringent fire regs so you need a fire door at the top or bottom. I think get some quotes in for the whole job and request a breakdown for each section to make more accurate plans. I'm sorry to sound negative but I don't think £7k will get much with the cost of materials and labour at the moment.

It's also worth having a look round to see what your neighbours have had done. Especially if you know any of them well enough to ask to go inside. I'm also planning a loft extension and couldn't work out where stairs could possibly go until a neighbours house went on sale and I could see their floorplan.

I agree that getting a couple of builders out to give opinions on what is possible is worth while.

Thanks. I know its not enough money, and since it's a lot to us maybe I need to just think of something else.

I think the first thing to do is spend money getting some proper plans drawn up and check if you need planning permission and get building regulations. Not sure if those are both equivalent in Scotland.
Next thing would be to pay to get a proper staircase put in. Then, if the joists are strong enough and the ceiling is high enough, you can insulate the floor and board out the floor yourself. Then pay someone to come and put windows in. Then you can insulate the ceiling and put any internal walls in and run cables for the electricity or get an electrician out. Then board out the walls with plasterboard and then pay a plasterer to plaster them. Then you can get the electrician back to put all the sockets and stuff in properly and you can decorate and then you are done.
Insulation isn't cheap and neither will a staircase be. If you don't have the space for a proper staircase then you can just do all the other bits but it won't be a very easily usable space and depending on the age of your kids, it could be pretty dangerous.

I’d second making sure you comply with building regs and get a certificate from a local authority. This could cause problems in the future if you come to sell the property. It’s over 20 years since we got ours done but I can remember it added hundreds to the cost.

You'll need proper plans submitted by an architect to building control. You really can't do it as a DIY job.

Have you checked your deeds? There's some good info here: https://underoneroof.scot/the-loft-who-owns-it/

You'll need building control approval for which you'll need plans and a structural engineer's calculations. It's not really a DIY job.

We did a staged loft project as well, so I completely understand how overwhelming it feels at the beginning. Doing it in sections is fine, especially when money is tight, but it really helps to get the order right so you do not undo work later.

A pull down loft ladder is absolutely fine for trades during the early stages. Builders, window installers and electricians use them all the time. It is only when you reach the point of creating a proper room that you really need a permanent staircase, so do not worry about that yet.

Before you start spending money on insulation or flooring, it is worth getting a structural engineer to look at the space. Maisonettes often have lightweight joists, and they are not strong enough for a room. The engineer will tell you what needs strengthening and will also help you work out where a staircase could go in the future. Cutting through one of the children’s bedrooms is very common in flats and maisonettes because there is rarely a landing you can use.

For the order of work, the roof window is usually installed before the insulation. Installers need access to the roof, and the insulation has to be fitted around the window opening, so you are not doing anything twice. A standard Velux with installation usually comes in around £1,200 to £1,800, depending on size and how easy it is to access the roof.

there's a few places with the prices on Velux, here's two I got quotes through;

https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/loft-conversion-cost/

and then from:

https://www.loftcompare.co.uk/velux-loft-conversion-costs

These guys had a decent calculator too was pretty accurate,

Once the structural work and the window are done, you can move on to first fix electrics, insulation, boarding and finally flooring. Doing it in this sequence makes sure nothing has to be pulled out again. You can definitely DIY some parts like laying insulation, painting and doing the finishings, but I would leave the structural work and electrics to professionals.

In terms of disruption, the messiest part is strengthening the floor and fitting the window. After that, most of the work happens inside the loft, so the rest of the home stays fairly calm. If your youngest is scared of tradespeople, you can break the work into short chunks so it isn't continuous activity.

You can’t just DIY a loft. It needs to comply with the building regulations in terms of structure, resistance to fire, sound, insulation and ventilation.

The floor will need strengthening and the roof will likely need a structural ridge beam. You can’t have a loft ladder for access, and you need a fire strategy for the whole property to allow for occupants at all levels to escape.

Even if it’s not a bedroom, any sort of habitable use is notifiable. Not doing this is a criminal offence and can also invalidate your home insurance.

The workers won't be in the house much, they will put up scaffolding on the outside and take the tiles off and dismantle the roof from above. Then they will put on steel beams and a new roof structure before placing a new roof covering.
At some point they will start the hole for the stairs and the scaffolding can come down but you could pay extra scaffolding hire and get them to go in that way for the whole fit out.
I think your issue will be that you'll need to do drawings and calculations first which will cost a chunk, then once you have that, the next logical point to stop would be once the roof is back on and you have a shell up there. That would be 20k easily.
Then you add the wall structures floor boards and first and second fix when funds allow, that can be done as and when.

It cost us £4k to have our loft boarded out for storage.
There’s no way you’re getting a habitable room for £7k
Plus I doubt you’ll find anyone happy to take on a loft conversion “in stages”, apart from a dodgy builder, maybe.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/5443543-partial-loft-conversion?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

Hi OP, I’ve renovated three houses, with one loft conversion done in 2021. I can tell you that it’s a lot of stress and upheaval even when you have the funds to get it all complete in one go, let alone if you’re doing it in stages.

I don’t think your idea to do it in multiple stages will work. Builders won’t want to pick up where someone else left off, especially if it’s been started on the cheap. The end result won’t be worth it. As I’ve said with every renovation we’ve done; do it well or don’t do it at all. One, because a cheap job won’t yield a good end product, and two, because it will have increased odds of causing you stress and more work in the future.

£7k isn’t anywhere near enough; can you consider moving instead to get the space you want? In today’s market, it’s much more cost effective.

I started this thread as I’m looking to do similar but already have space for a staircase to be knocked through and velux in situ. I’ve still been quoted £30k!