Loft Conversion

SHEILA54

Hi

I am looking to extend my house by putting in a loft extension, the reason being that we need another bedroom for my daughter's extended family as they cannot afford to move to a place of their own.

My worry is that we had major subsidence 16 years ago and ended up with 4 different building companies on site as their work was substandard and they were sacked. This does not give me confidence when looking for a builder to undertake this work!!

I know that I need to apply for building regs and planning permission but can anyone tell me what I should be looking for/asking prospective builders? I have one recommendation from a friend but obviously need more quotes and am really worried that I will get rogue traders again.

We live in West Wickham, near Bromley and Croydon.

Thanks for your advice

star1_2

Hi,

I'm just undertaking a loft conversion myself - and live about 5 miles away from you, towards Purley !!!!

Before you start to get people in, it's worth assessing how easy it would be to convert the house. If you go to the Velux website (the company who make loft windows - you can find them easily by doing a search on Google), the have some very useful guides.

Next to find a good builder - I had my house sustancially extended about three years ago, I basically paid a builder to do the ground works and bricklaying, then I did the rest myself (floors, walls, doors, plumbing, ensuite, power (pre-part P), woodwork etc. - only getting someone in to do the plastering). The builder (someone I knew of already) was very good and did the work for a fair price, I've also modernisied and substancially upgraded 4 houses so have been well versed in the rest of the work required.

Since I had my work done, I've come accross neighbours and friends who have used other builders (some were extremply happy with them too), if you want to PM me, I'll forward their phone numbers so you can approach them directly.

You also mention planning - it's worth doing your homework on this and understanding the regulations (or talking to someone who does ....), the planner I used was appalling, as were a couple of other planners I spoke to .... in the end - I did most of the application myself.

Hope that helps, and hope to hear from you....