Laying the foundations for a loft conversion

Zanne

Hello, I apologise in advance as I know similar questions have been asked so many times, but many of them were very old and/or simply not quite what I was asking.
We're considering a loft conversion, but there's much of it we could do ourselves, or have relations, etc, do. Therefore I'm looking for a rough idea of how much floor strengthening and a staircase will set us back, as obviously these things are both where we must begin and the things we wouldn't be comfortable attempting Also, does anyone know the likelihood of someone agreeing to do just these? I've heard many people will only get involved if they will be able to see it through.
Thank you in advance.

fluffpot

We've just finished ours, and got the builders to do the structural stuff (steels, stairs, roof etc). Some will do it, and as you'll want to get a few quotes anyway, just ask around and see

I don't actually think we saved much money (if any!) doing it this way as don't forget that loft companies specialise in this and can turn jobs around very quickly. However, it was important for us to get exactly the specialist features and finishes we wanted which they wouldn't have been able to do.

You also need to think about how you split the work in terms of responsibility/liability for items - that's why we went for the structure (outside) split so it was quite clear when BC signed off that stage. We also retained a small percentage until the final BC sign off just in case..

Good luck!

iamcornholio

Zanne wrote: »

..... I'm looking for a rough idea of how much floor strengthening and a staircase will set us back

They will set you back an initial £300 or so in engineers fees for the structural design calculations, as its not just a case of strengthening the floor and popping a flight of stairs in

Zanne

Thanks for the input.
I'm aware that I can't just pop in a staircase, but while my homework has graced me with this information, it's the actual cash side of things that is very vague (I know it varies a lot, but any numbers to start with is nice), hence my asking.
Cheers.

Zanne

No one else has any ideas?

Cheers.

latecomer

If it helps you can buy a basic straight stair for about £200 and we just paid around £2+vat/m of 150x50 C16 timber. the structural engineer said we to strength (i.e. double up) our existing 6" joists with 8" C16 or 7" C24 due to the size of the rooms.

Zanne

latecomer wrote: »

If it helps you can buy a basic straight stair for about £200 and we just paid around £2+vat/m of 150x50 C16 timber. the structural engineer said we to strength (i.e. double up) our existing 6" joists with 8" C16 or 7" C24 due to the size of the rooms.

Thank you, that is helpful =]