Approximate Cost of Loft Conversion

kittykatkat

We are interested in a house but the 3rd bedroom is fairly small. It is a 1960s/70s 3 bed semi-detached. The roof has a fairly high pitch and runs right to the side of the property, but the roof has trusses currently. Can anyone with building experience or past experience of having loft conversions done please give a rough cost of converting? From what I can tell and have read about, it would need to include:

- moving water tank and piping up to loft to create space where airing cupboard is
- build staircase from airing cupboard into the loft, up over existing staircase
- remove trusses and replace with steel beams
- dormer across length of rear of property, with 1 large window and 1 small window
- bathroom at top of the stairs, above existing bathroom
- main area would be a bedroom with its own door and storage into remaining eaves at the front


This is in the north of England and the current property value is c£220k.

Thanks.

kittykatkat

Nudge nudge

HappyMJ

kittykatkat wrote: »

Nudge nudge

What is the price of other properties on the same street that have had that conversion done? Is it worth it? There is one near me that has had a loft conversion from a 4 bedroom detached property with 2 bathrooms into a 6 bedroom property with 3 bathrooms and it is on the market for £210,000 however the original properties on the same street are available for £195,000. Is just isn't worth doing.

gazza975526570

Depends though doesnt it - if you need/want the room and are going to live there a long time then go for it. If you are doing it to increase value its probably less worthwhile unless you can get a very good price on the build.

macman

Anything from £20K to £35K? It's one of those 'how long is a piece of string questions', and depends how much of the work you can do yourselves, who will design and manage it, whether you are in a conservation area etc...
Assuming that steels are required, the conversion will require a new floor on top of those.

fluffpot

I managed to spent about 50K on mine - eek - but then it's a big loft, high spec and in London. The basic building work was around £30K. Don't forget the extras like - all the bathroom fittings, tiles, furniture, blinds etc, carpets, decorating - which will probably include all your hallway and first floor landing as well as the new loft part. I also had the outside of the house painted as it made sense while scaffolding was up. Oh and a new roof....

Hejo

This may be helpful if you havent already seen it

http://www.buildingsheriff.com/lofts/

will-he-payitoff

See what house you can get for £250-260K cos thats what you final cost will be.

jed35

I have gone through the process of employing builders to complete loft conversions on 3 Houses over the past 8-9 years. In terms of costs for a good quality job, this will give you a good idea.....

1.) £100 sqft for a Loft Conversion with Dormer
2.) £70 sqft for a Loft with No Dormer

On top of the above, add £3k-£5k for a Bathroom.

For London expect to pay an additional 20% premium.

Eg, my most recent Loft Conversion was 250 sqft had a wallplate Dormer and bathroom and cost £28,500. (This includes architect drawings and structural calculations and building regs approval and inspection fees).

NB. 250 sqft = 23 sq metre.

If you shop around you can probably shave 2k or 3k off these prices quoted and still get a nice loft. A lot of Lofters are just working for 'wages' rather than profit, just to keep themselves busy. A Lofter recently told me that it is not uncommon for people to get 5 quotes, so its a tough market, and Lofters won't get work unless their quotes are competitive.

Despite the cost of materials going up significantly, most Lofters are still quoting at the same price they were quoting at in 2005-2007.

xyz123

macman wrote: »

Anything from £20K to £35K? It's one of those 'how long is a piece of string questions', and depends how much of the work you can do yourselves, who will design and manage it, whether you are in a conservation area etc...
Assuming that steels are required, the conversion will require a new floor on top of those.

Thats right. two of our friends have had their loft done to a reasonable standard and it costed about £35 to £40k including fitted wardrobes. these aer prices for london so probably can take £5k off for north