Loft Conversion

gingerdad

Our neighbour has a leak and is looking at re roofing his house and has asked us if we want ours doing, which as when we bought the house we were told it had 10 years life in it and that was 12 years ago. It'll need doing soon 1935 original tiles.

So at the same time we are thinking of converting the loft to a bedroom with ensuite and I'm looking for an idea of cost and if we need planning permission

1935 3 bed semi with no special area conditions like conservation area.

We will need to put stairs in and was hoping to pinch a bit of DD2 large bedroom.

The structure of the eaves is such we shouldn't need to change then it goes in and c shape round the roof so a useable area already exists.

But any ideas of ball park costs or things we need to think about. Got a couple of local builders coming to quote next week.

KennyH1

Loft conversions are harder to cost than general extensions as you have a general structure I place already.

The main items of work are - Stairs, insulation of floor/ flooring, insulation of roof plus any rooflights, connection of water / services to roof space.

Also you have to be aware of height requirements for loft conversions such as height required for standing at a WC / Basin and minimum height while sat in bed etc. (check BRegs).

If you do go ahead with it then obviously its a lot easier to get materials in to the roof when the works are being undertaken for yours / and your neighbours roof.

Littleweedj

Also depends on which part of the country you are in, so costs would vary.

As a very rough guide I've just had a quote for a loft conversion very similar to yours and estimate was £23,000 for large bedroom with en suite. This didn't include architect or council building control fees.

The builder suggested underfloor heating rather than central heating radiators as advised this would be cheaper to run.

gingerdad

Thanks for your replies we are up north, south cumbria.

Was thinking around the 25k mark. Had a local builder who I trust round yesterday so will see what price he comes back with.

cyclonebri1

You probably aren't too far off with that.

Be aware though of all the regs, and that your 4" soon to be floor joists, will likely have to be increased to 9", ie, you will lose another 6"of headroom by the time the floor is down.

Shouldn't think you require planning unless you are putting dormers in.

givememoney

Well our daughter has just had one nearly completed and because we live in London hers has cost £40K

This is for a bedroom and shower room with basin and WC.

They have learnt from this experience. They didn't do all the following but wish they had.

• Get builder to sign to an agreement with you that you only pay for work completed in stages as and when it is completed to your satisfaction.

• Remember you are the boss, it is your money and they are working for you not the other way round.

• Also set a time limit for completion of the job and if it is not finished in that time you can deduct an amount off for each day or in the case of my daughter weeks over due

• Do not assume because they are supposed to know how to complete finishing off to a high standard they will. As tiresome as it sounds, you must be behind them checking everything.

• SIL went up on the roof and discovered cracket cement and after suffering countless leaks into the bedrooms below a hole large enough to get your fist through.

• Make sure the contract states they will make good any damage they cause. In their experience they try to get out of things like " the decorator can fix that" no he can't as he will charge extra when they have done the damage.

• Daughter and SIL have come to conclusion that their builders anyway, have a couple of levels of workmanship. That is if you don't say anything they take short cuts but if you complain they fix it.

• Make sure everything is recorded in writing maybe via email as SIL for instance was sure the radiator in the shower room was in the price and they tried to charge for it. He looked back over the paper work and found they had indeed agree to pay.

Her extension was supposed to be complete end of May and is still not quite finished off.

Having said all this it looks very nice but of course they wouldn't recommend the builders because of all the niggley faults which luckily SIL has spotted, trying to charge again for items which were included in the price and taking much longer than expected to finish the job.

Good luck!!

jed35

Some very good advice above. As ever, always try and use someone who has been recommended and go and have a look at a couple of lofts they have completed.

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 15% premium.

Eg, my most recent Loft Conversion was 250 sqft had a wallplate Dormer and bathroom and cost £28,500.

A local Estate Agent will be able to tell you whether you will get back your money when you come to sell.

BaileyB

Is the Sqft just width x length and not height etc?

cyclonebri1

BaileyB wrote: »

Is the Sqft just width x length and not height etc?

Yes, and yes as it was too short;)

DevilDamo

KennyH1 wrote: »

Also you have to be aware of height requirements for loft conversions such as height required for standing at a WC / Basin and minimum height while sat in bed etc. (check BRegs).

The only part in the Building Reg's that refers to heights is above the staircase. The Building Reg's do not specify heights in Bathrooms, etc... That's more general practice/design.