What makes a loft 'habitable'?

Furts

sevenhills wrote: »

When I use Eco Lofts web site, with 'habitable space' at the top, it has the option of a loft ladder, with loft ladder = £15,749, without loft ladder £15,399
That is for my 25sqm, with no electrics and lighting. So I think the web site a total waste of time.
It may be of use, if you just want a price for boarding out you loft for storage.

Step back a moment and analyse this crazy situation. A habitable space has to have access because without it there cannot be the concept of habitable. To make it habitable it needs proper, fixed, safe, stairs. Hence your post is quoting nonsense - habitable cannot be via a ladder, and it cannot be habitable by not providing access. The costs you quote are also nonsense because they apply to a concept of total bo--ocks.

Ecolofts have been on this forum before, and they did not receive praise! You have, hopefully, had a lucky escape.

sevenhills

Furts wrote: »

The costs you quote are also nonsense because they apply to a concept of total bo--ocks.
Ecolofts have been on this forum before, and they did not receive praise! You have, hopefully, had a lucky escape.

I will see what I end up doing next year, I wont rule them out because of dodgy web site numbers.
At least I have more ideas of what is possible.

Furts

sevenhills wrote: »

I will see what I end up doing next year, I wont rule them out because of dodgy web site numbers.
At least I have more ideas of what is possible.

The website is encouraging smoke and mirrors with regards the Buildings Regulations. In turn, Ecolofts are deliberately going about misleading folks.

You have commented about headroom, and it appears you have been deliberately mislead by Ecolofts when they visited you.

You have commented about the quote lacking detail, and also about not being able to decipher what was written down.

You do not know what work has been quoted for, and the glossy brochure you desired did not get passed to you.

You have observed that "the web site is mis-leading".

If all this is not enough to rule out having any future dealings with Ecolofts then I despair with consumers such as you. No wonder the excellent Doozergirl dropped out many posts ago.

glasgowdan

15k for a job that you can EASILY diy?! With possibly £500-1000 worth of materials.

sevenhills

Furts wrote: »

If all this is not enough to rule out having any future dealings with Ecolofts then I despair with consumers such as you. No wonder the excellent Doozergirl dropped out many posts ago.

I have a friend that used them to board out his loft, I believe he paid £1,500 - he seemed satisfied. I will ask him for more details.
I did search this site, I did read about the poster that got a large refund on a £4k 'loft'.
I am sure many companies quote high initially, its up to the purchaser to get the fee down.

bmthmark

I had a loft conversion done in my bungalow.
I had to get sign off from a structural engineer and we had visits from building control.
After completeion I was provided with a certificate.

We now have a large double bedroom upstairs with an ensuite. This includes 2 large velux windows and a dormer. We had to get custom made stairs and you have to ensure the head height is 2m.
You need to consider the safety aspects e.g emergency escape routes, smoke alarms on the main circuit, fire doors.

I paid approx £27k which seems a lot but its well worth it and has added value to my property.

If someone said they can do a loft conversion for less that £20k I would be very skeptical. Just remember you get what you pay for!

seashore22

glasgowdan wrote: »

15k for a job that you can EASILY diy?! With possibly £500-1000 worth of materials.

Good point.

My husband is a keen DIYer, and a good one too, and he could fit a loft ladder and board a loft with his eyes closed. Paying someone to do it for you would not cost the amounts that the op has quoted. Not unless you are being taken for a ride anyway.

Not sure how serious you're being here op, but I would avoid all the great advice at your peril.

Aylesbury_Duck

sevenhills wrote: »

I am sure many companies quote high initially, its up to the purchaser to get the fee down.

They do, but are they companies you want to deal with? There's nothing wrong with a bit of negotiation on price, or perhaps on extras for example, but when a company's standard tactic is to start at a stupidly high level, I assume that their sole motivation is screwing the customer out of as much money as possible. That's not very reassuring when it comes to considering how they might tackle the inevitable hiccups along the way or defects afterwards. Equally, would you want a company knocking your house about when they might be disgruntled that you've screwed them down to a price level they hadn't anticipated?

I'd far rather deal with a company that provides a clear and detailed quote covering what they'll do before, during and after works and is prepared to discuss mutually acceptable tweaks to spec and price. The customer can then weigh that up against other options.

seashore22

sevenhills wrote: »

I have a friend that used them to board out his loft, I believe he paid £1,500 - he seemed satisfied. I will ask him for more details.
I did search this site, I did read about the poster that got a large refund on a £4k 'loft'.
I am sure many companies quote high initially, its up to the purchaser to get the fee down.

Seriously?

It's up to the customer to find a decent company to do the work for them. Even a cheaper cowboy is a cowboy.

sevenhills

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

They do, but are they companies you want to deal with?

The only loft company that I was aware of at this stage, was Eco Lofts; I saw a sign written van today 'Room at the Top'.