£70,000 for a loft conversion?

mademe

Hello, we are looking to get our loft converted into one large room (with 3 velux windows) and possible an ensuite which would need to be a dormer (the main room would not be a dormer). We would also need to turn our stairs around to fit the top stairs in.

We've had 2 quotes:

- one for £68,500 inc VAT which doesn't include plumbing, tiles & tiling, bathroom suite, flooring, electrics or the stair construction (but does include fitting them). This one is a general builder.

- one quote for £65,000 + VAT which includes everything except the bathroom suite and flooring. This one specialises in lofts.

I've just been reading things on here from a few years ago (2021) saying £40,000 is a lot for a basic extension so now I'm thinking our quotes are huge (although a few years later). We have considered not doing the ensuite but the first builder said it would only save about £4000. Need to check with the 2nd. 

Should we look for more quotes or does this sound right? We are in the south, and it's a currently a 2 bed classic type victorian terrace.

Albermarle

A loft extension is a bigger job than a basic ground floor extension, plus building costs have rocketed since Covid caused material and labour shortages/price increases.
The second quote does not seem wildly out of line, although a bit surprising because in my limited experience specialised loft companies are usually more expensive.

With a 2 bed Victorian house, the loft space is probably not that large. The conversion may not result in as big a space as you might currently imagine ( do not forget you will not be able to stand up in some of it) Could be a good idea to see if any neighbours have done something similar and see if you can have a look. 

mademe

Thank you for your reply. We've had architects drawings created (luckily have a family member who is an architect and could help us for free) and the pitch of the roof is very high so we know that we will have a fairly big room. We're having another baby next year which is why we are looking to expand. We've looked into moving but couldn't get a house as nice as ours without going above what we want to spend on our monthly mortgage payments. Our terrace is only 3 houses and the far end has a loft conversion but no ensuite. The other houses nearby all have loft conversions but they are slightly different layouts.

littlegreen

We paid just over £40k in 21/ early22. That included surveyor, building regs, materials and build, but did not include fixtures and fitting for bathroom, carpets, paint and lights. Mid terrace but alley overhang, 3 velux and juliette balcony. Full dormer but ensuite is tucked in non dormer half, "on top of" the stairs which means we got a lot more usable bedroom/office space. No stairs to rotate. We did get it booked in just before materials went crazy however, I know friend recently is being quoted £55k for similar job. Both in the south east

Personally at the time I weighed the cost up vs the cost of moving to a similar size house and the extension won out. Both are major hassle but I'm very happy with what it's created.

We used a loft building specialist and got quotes from loft builders only. All came in around the same mark. Would def say visit some locally if you can to get a feel for the space