Thinking of a loft conversion...

ferry

How much will a typical loft conversion add to the value of my home..?
I'm thinking of doing a basic conversion and quotes range from 4k-6k(inc. planning/council costs etc)

Will I be likely to make this back on the property if I decide to sell at a later date..?

Thanks
F

chappers

Depends on what sort of conversion you are doing, if creating abedroom then you need to compare the prices between yours and one with an extra bedroom in a similar area.If just an office type space with no fixed staircase then thats a different matter altogether.
Sounds like a very basic conversion for 4-6k.

dekh

ferry wrote: »

I'm thinking of doing a basic conversion and quotes range from 4k-6k(inc. planning/council costs etc)

Wow, I'm just looking at doing the same. It cost me £950 for the Architectural drawings and structural engineering calcs alone!

I believe there will be another £450 to the council for inspection and planning control.

There's building regs and other things invloved too.

The quotes I'm getting for 3 Velux (ie no dormer) proper staircase type conversion range from £18950 to £23,000 so far.

How come so low? If it's not done properly it could devalue your property!

chappers

Indeed I would charge £30k+ for a victorian terraced conversion in Oxford for Bedroom and en-suite, full dormer.
Could do the labour for new structural floor, insulation, couple of veluxs,plasterboarding, new staircase and probably the plastering at a push for £5K not including any fees ,materials, moving of plumbing, electrics or any works necessary to the rest of the house to comply with the fire regs £6K might just about be possible depending on where you are in the country.
My B-I-L who lives in South Wales knows of someone, proffesionally as he is acting as a solicitor for them.They had their loft converted by some guys who advertise in the paper, they said they could do a full conversion (no dormer) for £6K.
Well after the electrical fire they caused they found out the floor hadn't been strengthened, just boarded over, only rockwool had been used to insulate between the rafters, the electrics had all been taken off the lighting circuit and they had forced too many wires through a hole in the floor joists(where the fire started)and the staircase was inadequately supported and to top it all they had forged the BC completion certificate.

jackieb

We did ours 8 years ago and it cost us over £1200 in architect fees, structural engineers fees and building warrant costs, before we'd even begun. And it cost £700 for Kingspan insulation alone, and it was only one room and a landing. We had to have firedoors fitted throughout the house, and they cost about £130 each. A joinery firm made the staircase to order, and it came unassembled - that cost £400. My father-in-law is a joiner to trade so he did all the joinery work, including putting together and fitting the staircase, but we got qualified electricians, plumbers and plasterers in. We also got joiners in to fit 2 velux windows and fit the many roof vents we had to have. Ours isn't anything fancy - no bathroom or anything.

As I said my father-in-law did a lot of the work. It still cost us over £8000 8 years ago. I can't see how it's possible to do it for £4-6k.

vetfred

I've been quoted 15k-25k depending on specs for a conversion which meets regs and I'm in the north-west where it's not exactly London prices so 4-6K sounds very low to me. I don't know if you're doing some of the work or have a relation in the trade etc?

If you want to know how much a loft conversion will add to your home, you could to contact a few local agents to ask what they think as I think it will be somewhat dependent on where you live. I would then get some more quotes and make sure you're getting a quote on a conversion that would meet regulations.

I just viewed a house with a loft conversion where they were trying to say it was a bedroom but when I got there it turned out it had no building regs. The floor had never been strengthened, there was no fire-proofing or means of escape through the roof etc. As it can mean life or death, literally, I'd check out some other builders quotes in case you've come across someone who is just going to board the loft and plasterboard the walls and put a skylight in... that would probably be a 4K quote in my opinion but would be totally unsafe.

ukjoel

I am guessing 6k gets you a loft room.
ie Floor boarded (not strenghened) cost £300
3 x velux fitted at £500 each (1500)
Plasterboard ceiling and rood (£500)
Electrics (£500)
Stairs (kit form) (£500)

total cost about 3k (profit a couple of k)

Not saying its right and its doesnt meet any regs but you would get a space upstairs with decent light and all you would need to do would be paint and carpet.

Aesthetically it would look ok, could be very cold with no heating and crap insulation but it would be a usable space.

chriz1000

Sign me up for the guy doing £5-6k loft conversions…
On second thoughts, I don’t want cowboys to be the theme of the room

PasturesNew

I had a few quotes 2 years ago, seemed to be in the order of £20k + kitchen/bathroom units/fittings; through to about £30k with that lot included.

That was:

New staircase, fit 2 sets of rafters between existing ones to bring it up to regs, dormer 12' in length, get plumbing up to loft for bathroom and kitchen, fit entire bathroom/loo, fit entire kitchen, get heating up, get electricity up, fit sockets & lighting fitments. 2 velux balcony windows, 3 other windows, 1 door to outside with juliette balcony. insulate, fireproof whole area to 30 minutes. Insulate whole roof area. Plasterboard/finish. Total floor area about 17'x30' + 10'x12'

Architect + Building Regs were about £2k (plans were for another extension too).