Dormer loft conversion

psd99 · 8 Jan 2020 at 15:24

cool good luck
be nice to see pics or a thread on here
helps working life go quicker

ddoubleep · 5 May 2020 at 18:08

I am contemplating a loft conversion. I measured from where the joins meet in the rafters to the joist/floorboards I had laid years ago and it came to approx 2.32m. I have read you need between 2.2 to 2.4 to make it worthwhile but not really able to see any local jobs from builders so wanted opinions on whether the height I have is worth it to gain a bedroom with ensuite and walk in wardrobe and maybe a study of some sort? I imagine the usable height would be around 2.1 to 2.2m?

Russinating · 11 Mar 2022 at 15:51

Realised I never finished this thread. Well the build finished in like September, and we're really happy with the layout and usable space that the 2 bedroom and 1 bathroom layout has given us. And the obvious value benefit of an extra bedroom.

Still some soft furnishings and shelves etc to finish but otherwise we're all done!

Hawk Tuah · 11 Mar 2022 at 16:14

Lovely. Managed to use the space really well. Certainly a big improvement on the original plans.

Relentless81 · 11 Mar 2022 at 16:20

That bathroom is epic. Ours starts in August, bedroom and ensuite. Can't wait

Lartyconshayo · 11 Mar 2022 at 18:02

Is that a radiator and heated towel rack all in one in the bathroom?

toshj · 11 Mar 2022 at 18:54

Very nice. Great bathroom that.

We're about to put in planning for a loft so those floor plans are very handy!

ddoubleep · 11 Mar 2022 at 20:21

That's a great loft. The bathroom is awesome. Where did you draw your inspiration from?

Where is the elephant artwork from? That's a great size and livens up the area.

Cheers.

tom_nieto · 12 Mar 2022 at 00:49

@Russinating - Awesome job, looks amazing and you’ve got a showpiece bathroom to top it all off! I guess there’s not much in the way of storage up there, but you’ve added two double bedrooms which is brilliant. What a difference from the initial plans!

a1ex2001 · 12 Mar 2022 at 10:15

Stunning! Have you put some sort of finish on the doors and banisters to seal them? Otherwise they will get really grubby where people touch them!

Russinating · 12 Mar 2022 at 16:09

Thanks guys. This was the final plan FYI:

@Lartyconshayo Yeah they're fairly standard? Everything was from Victorian Plumbing.

@ddoubleep We viewed 4 extensions on our road and did something very similar to one of our neighbours in terms of layout and the panoramic window at the back. The views across Bristol are amazing and it's quite freeing to be showering whilst looking out!

Otherwise just life and stays in hotels etc I guess! We were set on a freestanding copper bath from the start and the green metro tiles shortly followed. We're really pleased with the bathroom, particularly the layout as we had some alternative ones to get a bath and a shower in.

The elephant is an original painting by an artist called Sophie Long. It was painted about 6 years ago live at Upfest in Bristol which is Europe's largest street art festival and we offered to buy it after. I think it's 1.2m x 1.2m on solid wood so yeah, it needs a good space!

@tom_nieto There's plenty for us at the moment. We're actually only two people but it's now a 5 bed, the 2 existing bedrooms have built-in wardrobes and the other is now a study. There's loads in the eaves but even just having 2 more beds with storage under is quite a lot! In the future we may get more chests of drawers, and the alcove bit in the blue room is going to have built-in shelving.

@a1ex2001 It's on the to-do list! That or paint them white, we're still undecided.

a1ex2001 · 12 Mar 2022 at 23:24

Wax the handrail and post and paint the spindles an old but a goody. Those to do lists are a killer!

Buffman · 12 Mar 2022 at 23:41

Looks very nice! How come you went for it so soon if there's only 2 of you?

What was the overall cost roughly? Looks like a really well polished loft conversion. I presume there was already good ceiling height?

Russinating · 13 Mar 2022 at 09:56

Buffman said:
Looks very nice! How come you went for it so soon if there's only 2 of you?

What was the overall cost roughly? Looks like a really well polished loft conversion. I presume there was already good ceiling height?

Few reasons, but mainly why not. Next being we want to redo the existing family bathroom and that'll be a lot less disruptive having a second already.

Cost was about £50k excluding fixtures and fittings but including a few unforeseens like re-felting another roof and repointing the chimney stack. And yeah loft ceiling height was 2.8m I think.

psd99 · 13 Mar 2022 at 12:40

wow that looks superb! which colours did you use on that first bedroom?

Buffman · 13 Mar 2022 at 13:30

Russinating said:
Few reasons, but mainly why not. Next being we want to redo the existing family bathroom and that'll be a lot less disruptive having a second already.

Cost was about £50k excluding fixtures and fittings but including a few unforeseens like re-felting another roof and repointing the chimney stack. And yeah loft ceiling height was 2.8m I think.

50k seems very good value for that to be honest! Presume thats 2.8m to the apex? What type of roof you go for? Rubber or GRP?

Russinating · 13 Mar 2022 at 17:14

Buffman said:
50k seems very good value for that to be honest! Presume thats 2.8m to the apex? What type of roof you go for? Rubber or GRP?

Just double checked and it was £54,978 in total excluding bathroom fixtures, rads, carpets and decorating.

They were a good £20k less than some other quotes we had, they had good reviews (we spoke to prior customers) and specialise in lofts so were quite no fuss about everything which saves everyone time and therefore money. Few niggles with some of their contractors but nothing that wasn't rectified promptly.

And not sure about the roof tbh! GRP rings a bell though.

toshj · 14 Mar 2022 at 09:26

Russinating said:
Just double checked and it was £54,978 in total excluding bathroom fixtures, rads, carpets and decorating.

They were a good £20k less than some other quotes we had, they had good reviews (we spoke to prior customers) and specialise in lofts

We've been quoted double this (in London though) which I felt was pretty expensive. Given the scale of the work involved, we've had people suggest that we use general builders (with loft experience) rather than a pure loft firm. What we're your experiences like with a loft specialist?

Russinating · 14 Mar 2022 at 10:26

psd99 said:
wow that looks superb! which colours did you use on that first bedroom?

Colours are Farrow & Ball's Red Earth, Setting Plaster and School House White but mixed at Johnstone's.

toshj said:
We've been quoted double this (in London though) which I felt was pretty expensive. Given the scale of the work involved, we've had people suggest that we use general builders (with loft experience) rather than a pure loft firm. What we're your experiences like with a loft specialist?

Very good. Was very hands off, didn't need much project management, because it's very cookie-cutter for them bar where the stud walls go. They'd already done 2 on our road and loads in our area, so much so the owner didn't even look in the loft when he first came over. That time-saving is where they can keep their costs competitive. We did a side return extension at our last house which needed far more PM even though they were a bigger firm so I've got some comparison.

alexakasloth · 15 Mar 2022 at 10:02

That looks great, very professional and smart job! How long did the build process take? We are looking to have a dormer loft conversion carried out in the future.