Loft conversion vs Extension

We had quotes of around 40-45k for a hip to gable conversion with rear dormer. This was a large bedroom with en suite shower room. That was with radiators, doors, skirting, lighting but no decorating and only a pretty basic bathroom suite.

This is in Manchester so your quotes for SE sound reasonable to me.

I cheaped out in the end an paid ~6k to use the existing loft space. Pull down ladder with strengthened floor, 2x velux windows, insulation and plaster boarding etc.
 
this is an interesting thread as i'm just in the process of getting quotes back for a loft conversion, not quite as involved as a hip to gable right enough but if I get something back 40-50k I'll be happy, the thing that's worrying is the amount of insulation required to comply with the current regs is a lot in Scotland, so that's a pain from all kinds of angles!
 
the_r_sole said:
this is an interesting thread as i'm just in the process of getting quotes back for a loft conversion, not quite as involved as a hip to gable right enough but if I get something back 40-50k I'll be happy, the thing that's worrying is the amount of insulation required to comply with the current regs is a lot in Scotland, so that's a pain from all kinds of angles!
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what kind of loft conversion are u going for?

I read hip to gable/dormer is expensive compared to velux (I guess the roof stays the same) but something called mansard lol is the most expensive.
 
psd99 said:
what kind of loft conversion are u going for?

I read hip to gable/dormer is expensive compared to velux (I guess the roof stays the same) but something called mansard lol is the most expensive.
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I've got a nice loft which has all the attic trusses in place already, so I'm only adding a couple of dormers and few rooflights rather than seriously altering the structure - no doubt it will still be expensive!
 
the_r_sole said:
I've got a nice loft which has all the attic trusses in place already, so I'm only adding a couple of dormers and few rooflights rather than seriously altering the structure - no doubt it will still be expensive!
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well lookin at this thread the rough difference between manchester and london was about 15/20k so in theory it'll be a lot cheaper :)
 
Just a bit of an update on mine - I got a Quantity Surveyor friend to give me a cost plan for the loft conversion and his costs are a total of 58k, but he's allowed for a good bit of bounce in some items so hopeful that it's on track... Just need a contractor to agree now!
 
the_r_sole said:
Just a bit of an update on mine - I got a Quantity Surveyor friend to give me a cost plan for the loft conversion and his costs are a total of 58k, but he's allowed for a good bit of bounce in some items so hopeful that it's on track... Just need a contractor to agree now!
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ah right thats nice to hear

i mean the more i read online and the responses on here suggest somewhere between 40-60k for these conversions is probably a reasonable price.
 
the_r_sole said:
this is an interesting thread as i'm just in the process of getting quotes back for a loft conversion, not quite as involved as a hip to gable right enough but if I get something back 40-50k I'll be happy, the thing that's worrying is the amount of insulation required to comply with the current regs is a lot in Scotland, so that's a pain from all kinds of angles!
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Where are you in the world? If you're in London, there's a company I really need to warn you about!!
 
Been watching a few vids of loft conversions on Youtube after it came up as a suggestion for some reason, its pretty interesting how they do it so quickly but also a bit surprised by how much steelwork is put on top of the existing structure.


Seems to be a real mix of some lovely useable spaces and the other extreme which is a tiny box room you can't stand up in, the latter does seem a bit of a waste of money tbh but if you can do it properly then it can be a great way to add some extra living space. Not cheap though.
 
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Puzzled said:
Been watching a few vids of loft conversions on Youtube after it came up as a suggestion for some reason, its pretty interesting how they do it so quickly but also a bit surprised by how much steelwork is put on top of the existing structure.


Seems to be a real mix of some lovely useable spaces and the other extreme which is a tiny box room you can't stand up in, the latter does seem a bit of a waste of money tbh but if you can do it properly then it can be a great way to add some extra living space. Not cheap though.
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Good point about cost

but ultimately, is that cost cheaper than moving on to the next home?
 
Puzzled said:
Seems to be a real mix of some lovely useable spaces and the other extreme which is a tiny box room you can't stand up in, the latter does seem a bit of a waste of money tbh but if you can do it properly then it can be a great way to add some extra living space. Not cheap though.
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We are considering doing a loft conversion in a few years time, if we go for a simple roof window type conversion for a 3rd bedroom and it would only have a minimal head height. After taking into account new floor joists and ceiling insulation just over 2m.

The value it would add to the house would be about the same as the cost of the conversion, a dormer would be significantly more and unfortunately likely be out of our budget.
 
Did you pursue this? I’m getting quotes for a loft conversion starting at £55k+VAT for a Velux conversion, and adding about £3k+VAT for each dormer required. Those prices are for a finished job with paint on the walls. Located in the south.

I‘ve had 3 tradesmen round to quote so far. One seemed to speak confidently about what was required and gave us a good impression. The two others came across as general chancers who were willing to give it a go. With parts of the roof coming off whilst we are still living here it needs to be done properly. Their quoted timescales ranged from 7 weeks up to 4 months.
 
Scuzi said:
Did you pursue this? I’m getting quotes for a loft conversion starting at £55k+VAT for a Velux conversion, and adding about £3k+VAT for each dormer required. Those prices are for a finished job with paint on the walls. Located in the south.

I‘ve had 3 tradesmen round to quote so far. One seemed to speak confidently about what was required and gave us a good impression. The two others came across as general chancers who were willing to give it a go. With parts of the roof coming off whilst we are still living here it needs to be done properly. Their quoted timescales ranged from 7 weeks up to 4 months.
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Ours took 7-8 weeks start to finish. We had an excellent team who knew what they were doing and we lived in the house without too much intrusion throughout the process. A lot of work can be done before breaking through into the rest of the house. I presume you're not having to lower ceilings or anything radical to achieve the conversion? Have you got full technical drawings? These can help with predicted costs and timescales from my experience. We found it much less stressful that our extension, however that was a nightmare for various reasons!

Costs have risen sharply since we had ours done and you live in the south so probably can't really give a helpful answer there.

From a design point of view you should put as many dormers in as possible! Interested to hear how you get on.
 
tom_nieto said:
Ours took 7-8 weeks start to finish. We had an excellent team who knew what they were doing and we lived in the house without too much intrusion throughout the process. A lot of work can be done before breaking through into the rest of the house. I presume you're not having to lower ceilings or anything radical to achieve the conversion? Have you got full technical drawings? These can help with predicted costs and timescales from my experience. We found it much less stressful that our extension, however that was a nightmare for various reasons!

Costs have risen sharply since we had ours done and you live in the south so probably can't really give a helpful answer there.

From a design point of view you should put as many dormers in as possible! Interested to hear how you get on.
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Good to hear, thanks. We haven’t got the drawings yet. I want to get the views of thred competent contractors who have done something similar before going and getting the drawings. Two more well reviewed guys coming on Tuesday so hopefully we‘ll be in a place to get the drawings started next week. Ceilings won’t need to be lowered and the box room will convert easily into a landing for the staircase. The guy who sounded like he knew what he was doing suggested we’d need two steel beams running along each longer side of the house with joists put in between them. It would give a floored area of around 9.6m x 5.5m which should be plenty for two decent sized bedrooms, an en-suite to one of them, and a good bit of eaves storage.

In terms of the value for money, it would turn this 4 bed with 3x doubles (one with en-suite) and 1x box room into a 5x double bedroom house with 2x en-suites and much more accessible storage. I think if we sank £75k into it, the house value would increase by at least that amount based on current values in the local area, probably closer to 1.2–1.3x investment. To move house to something with similar square footage and configuration we would need to add at least £100k to the budget and then add stamp duty and moving costs on top. Financially the loft conversion makes sense, but it’s still a huge amount of money.
 
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At the moment prices are crazy and the finances are easier to justify in terms of the ability to stay put and not move rather than capital gain in the property.

If you like the area and the house and can get two decent sized bedrooms and an en suite it would seem like a no brainier.
 
Hope anyone getting a loft conversion geta planning and building approval conteol beforehand.

My colleague went to look a lift conversion recently completed and deemed it unsafe as it was built by a contractor who apparently did them all the time, had no calcs done and no Building Control signoff. The structure was undersized and the owner has a costly mess to clean up now.
 
DB_SamX said:
Hope anyone getting a loft conversion geta planning and building approval conteol beforehand.

My colleague went to look a lift conversion recently completed and deemed it unsafe as it was built by a contractor who apparently did them all the time, had no calcs done and no Building Control signoff. The structure was undersized and the owner has a costly mess to clean up now.
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Ahh the old 3 bedroom house + loft room on Rightmove. You’re of course absolutely correct about engaging planning and building regs departments in good time.
 
Being a slight pedant:

[Pedant]planning, yes, building control (or better still and approved inspector) cam be engaged during the works depending on the extent of works. Assuming any structural calcs and prepared and signed off by a qualified engineer[/Pedant]
 
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