Loft Conversions
- Thread starter Mr_T
- Start date
I had mine done was i was kid, its half the length of the house and i am able to stand up in all areas, at the time was used for a play room. But now i use it for the PC and a kind of a cinema type room. At the time, about 14 years ago it cost around 2k, but that was just materials as my father is very good at these kind of things and done it himself.
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Have done mine, probably cost about £250 for the wood, screws, bits, ladder, strip lights, cable, sockets, etc. Only thing to go in at some point in future is a velux, but i'll do that when i can be bothered to organise the planning permission. I would just stick it on the back of the house but the view from the front is stunning from roof height so would much rather have it there.
If your willing to put in the time and effort you dont need to be a genious to do the bulk of the work yourself with no experience, if your going to be putting a lot of load on the electrics up there you could do with a sparky to put it on a seperate ring main, but if your not just split it yourself from another one you can pick up upstairs.
edit: havent lined the roof on mine, if you wanted to plasterboard it and the walls and make it tidier price would be higher cost.
If your willing to put in the time and effort you dont need to be a genious to do the bulk of the work yourself with no experience, if your going to be putting a lot of load on the electrics up there you could do with a sparky to put it on a seperate ring main, but if your not just split it yourself from another one you can pick up upstairs.
edit: havent lined the roof on mine, if you wanted to plasterboard it and the walls and make it tidier price would be higher cost.
I'm afraid its a little more involved than some of the pervious posters have made out if you want it to be a 'habbitable room', most notably becuase the timbers that support the ceiling are sized to support the ceiling, a smallish amount of weight of whatever... (water tank, junk, overweight electrician... )etc, and hold the walls from being pushed outwards, they are not sized to support the floor of a proper room
I suggest you have a chat with your local building control department, who should be able to advise fully
I suggest you have a chat with your local building control department, who should be able to advise fully
I had a loft conversion done last year. It was fairly big/complex, involving:
- The usual steelwork to provide support for the new floor
- Construction of a large dormer to provide 2 bedrooms in the loft space
- Removal of two walls on the 1st floor to accommodate the stairs up to the loft, and the creation of two new stud partition walls
- All making good / plastering etc. in both the loft and 1st floor
Cost me about £35K, which sounds like quite a lot, but was very much cheaper than the £100K+ it would have cost me to move from a 3-bed to a 4-bed house in this area....
- The usual steelwork to provide support for the new floor
- Construction of a large dormer to provide 2 bedrooms in the loft space
- Removal of two walls on the 1st floor to accommodate the stairs up to the loft, and the creation of two new stud partition walls
- All making good / plastering etc. in both the loft and 1st floor
Cost me about £35K, which sounds like quite a lot, but was very much cheaper than the £100K+ it would have cost me to move from a 3-bed to a 4-bed house in this area....
It depends on what you want, is the room to be used for a bedroom? or do you just want a bit of storage space and a place to chill now and again? If your going to do it properly you are going to need planning, you will also need plans drawing up by an architect (Mine cost £400) If your going to do it for a bedroom or a living area, then you start talking serious money.
Some of the big jobs you may need to do......
Drop your upstairs ceilings and replace with new stronger joists.
You will in all likelihood need to alter your downstairs area (Fire regs)
New staircase.
The making of the dormer itself.
We had the idea around 4 years ago and went as far as getting the plans, but in the end we spent the money elsewhere. If all your after is the storage, etc, etc then be prepared to spend around £500+ I've just done mine and did all the work myself (apart from the velux) this included 4x2 timbers to strengthen the floor area.
Have a pic in THIS thread, not a brilliant pic, but you get the idea.
Some of the big jobs you may need to do......
Drop your upstairs ceilings and replace with new stronger joists.
You will in all likelihood need to alter your downstairs area (Fire regs)
New staircase.
The making of the dormer itself.
We had the idea around 4 years ago and went as far as getting the plans, but in the end we spent the money elsewhere. If all your after is the storage, etc, etc then be prepared to spend around £500+ I've just done mine and did all the work myself (apart from the velux) this included 4x2 timbers to strengthen the floor area.
Have a pic in THIS thread, not a brilliant pic, but you get the idea.
Mr_T said:
It was so cheap because it was done back when things where cheap and it didn't cost 1k for a bit of 2 by 4.
Anyway it was done to a high standard and has never needed any more work done to since. I would also make sure you get a skylight in, you may think you dont it, but when its warm it will roast you to death.
O and 20k is cheap
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Adam_151 said:I'm afraid its a little more involved than some of the pervious posters have made out if you want it to be a 'habbitable room', most notably becuase the timbers that support the ceiling are sized to support the ceiling, a smallish amount of weight of whatever... (water tank, junk, overweight electrician... )etc, and hold the walls from being pushed outwards, they are not sized to support the floor of a proper room
I suggest you have a chat with your local building control department, who should be able to advise fully
I didn't try and make it out to sound simple. I just posted it in a hurry, and trust me, my father made sure nothing would ever go wrong.
Whenever you start this sort of thread there always seems to be people that have done it for a few grand or whatever
I think planning has really stepped up over the last few years and although you may have been able to do a diy job for a few grand now for it to be called a habitable room and for you not be grief-ed when you sell it you need to spend a lot more than that.
Mine cost 28k
Involved a new set of special timbers mounted across the house that support the new floor.
A new staircase with new regulation banisters.
Dormer window and velux windows, one with fire exit opening.
Everything service wise for an on suite bathroom ( I had to supply the hardware)
Fire proof doors and closers.
That was before the new electrical stuff came in, I had the kitchen done a few months later and ended up having the board done then
I think planning has really stepped up over the last few years and although you may have been able to do a diy job for a few grand now for it to be called a habitable room and for you not be grief-ed when you sell it you need to spend a lot more than that.
Mine cost 28k
Involved a new set of special timbers mounted across the house that support the new floor.
A new staircase with new regulation banisters.
Dormer window and velux windows, one with fire exit opening.
Everything service wise for an on suite bathroom ( I had to supply the hardware)
Fire proof doors and closers.
That was before the new electrical stuff came in, I had the kitchen done a few months later and ended up having the board done then
peige said:Whenever you start this sort of thread there always seems to be people that have done it for a few grand or whatever
I think planning has really stepped up over the last few years and although you may have been able to do a diy job for a few grand now for it to be called a habitable room and for you not be grief-ed when you sell it you need to spend a lot more than that.
Mine cost 28k
Involved a new set of special timbers mounted across the house that support the new floor.
A new staircase with new regulation banisters.
Dormer window and velux windows, one with fire exit opening.
Everything service wise for an on suite bathroom ( I had to supply the hardware)
Fire proof doors and closers.
That was before the new electrical stuff came in, I had the kitchen done a few months later and ended up having the board done then
Jesus, it was done for that money and done to a very high standard and has everything you talk about. Please notice when i said it was done, it was 14 years ago. Things where a lot cheaper then.