Rabbithunter 456 Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 anyone tried to convert their own loft into a bedroom? How did you get on? Easy enough or was it too much hassle? Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
smithie 2,443 Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 i dont think it would be to hard if your a compitent diy-er. for me i would just be conserned about the velux window and doing the actual connecting to the mains for the lecy.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Malt 379 Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 Building regulations are strict regarding adding living space to your attic, the specs for insulation are just crazy. If you intend to apply for planning permission and are planning to actually use the space instead of just doing it to add value to the place, I'd say it was being decked out for storage space. If I were you I'd at least pay for someone to come up with some sort of plan before you start, or even if you have a mate in the trade to give you a bit of direction. There's more to doing a good job than simply chucking a few floorboards down and a bit of plasterboard up. It's hard to advise over the internet without knowing the layout of the space you are thinking about converting, as well as the specifications of things like the thickness of your joists & which type of roof you have. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rabbithunter 456 Posted August 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 it would be used as a bedroom for one of the kids, am just in the middle of buyin the house so have no intentions of adding to the value. Electric, no probs, I'm qualified sparky and i know a few lads that could stick a velux in for me. Im just more concerned about "access" into the room, as it would be used as a bedroom, those little pull down ally ladders are gonna be no good. I could always get a pro in to do the access.. then do the sparks myself, me brother to board it, and 2 of me pals to do plasterin & velux out of interest anyone know a rought cost of getting it down professionally to start with? cheers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
just jack 998 Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 i've worked on plenty, mainly doing the roofing side of the job, but like Mal says there is lots of reg's that comes with a loft conversion, as for price well that depends on size and spec you are after, for instance it has just cost my pal £ 550 just for the staircase making and it wasn't a fancy thing all the best with it mate Quote Link to post Share on other sites
artschool 2 Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 dont use a ladder for access. if there is a fire you will regret it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lofti 579 Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 (edited) just be carefull mate, if you dont do it to building regs with correcct head height,firedoor, fireboarding,escape velux etc the council(if they find out) can make you take the staircase back out and put a loft ladder in to try and stop you using it as a bedroom. this recently hapend to my mate of mine who is a joiner. with all the building sites that have closed down in the past year or so the planning department are scratching around now sticking there noses in to every bodys business trying to justify there own jobs Edited August 3, 2011 by lofti Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fcuktheban 140 Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 The joists need to be upgraded for the added load, you would want the little one landing in your room while bouncing on their bed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ossie n Arch 1,682 Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 We had our loft converted in 2000. Cost about 15k. There are loads of things to consider. Does the loft have Trusses or Purlins, ours had trusses and we now have 9 12x6" wooden joists in the loft, 2x2x2 bolted together to hold the new floor up sitting on the outside load bearing walls, (Trusses are not strong enough to put a floor on to them) and the same for the roof to hold that up.(With extra wood joined to the remaining trusses to make then thicker) Then one across the ridge. We needed a Steel beam across our house because the 12x6" wasn't long enough and they needed to run two length ways. Stairs need to clear be of any front door, so as not to block someone coming in the house. Electric smoke alarms. We've got a Velux at the front and a Dormer at the rear. No planning permission req' if no dormer at the front, thats why we went for the Velux at the front. I'm off to work now but if you need any more questions answering later i'll be glad to help. HTH. Arch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shell 42 Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 Get in touch with your local council building regs... they'll come out and advise you on what you can do with the space and how feasible it is etc. There's a lot more to it than you initailly think - we ended up with fire doors, heat detector, mains smoke detectors etc etc. We lived in a bungalow, and wanted to convert the loft to accomadate one of us when I fell pregnant with Rye the other year. But the trusses wouldn't support the weight of another floor, and the new floor joists would have reduced the head height too much. In the end, we had the roof taken off the bungalow, the walls built up just over a metre, the roof put back on,new flooring joists to take the weight of the upstairs, and added a whole new floor to the house. Gave us 2 extra big bedrooms and a big bathroom upstairs, and we lost a small bathroom downstairs (which we moved into the small bedroom) and that's there the staircase went. Took 3 month from start to finish! The staircase itself cost over £1000 and that was cash! Kind of a glorified loft conversion!!! Good look with it! Shell Quote Link to post Share on other sites
the_stig 6,614 Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) a mate did his -- he had a lot of help from mates . he got the trades to come in and do it and he managed the job took 7 months to finish saved about 4k on the quote from a company still cost him around 9k timber alone was 3 n half k ... with it being an old property kept hitting loads of problems the ceilings had to all be re boarded and skimmed in the bedrooms bellow it then they had to be redecorated electrics and plumbing threw up more problems .. it turned into a nightmare for him .. his daughters 18 and shes now gone uni so he`s got an empty room -- its put a bit of value on the place but not what he spent .... another mate converted 1 bedroom into 2 by putting up a stud wall built fitted cupboards in the hall to use as wardrobes to allow more space in the bedrooms .. fitted a secondhand consevatory that he paid 1400 quid for off ebay to use as a family area the kids have the computer in thr tv playstation the lot he says this worked out better for the family they have a good usable space with everything they need in it and to entertain friends totol cost less than 2k .. me i put an extension on the back added a consevaorty to my kitchen and made my dining room into my bedroom complete with french doors and its own patio its turned out far better than spending money on a loft the extra space downstairs is great for entertaining family and friends as the kids grew up we found the space downstairs was of more use .. give it some thought may be other ways you can do it on the cheap .. good luck with it anyway .. Edited August 4, 2011 by the_stig 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.