Hiya, my real name is Gary but everybody normally calls me Chuckles, I pride myself in being a loft conversions specialist living in Rochford, England. My favorite interests are playing musical instruments, walking and record collecting. I went to school in Cowes and I studied at University of Westminster. I’ve got a brother Dave and a sister Ellie-Rose, I have a pet monkey called Ginny. I operate a loft conversion agency and help people make the most of homes so they do not actually have to sell up and relocate.
Not every property owner can find the cash to move to a bigger house as of late, with real estate selling prices rocketing and expenses spiraling. The actual cost moving has to be added onto the asking price of the new house plus all of the extras when working out the total expenditure involved. If your home’s no longer large enough to comfortably accommodate your growing family, relocating isn’t the only solution.
You could choose to put an extension onto your current home to create additional living space but this can be quite expensive and will be dependent on your ability to get planning permission. You could possibly convert your garage, if you have a garage and you aren’t actually using it for your car. The other option is to have a loft conversion, which could not just be affordable, but may also add more value to your home without increasing its footprint.
In recent years, for some of the reasons mentioned above, loft conversion has gotten more and more popular. You must check that your home is actually suitable for a loft conversion prior to you making your final judgement. Homes with roofs made with trusses are not generally suitable. Older homes which were built before the 1970’s are often ideal for loft conversions since they were built with solid wood rafters and there tended to be lots of head space.
To make sure your specific loft space is acceptable, you should contact a loft specialist to evaluate it. If your builder gives the nod to have a loft conversion ask him for a quotation. Obtain a few additional quotes from other loft conversion companies, so you’ve got a decent choice of tradesmen. You ought not pick solely on cost, use your instinct when deciding on the perfect tradesman for the task.
There is a reasonable chance that you won’t even need to get planning permission for converting your loft, since most conversions do not need it. Consult with your local planning department or chat to your conversion specialist whether planning permission is needed.
Do not imagine that doing a loft conversion is going to be cheap, because it is a pretty expensive undertaking. If you do not currently have the necessary cash you could always put in for a loan, which hopefully will not be too difficult as the likelihood is that your loft conversion will add significantly to the value of your property. As a guide you might be expecting that a loft conversion will cost roughly the same as a decent size brickwork extension though the probability is that you’ll achieve more extra space with a conversion with out raising your property’s footprint.
Your house’s design and layout will be the deciding factor for which form of conversion is the ideal one for you. The various types of loft conversion include: loft pods, velux conversions, dormer loft conversions, roof light loft conversions, hip-to-gable conversions, roof lift conversions and mansard conversions. The builder or loft conversion specialist will show you which style is best suited for your property.
Dormer Loft Conversions
Among the most popular kinds of conversion currently is the dormer pattern, a design which gives you decent value for your money, yet still delivers the most extra space. This is a popular alternative for house owners as it is both effective and pleasing while offering everything which is likely to be required. With this layout it is even possible to include a balcony to your extra floor, meaning that you are even creating additional outdoor space too. There are different kinds of dormer conversions namely Velux window dormers, shed dormers, gabled dormers and flat roofed dormers. Check with a specialist to figure out which one is the best option for your specific property.
Velux Conversions
Definitely one one of the foremost names in roof windows, Velux, have now been around for in excess of 60 years and you can depend on them to deliver loft windows which are both reliable and premium quality. These are built to fit in line with the slope of your roof and thus don’t alter the shape of the structure, nor do they in general need planning permission and they’re reasonably cheap to install. They produce a good amount of daylight and actually could even need blinds fitted during the warm months. If your attic has a decent amount of head space, Velux windows might be a good choice for your project, in particular if you’ve got limited resources.
Just How Long Should it Take to Complete?
The time scale for doing a standard conversion would depend on a number of aspects such as the availability of materials, the trustworthiness of the builders, the style of conversion, the prevailing weather conditions and the amount of forward planning that is done. As a rough guideline it should take approximately 4 to 5 weeks to carry out a rear dormer loft conversion on a terraced house and approximately five to six weeks to do a hip to gable dormer conversion on a semi-detached dwelling.
You just need to determine what to use all that additional living space for after your conversion is finished. You could turn it into a games room, an extra bedroom or two or a new bathroom. But naturally there are plenty of applications to which a good conversion can be put, restricted only by your inventiveness!
Get additional information and advice about loft conversion here: Loft Conversion