Loft conversion , anybody done this ?

BigJohn

BigJohn

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I'm considering doing this to create another bedroom . It's a semi detached with no watertank etc up there so just space going to waste . I just wondered if anyone has done this and what cost are involved ? I hope to go down the diy route as I'm compitent with joinery and know electricians , plasterers etc . I was hoping 6k would be enough to complete the job as I can buy materials at trade through friends :shrug: .
 
I do this for a living, have you got a mimimum of 2.5 metres from the top of the plasterboard to the underside of the ridge?
 
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We've had ours done.
Although it's my 'office' and not a bedroom.

Cost us allot less than 6k. My mate done it who is a chippie stroke jack-of-all-trades type of guy.

We had to have a chimney stack removed, 2 skylights, insulation, floorboards etc etc.
Just over 3k all together
 
dekeyboy said:
I do this for a living, have you got a mimimum of 2.5 metres from the top of the plasterboard to the underside of the ridge?
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I've not been up to have a good look . It's a 1940s house so shouldn't be a problem with the roof supports etc . I think that the biggest expense will the reinforcing for the floor .
 
andy_fozzy said:
We've had ours done.
Although it's my 'office' and not a bedroom.

Cost us allot less than 6k. My mate done it who is a chippie stroke jack-of-all-trades type of guy.

We had to have a chimney stack removed, 2 skylights, insulation, floorboards etc etc.
Just over 3k all together
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That's a good price , I'd be well chuffed if I could do it for that . Did you have a staircase fitted as well ? I'm only really stressed about three things , fitting steels , drawing up the plans and dealing with building control . The rest of the hands on stuff ie insulation , fitting flooring , firewall etc I can handle .
 
If it is a house you will have to comply with fire regulations. Steels are not always required. You will need a structural engineers report for the building regs. Firewall?
 
Keith W said:
I am guessing it is an open roof space that runs the length of his and his neighbours roof
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No but I believe that extra has to be added for boarding the wall .
 
dekeyboy said:
If it is a house you will have to comply with fire regulations. Steels are not always required. You will need a structural engineers report for the building regs. Firewall?
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This is starting to sound complicated . I think a chat with building control is needed as I'm sure that they could put me in touch with the correct people .
 
BigJohn said:
That's a good price , I'd be well chuffed if I could do it for that . Did you have a staircase fitted as well ? I'm only really stressed about three things , fitting steels , drawing up the plans and dealing with building control . The rest of the hands on stuff ie insulation , fitting flooring , firewall etc I can handle .
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Didn't have a staircase no. Would have like to, but would have meant a whole lot more work, and of course £££'s!!
 
We had one done in our previous house, chuffing awesome it was, metal spiral staircase with thick pine steps, luckily we had a friend of a friend who had just gone into it for himself do it so was getting a portfolio up, cost us just over 6k.. When we sold the house last year apparently the 14k more we got than others in the area was because of the loft conversion, it was mightily impressive, old 1897 terraced house so long and spacious.
 
If you said you wanted to convert your roof space to an office as Andy has done, you could then access it via a loft ladder, and just had a storage area if anyone asked any questions. You mentioned it being a bedroom, so this opens up a whole new can of worms. It's a bit like having a disposable camera, then saying next week you are going to shoot a royal wedding. An office and a bedroom are that far apart.
 
Yep I know it's going to be a bit of a nightmare . I think I'll have to get someone in who can draw up the plans and sort the floor and the submisson bits with BC I'd think that 2k would cover this . Then I'll just take over from there , I'm sure that if I get BC on side it should be fairly straight forward from there . We have and old airing cupboard that hopefully we can install a staircase into . It's all very early stages at the minute . The only reason we are looking to do this is so that we can move in with my grandma who is getting on abit and could do with somebody there to help her . I was more wondering if 6k was a reasonable amount to complete the works . I have see prices from 20 -30k which just seems an awfull lot of money for what appears to be a job that any compitant diyer could easly do . My dad is also a joiner so I can turn to him on the few things that I'll struggle with .
 
Good luck. If you need any pointers you could always pm me. :thumbs:
 
dekeyboy said:
Good luck. If you need any pointers you could always pm me. :thumbs:
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Thankyou , I may take you up on that :)
 
I have had three quotes just for shell and core and these range from £25k - £45k. This includes construction of gable-end and also excludes drawings and local authority permission.

Its best that everyone has plans to quote against

B
 
I had one at my old house, cost about £17k that included staircase, partioned walls, 3 velux, one dorma with 2 windows, one standard window and plumbing. A friend did the electrical side of things

I ended up with LOADS of extra space, but it was too hot in summer and got cold as soon as heating turned off in winter, even with all the extra insulation added.
 
npinks said:
it was too hot in summer and got cold as soon as heating turned off in winter, even with all the extra insulation added.
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Ours is the same. We effectively have a three bedroom (the third being the loft conversion) but the temperatures are extremes so whether we'd ever have anyone eventually use it as a bedroom I very much doubt.
 
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cpuwizz said:
I have had three quotes just for shell and core and these range from £25k - £45k. This includes construction of gable-end and also excludes drawings and local authority permission.

Its best that everyone has plans to quote against

B
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thats expensive, ours was in that range, but included an ensuite, drawings and planning
 
If it insulated with the correct ammount of celotex or equivalent you should not experience extreme temperatures. You will still have to use radiators etc. Insulation does not mean you don't need them.
 
Every home is different. What one person does for 45k another might do for 30. There are so many ifs and buts in between.
 
cpuwizz said:
I have had three quotes just for shell and core and these range from £25k - £45k. This includes construction of gable-end and also excludes drawings and local authority permission.

Its best that everyone has plans to quote against

B
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What rooms would you have ended up with?
 
We had ours done about 7 years ago, we had a 1930's semi at the time. We had a gable end, staircase, two velux's and a dormer put in. We ended up with a big bedroom (24 x 10 foot) and a bathroom (8 x 8 foot). Cost us about £30k, including architect services and finishing up to smooth plaster, just needed paint all through and tiles in the bathroom to complete it. The builder put in new guttering, pvc fascias and soffit boards and also repointed the chimney stack as part of the deal.
 
I'd have thought the 6k would have been ample to say I'd be completing most myself . What hour / day rates are these builders on ? 25k average cost maybe 3 - 4k in materials 21 grand for 6-8 weeks work seems like a very nice wage across 3 workmen at £875 per week each . That's a hell of a lot more than I earn . Yes there's the argument that they are skilled workmen etc , it just doesn't seem like good value . If I can get the plans drawn up and the floor sorted for 3k I'll be happy . I am perfectly capable of working with bc and can employ a labourer when needed for around £60 a day if I need a second pair of hands .
 
Don't be put off by what you read, if you are capable of doing it yourself then go ahead. Not all workmen are paid the figures you have stated. If a builder was doing the job he would have a scaffold put up, there would nedd to be at least 1 skip. Stairs could cost 750.00 for a basic type or 1500 to 1800 for a much nicer finish. To adhere to fire regs all the doors on your habitable rooms have to be changed to fire doors. These are not 15.00 from b & Q. It all takes time. Doing any building work is very time hungry which can account for high prices.
 
BigJohn said:
I'd have thought the 6k would have been ample to say I'd be completing most myself . What hour / day rates are these builders on ? 25k average cost maybe 3 - 4k in materials 21 grand for 6-8 weeks work seems like a very nice wage across 3 workmen at £875 per week each . That's a hell of a lot more than I earn . Yes there's the argument that they are skilled workmen etc , it just doesn't seem like good value . If I can get the plans drawn up and the floor sorted for 3k I'll be happy . I am perfectly capable of working with bc and can employ a labourer when needed for around £60 a day if I need a second pair of hands .
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This is not a DIY job though...you get what you pay for....are you suggesting that us builders are not worth a decent rate of pay?

What I can do in a day will take most folk a week and then there is no guarantee the DIY'er will have done it correct.

Us builders get a bad rap and it is about time we were given some praise.

£60 a day?...no law abiding labourer I know works for that amount.
 
dekeyboy said:
What rooms would you have ended up with?
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We would have ended up with one bedroom and one bathroom shell.

The house was built in 1930 and is a semi with concrete tiled roof.

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info links attached if that helps?
 
Thanks for putting the pics up, perhaps John can get some ideas from these. It looks like the plans were giving you a nice addition to the property.
 
tiler65 said:
This is not a DIY job though...you get what you pay for....are you suggesting that us builders are not worth a decent rate of pay?

What I can do in a day will take most folk a week and then there is no guarantee the DIY'er will have done it correct.

Us builders get a bad rap and it is about time we were given some praise.

£60 a day?...no law abiding labourer I know works for that amount.
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I'm not trying to put any builders down at all . I work in supplying to trade and see guys charging a vast difference from £150 a day to £300 , and trust me the £150 guy does just a good job as the £300 . I have a background in cabinet work so may have more experience than most diyers . I just get a bit wound up by builders charges some times when they come to me for advice on products and best practice for a job . I don't charge for this information that makes them big bucks . Also I see it day in day out tradesmen making 150% on materials and also charging top rate for the work . So sorry if I seem a bit off with trades folk I just feel that sometimes some of them are very greedy .
 
Cpuwizz thanks for putting up the plans it gives me a much better idea of things . In looking at a simpler though don't really need another bathroom , just one open space a couple of sockets and a rad. Even an initial online quote came back at just over 20k . It really does seem like crazy money . I still think that I just need someone to draw up the plans and do the work on the floor and then me take over from there . I know individual tradesmen who I can call on for electrical work etc when needed .
 
I was quoted £1.5k for drawings and calcs plus fees for the LA. The main costs I believe relates to the amount of steel required and its installation. Duration of the works were 6-8 weeks subject to the weather.

I must admit I fancied someone just doing the externals and steelworks and i'll do the rest, but this came back at around £18-£20k subject to the spec.

Don't forget to add VAT

C
 
BigJohn said:
Also I see it day in day out tradesmen making 150% on materials and also charging top rate for the work . So sorry if I seem a bit off with trades folk I just feel that sometimes some of them are very greedy .
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Nothing wrong with Tesco (or similar) making 200% profit on pints of milk or a loaf of bread then!

Why should a sole trader business just have to work for wages?

What about the builders costs? The £300 top rate you mentioned could easily and quickly be broken down to a base figure of a take home pay that will not be huge.

I hope your build works out well. Get yourself in with a local builders merchant and try and get trade terms with them as they will generally be cheaper than the big sheds for materials. The big sheds do have some good prices but 99% of the time it is for a ridiculous bulk buy or something you bought last week!
 
I have done a lot of building renovation work on my own properties over the years
and I have had a few
I have quite alot of respect for the building industry it is far more complex than people think and is extremely hard work
there is a basic calculator per square meter for most types of building projects
 
Even your lowest wage estimate of 150 a day is 750 of your 875 figure, so why think 875 extortionate?
If you look at your wage plus the other costs to employ you I doubt it is much less per day and you have holiday and sick pay etc etc.
 
The irony. Perhaps you should find an uncle Bob the builder that will do it for £50? It won't matter if he doesn't have any of the skills and a cheap set of tools from argos...it's all the same ;)
 
I don't want to get into a heated argument regarding day rates etc. Unfortunately everyone in the building industry is tarred with the same brush, and we are not all rogues. Do your homework. Please do not assume all of us are there to rip you off.
 
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