What To Expect During A Loft Conversion

Work on our loft conversion was completed nearly a year ago now and since then we couldn't have been more pleased with our decision to have it done. It's opened up our house by giving it another layer and we feel like it has given us exactly the amount of space that we were hoping for, in fact it actually feels like quite a bit more than I thought it was going to be.

Throughout the process and even now I get quite a lot of messages from people asking me about our loft conversion and so for anyone considering having their own loft converted, I thought I would share some things, both positive and negative that you can expect during the process of having your loft converted.

A BIT OF SHOPPING AROUND

As with most things like this, when you first go to find a company to do your new loft conversion, shopping around for different quotes is really important. But one word of advice I would give is, don't necessarily go for the cheapest company you can find.

We got a few quotes from different companies before making a decision on ours and we ended up going with the company who actually knew the most about what they were doing rather than those who offered us the cheapest price.

One company that came round completely failed to spot or tell us about an issue that would have arisen around fire regulations in our home following the conversion. So we went with the company who noticed it straight away, gave us a solution and who seemed confident with their knowledge and experience when it came to loft conversions. I would also advise to always request to go and see some of your chosen company's previous work too.

Scaffolding, a skip on your driveway, noise and lots of dust 

I actually found the first week or so from when our conversion began, not too bad. It was noisy, but it was also up in the roof and totally out of the way from the main part of our house downstairs.

The builders started work from the outside, which meant that they weren't really coming through the house much in the beginning. But then when they do need to start coming through your house it does become a bit disruptive, especially when you work from home and look after your little ones at home like my Husband and I do. Our builders were as respectful and tidy as they could be, but I have to admit that I did look forward to the time that they finished each day just so that I could have my home back. 

Scaffolding is also obviously put up and stays up during the entire conversion and you should also expect that you will have a skip on your driveway for the entire length of the conversion too. For me, it was the dust that would come down the stairs and get absolutely everywhere towards the end of the conversion that was one of the things I disliked the most, as well as our front door being opened a lot and all of the heat from the house escaping. But I do have to say, once it's all finished and the conversion is properly yours, the dust and the temporarily cold house feels more than worth it. 

A length of about 6-8 weeks from start to finish 

Around 6-8 weeks is a bit of an estimate, because it's honestly so hard to say how long a loft conversion will take because obviously it depends on what sort of conversion you go for and also what extra work you have done at the same time, as well as if anything unforeseeable comes up. 

For us, we had extra work done downstairs in line with fire regulations, we had all of our doors in our home replaced with heavier fire doors (we were given the choice between having a sprinkler system put in to our home or getting new fire doors). We also had two extra rooms plastered as well as three extra rooms re-decorated and all new flooring laid.

It seems that the new thing and probably the future of loft conversions seems to be heading towards having your conversion actually built offsite and then added on to your home. It's called Offsite Modular Construction and the whole installation process from start to finish is said to only take 10-14 days total, a huge difference compared to how long standard loft conversions generally take. I'd think that the huge advantage with offsite modular construction is that obviously far less building work will be required to take place at your home, reducing the length of noise and disruption. And the build itself will also be immune to weather delays, which can be a huge factor in terms of how long the process of a conversion can take from start to finish. You can read more about offsite modular construction and all of the benefits to it at www.landmark-lofts.com/modular.

Lots of value and space added to your home 

Personally I think that the biggest thing you should expect with your loft conversion, should you choose to get one, is the amount of space and of course, value, it will add to your home. 

I couldn't really envision our loft conversion before it was finished, not like my Husband could anyway. I thought it the finished space was going to be small, but having the dormer put on the back really showed me how much space we actually had up there. We now have the bigger office space that we required for us to be able to run our businesses from home. Our boys each have their own room. And my Husband and I have 'our sanctuary' (as we call it now) with a lovely en-suite. 

The conversion has added lots of value on to our home and it has meant that we have been able to stay in the same location that we love whilst growing our home to suit our family and our lifestyle. And so for that reason, getting our loft converted was definitely the right and best decision for us and I would totally recommend anyone considering having their own done to go for it.