Advice Welcomed - Loft Conversion

[poppoppoppet 10]

Hello all,

 

i wondered if anyone is able to provide some advice on loft conversions?

 

i currently have a 2 bedroom house on one of the lakes roads off abbeydale. I looked to sell earlier this year but the bidding wars were too crazy so I stayed put for now.

 

 I’m considering getting a loft conversion to add an extra en suite bedroom. I have a quote and am just deciding whether to proceed. The cost is around 25 percent of the guide valuation for my house (offers did go 25k  over that though). I can’t work out if I’ll make the money back if I do get it done and I can’t find anything similar in the nearby roads to compare to.

 

interested in hearing any thoughts/opinions/experiences if anyone has anything to share. Is a 3 bedroom house much more desirable than a 2 bedroom? Has anyone done anything similar and made the money back?

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

 

 

[geared 306]

Generally speaking 2 to 3 bed is a wise move. 

[Norbert 145]

25% of the house value, that's insane! Do it yourself on the cheap. I got insulation from skips. Add in inexpensive chipboard flooring, plasterboard lining. Do the ring main yourself and get a sparky to finish it off back to the meter.

 

Total price including getting someone to make a room with toilet, macerator and sink came in under 5k.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Norbert

[dan2802 53]

On 29/03/2022 at 23:30, Norbert said:

25% of the house value, that's insane! Do it yourself on the cheap. I got insulation from skips. Add in inexpensive chipboard flooring, plasterboard lining. Do the ring main yourself and get a sparky to finish it off back to the meter.

 

Total price including getting someone to make a room with toilet, macerator and sink came in under 5k.

This is without doubt the worst advice I've ever seen posted on here.

 

[bungleboy69 101]

Do the ring main yourself and get a sparky to finish it off back to the meter... 

 

I love it, they'll be queuing up to get on that job.... you fit it, I'll test and certify it for thee

 

Ring mains??? 

 

 

[Norbert 145]

19 hours ago, bungleboy69 said:

Do the ring main yourself and get a sparky to finish it off back to the meter... 

 

I love it, they'll be queuing up to get on that job.... you fit it, I'll test and certify it for thee

 

Ring mains??? 

 

 

The first sparky I contacted was happy to do the job, it saved me loads of money, I did my kitchen too, it's hardly brain surgery.

 

On 31/03/2022 at 20:02, dan2802 said:

This is without doubt the worst advice I've ever seen posted on here.

 

Care to expand on why this was a terrible idea?

 

Just so you know the insulation was very thick foil faced PIR. The channelled, ducted ring circuit was all proper spec and signed off. The plaster board was properly applied, joined and painted over. The flooring material is the same as a contractor would use. The bare brick walls were plastered by myself flat enough to be merely painted over. It’s got full skirting, a radiator and a heated towel rail in the toilet. I did this leisurely over 6 months of one weekend day every fortnight at 10% of the cost of getting people to do it for me and there’s no crap left under the floorboards because I cleaned and prepared properly at every stage, unlike the majority of 'professionals'.

 

Also I turned up on time, didn't sneak off to do another job around the corner, didn't tramp crap into the carpets, and played decent music while doing it 😁

 

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by Norbert

[dan2802 53]

19 hours ago, Norbert said:

The first sparky I contacted was happy to do the job, it saved me loads of money, I did my kitchen too, it's hardly brain surgery.

 

Care to expand on why this was a terrible idea?

 

Just so you know the insulation was very thick foil faced PIR. The channelled, ducted ring circuit was all proper spec and signed off. The plaster board was properly applied, joined and painted over. The flooring material is the same as a contractor would use. The bare brick walls were plastered by myself flat enough to be merely painted over. It’s got full skirting, a radiator and a heated towel rail in the toilet. I did this leisurely over 6 months of one weekend day every fortnight at 10% of the cost of getting people to do it for me and there’s no crap left under the floorboards because I cleaned and prepared properly at every stage, unlike the majority of 'professionals'.

 

Also I turned up on time, didn't sneak off to do another job around the corner, didn't tramp crap into the carpets, and played decent music while doing it 😁

 

 

All signed off then eh ?

[Jeffrey Shaw 90]

Also (if needed), notification to (and/or consents from):

a. buildings insurer;

b. mortgagee [lender]

c. Local Planning Authority, if the works required planning permission; and

d. Local Authority Building Control, under the Building Act [Building Regulations/ 'by-law consent']?

 

Omitting any of these that are required may cause major long-term problems if you need to claim on the insurance or when you come to sell.

[Norbert 145]

5 hours ago, Jeffrey Shaw said:

Also (if needed), notification to (and/or consents from):

a. buildings insurer;

b. mortgagee [lender]

c. Local Planning Authority, if the works required planning permission; and

d. Local Authority Building Control, under the Building Act [Building Regulations/ 'by-law consent']?

 

Omitting any of these that are required may cause major long-term problems if you need to claim on the insurance or when you come to sell.

a. I change my insurer every year, it's all in the past

b. I paid off my mortgage 10 years early, and before the work. Not wasting money certainly helps.

c . All changes were within regulations, as they are for most similar projects.

 

Regarding the electrics, I left all the work open for inspection and 2 very long cable tails so it could be run to the meter without a join. I'm not a fan of lifting floorboards and treads.

 

In the real world most people don't keep paperwork that long and can provide only a fraction of evidence about what has happened to the house over the years. My house is over 100 years old, and I have zero documentation from the last seller, the deeds such as they are are under the bed. It's a sellers market and round here it would be bought up and bid-up in days with any inspections paid for by the buyer.

 

I recommend doing it yourself (DIY is still very much a thing) to everybody, when the washing machine breaks you'll find a YouTube video showing you how to repair it, same for vacuum cleaners, toilets, bikes, hi-fi, even your own car, I've changed head gaskets when they were a thing. I wouldn't touch gas pipes though, and when it comes to water I only do drainage, though with push fit piping it should be easy enough to do mains.

 

We're not helpless, and all capable of much more than we might think.

 

[arrowhead 23]

On 03/04/2022 at 23:20, Norbert said:

a. I change my insurer every year, it's all in the past

b. I paid off my mortgage 10 years early, and before the work. Not wasting money certainly helps.

c . All changes were within regulations, as they are for most similar projects.

 

Regarding the electrics, I left all the work open for inspection and 2 very long cable tails so it could be run to the meter without a join. I'm not a fan of lifting floorboards and treads.

 

In the real world most people don't keep paperwork that long and can provide only a fraction of evidence about what has happened to the house over the years. My house is over 100 years old, and I have zero documentation from the last seller, the deeds such as they are are under the bed. It's a sellers market and round here it would be bought up and bid-up in days with any inspections paid for by the buyer.

 

I recommend doing it yourself (DIY is still very much a thing) to everybody, when the washing machine breaks you'll find a YouTube video showing you how to repair it, same for vacuum cleaners, toilets, bikes, hi-fi, even your own car, I've changed head gaskets when they were a thing. I wouldn't touch gas pipes though, and when it comes to water I only do drainage, though with push fit piping it should be easy enough to do mains.

 

We're not helpless, and all capable of much more than we might think.

 

Your advice to just do it yourself makes a bit more sense in context now i suppose, but very few people would have the time, expertise, confidence etc to do what you are suggesting. But good on you, if it worked for you, why not.