Loft Conversion

[motorbird83]

Hi everyone-- my husband and I are converting the loft in a house that we hope will be our family home and have to make a decision that I hope those of you that already have children can help me with.

The house already has an ensuite and a family bathroom on the first floor and a WC under the stairs on the ground floor. When converting the loft, we have the option of adding in a shower room as well. Alternatively, we could just put in a WC and sink and have more storage space (and extra 5ft wide x 5ft deep and 4 ft high). On balance I suspect having the extra storage following converting the loft would be more useful than another shower. However, there will be two bedrooms in the loft so maybe it will feel like a pain for kids or guests to have to come and shower on the first floor?

It would be great to hear if you think a toilet up there and storage is the better trade off or if you would expect a full bathroom!

Thanks so much for your help!

[pebbles]

How many bedrooms are there currently and how many will there be? I think that will make a difference to people's answers.

We have a loft conversion (just the one bedroom) and it has an ensuite. It's my son's bedroom and he uses the loo but not the shower however as he gets older we do envisage him using it. We bought the house and it was already converted. If we were to have done it as we already have 2 bathrooms (and a loo downstairs) I think we would have opted for the bigger storage.

Hope this helps

Good luck x

[womanofdulwich]

we had a similar dilemma a while ago. We just put a whb in one room, for an au pair. It really depends how you think its going to go. If you are thinking au pair then the extra shower room is really handy, and if times are hard and you want to let a room, en suite is always better.

If you have lots of stuff, it is not a hardship for family members to walk down a flight of stairs, but I warn you that teenagers spend a long time in the shower. They seem to stand there for 20 mins every morning to wake up. If you will have a few teenagers at the same time I would be generous with the provision of showers!!

It is the older generation that need toilets on the same floor!

[motorbird83]

That's really helpful! Pebbles, there are two double bedrooms and a small study on the first floor and there will be two bedrooms in the loft. If we can afford it, we've considered having a live-in nanny given we'll have the space.

WoD, what's a whb? We are planning to put in a loo and sink in the loft in all circumstance but not sure if putting in the shower is worth the additional storage space we'd lose...

I guess the question really is do most of you long for more showers or more storage (probably both!). It probably changes as kids get older I imagine.

Thanks again for the replies as this has been really helpful :)

[tiddles]

We are planning to do this soon, and an extra shower room is a complete must for us. As they become teenagers, a second shower room would be a flippin godsend.

[motorbird83]

So Tiddle you are going to have 3 bathrooms in total as well? We already have an ensuite and a family bathroom on the first floor so if we have go for the shower room in the loft, we'll have 3 full bathrooms and a loo downstairs.

[womanofdulwich]

whb=wash hand basin.

Maybe you dont need a shower as you dont have children yet. BUT if you are going to go nanny, au pair or even lodger then I would put the plumbing in now ( ie water up to the roof to save disturbance later).

[ClareC]

If you have a nanny then def a shower, otherwise storage better!

The biggest problem with a loft conversion is the loss of loft storage!

[amydown]

We have one bedroom and an en suite in our loft. We did have concerns about losing storage space but had storage cupboards built under the eaves (dead space) and it created a lot of storage without losing usable space in the bedroom. Also, when we emptied the loft, we realised how much crap we were holding onto unnecessarily!

[Grotty]

think about what you would regret the most. If you put a shower in but later regret the lack of storage, storage is probably something that can be sorted relatively easily - buying a chest/wardrobe/de-cluttering, but if you go for a smaller bathroom with no shower and regret that later, thats a much bigger hassle to sort out no?

[tiddles]

actually my fault - I mis read the OP - we have one bathroom and a downstairs loo, however even with the family bathroom and the luxury of an en suite (heaven!), I think I would still have a shower room - visiting guests etc. They are pretty small, and altho storage is imperative, I think alot of lofts have quite a lot of rubbish in them -mine included!

[devsdev]

We're about to start on a loft conversion and are having 2 rooms and a big bathroom. We're actually giving up a little bit of space in the front room to have a really good second family bathroom. We have one LO and plan on having another one so a second full bathroom is key (we also have a WC downstairs). It may seem somewhat unnecessary right now, but as others have mentioned think of what would be important in the future (especially as you'll have a live-in nanny).

We're getting eaves storage in the front as well as over our back extension - if you have this option you should ask about them putting in storage at the back too.

Good luck with the conversion - I am dreading the process as I'm going to be home with my LO through the whole thing!

[motorbird83]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I personally think 3 full bathrooms and a downstairs loo is a bit much for a 4 bed house but it seems I may come to regret only putting a WC in the loft. The idea of not having the storage though makes me break out in hives so I'm going back to the architect to see if there is any way to keep more storage and incorporate a shower into the WC in the loft. Wishful thinking :)

devsdev- good luck to you too! I'm scared too as its such a big job and while its thrilling to be able to design your own space, it also a lot of pressure to get it right :)

[tarafitness]

we're having to consider the same thing. We already have a downstairs loo, a family bathroom (that my teenage son uses) and an en suite in our room.

The loft conversion will become an office for my partner as he works from home in our small study (which will become a nursery). However, the loft will also double as a guest room so I think having a small shower and toilet suite will be quite a nice addition. It's definitely better to get it put in at this stage rather when all the work is being carried out, than have to sort out the plumbing later down the line should you opt for it later.

[motorbird83]

Yes, I've decided to go with the wisdom of the forum. I might be able to keep the storage space I want. The trick might be the location of the loo. Right now we are planning to run the waste pipe down behind the stairs so it connects with the waste pipe for the downstairs loo. The location it currently is in means we don't need a macerator (hurrah!). If we move the toilet over, we can get in a shower and keep some extra storage but I won't move the toilet if it means having a macerator. Hopefully, it will all be okay.

Thanks for all the helpful advice!

[ClareC]

Make sure the doors to the eaves are large (ease of storing things / getting them back without emptying eaves), also ensure eaves storage quite deep - it's an awkward shape which limits what fits

[motorbird83]

Thanks for the tip. How deep would you recommend? I think our current plans have 5 feet of eves storage but must of that is very low height. Would you suggest more so you can fit bigger items in? Thanks so much!

[The Nappy Lady]

Motorbird we are doing our loft now. We are putting 2 bedrooms (for the children) and a shower room in up there.

We will then have 3 bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor - which will be 'our' adult bathroom, plus for guests when they come.

Storage is an issue, but we too have been keeping a whole load of crud in the attich - if you don't have the storage you don't keep so much cr*p if you will excuse me French, but it is true! You DO need storage, true, but what we have planned into our 'big build' (loft is only the tip of it), is to use every bit of space throughout the house in the best way we can - so we've reconfigured under the stairs so it is now 3 separate cupboards instead of one long thin one (which was a nightmare - whatever you needed was always at the flipping back). Also building in storage floor to ceiling cupboards wherever it makes sense, and doing the same in the loft - into the low eaves once finished.

personally I think this is the best approach, and it will make me think much harder about what I choose to hang on to in the future.

I do see your dilemma given you have an en suite as well as a family bathroom on the 1st floor, but I think overall I'd still put a shower room into the attic.

Happy building!

Molly

[Huggers]

We put a bath in the loft! We squeezed our bathroom under the eaves, not over the stairs as is the usual thing and it gave us enough room for a bath with shower overhead, but a shower would have done just as well.

Our clothes cupboards are over the stairs.

The loft is now our bedroom- and I am very glad we don't have to go down a floor to use the family bathroom.

It makes it extremely flexible for future uses.

We also have a loo on the ground floor.

We have storage in the eaves and also under the staircase that goes up to the loft.

We also have storage in the roof space of the original back addition.

Think ahead, how long will you stay in your house?

A shower means greater flexibility.

One day you may want to let out the top bit when the birds have flown the nest.

Or if you sell, it will be something a buyer will prefer.

With a loo you are already doing the plumbing.

However many bathrooms you have, they are not going to be used all at once.

[motorbird83]

That's really helpful and our architect thinks we can squeeze in a small shower and still keep most of the extra storage we wanted by moving the washer dryer. We are keeping our master bedroom on the 1st floor with our existing ensuite so it was important to me that we have some storage that was accessible without going into the loft bedroom if you know what I mean. If that becomes a nanny's room, I'm sure she won't appreciate me popping in and shifting things around so I can get into the eves cupboard every time I need something. What we've designed is a reasonable sized storage cupboard accessed via the shower room in the loft-- loft shower room won't be ensuite for that reason. All in all, I'm glad you guys forced me to re-think my plans and the architect has come up with something that works really well! How deep is everyone's eves storage in the loft room? Do you think 5 feet is deep enough to be useful?

[Huggers]

our space under the eaves is only about two or two and a half feet in depth but goes the full length of the eaves. We have one access hatch so you have to be a bit of a potholer to use the far reaches.

[ClareC]

5ft sounds a good depth, that much deeper than ours. Definitely have a light fitted and at least two entrances that are good sized (to avoid pot holing ;) )