Advice please. Is a loft conversion a no-brainer?

[giggirl]

My house is having a major refurbishment and could best be described as a shell right now. My builder has suddenly sprung on me the idea that whilst the building is in this state, and the inside is being completely reconfigured anyhow, it wouldn't require that much extra effort to convert the loft into two bedrooms. This would give me a five bedroom house. Is this a no-brainer? Should I do it?

Can anyone help me with some facts here? How much does the average loft conversion cost and what would the added value be?

I am not looking to do my house up to sell it on; I want to live in it - and personally I don't need two extra bedrooms. BUT I don't want to miss a trick if a could add a lot of value for a minimal outlay. I would be grateful for any insight.

Thanks in advance.

Px

[Fabricio the Guido]

If you don't own the freehold ... Might need permission for this ...

[womanofdulwich]

im sure your builder can give you a good idea. things to think about are - a 5 bed house and 1 bath not a good idea-need another bath/ shower-you would need a bigger boiler etc to service it- it will cost more to heat- insure - council tax etc. on the other hand you could let out a room- maybe with ensuite- and get a good rent- say ?120 a week- which say ?6000 pa will pay the extra cost back..........

[giggirl]

Interesting points WoD. I hadn't thought about council tax etc.

There will be an en-suite in the master bedroom and the other bedrooms will need to share. On reflection, if I were to go ahead I would just convert the loft into one big space that could be reconfigured into two bedrooms or kept the same in the future. Yes I suppose it could be a source of revenue that could come in handy.

It's my house; I own the freehold and the house. I would probably need planning permission but I need permission for everything I'm doing at the moment so it's just one more thing for the list.

[trizza]

Bear in mind that fire regs brought in a couple of years ago mean that you will need to have the staircase to the loft enclosed and there will need to be a fire door as well. Not sure if this would impact on your landing. Neighbours of ours also had to have fire doors fitted to all doors off the landing and hallway (so the victorian pine ones went in the bin...). You will also need a smoke alarm hard wired.

It will certainly add to the value of the house, but a loft conversion is quite a major undertaking. Very unlikely you will need planning permission - but check southwark council website. However, you will need buildings regulations approval and it would probably be a good idea to have a word with them sooner rather than later if you are going to undertake it. Good luck!

[Jeremy]

My experience is as follows...

- A larger boiler is not necessarily needed (it wasn't with us)

- I would agree that a 4 bed 2 bathroom house is more sellable than a 5 bed 1 bathroom house

- Typical cost of the loft conversion is 30K. But after you've fitted out the bathroom, had the whole lot decorated and carpetted, paid for the building regs inspection, had fire doors fitted, electrical work, etc, 35-40K total spend is realistic.

- It's a big job which takes a couple of months

- It's a very messy job, so if you plan to get it done at any stage in the future, now is the time

[giggirl]

Thanks - it's all helpful.

Just to clarify - the house is being refurbished anyway so that the building inspector is already on board and there is an existing budget for the inspector (which won't get any bigger because it's capped at a certain level I think).

The house is a shell and is being completely reconfigured. There are no floors, no ceilings, no bathrooms, no wiring, no nothing. All of that is being done and there is an existing budget for that. Whatever happens the house is empty until the refurb completes (September).

What the builder is saying is that if I am ever going to get the loft done then now is the time. So, under the circumstances, is it a no brainer?

[*Bob*]

Surely if you don't want or need any extra bedrooms (or a lodger) and you're planning on living in your house and not doing it up to sell on, the no-brainer is 'not' to do the loft?

New fire regs stuff (as above) will mean making your house less nice 'for you' in order to have something you don't want, on the off-chance that you 'might' make some money out of something that the next buyer can just do for themselves if they want it anyway.

Worst case scenario is that you do it (understandably - because you never wanted it in the first place) on too tight a budget and you putting potential buyers people off, because you haven't spent enough money on it - as we were put-off by a number of dubious 'loft conversions' when buying our house here.

Keep your cash!

[giggirl]

Valid points *Bob*.

If I do it then it will be done properly or I won't bother. I guess I just don't want to kick myself later for not having done it when the time was right. The house can't get any messier (disrupted) than it is already. Who knows what will happen in the future but right now I'm not planning to sell or to use any more space then I'll have if the refurb goes ahead to the current plan (3 bedrooms). I take your points though so thanks.

[reggie]

solar panels are a no brainer

[Alec John Moore]

We are really pleased with our loft conversion. My wife uses it ss an office and it is really spacious. We didn't need to have the staircase boarded and the unexpected bonus is the way it opens up the top of the house with a skylight which floods the space with light. We lost loft storage space but now we have more convenient cupboards under the eaves. I would go for it if you budget can withstand it.

[Moos]

When we were househunting an estate agent commented to us that every extra bedroom is worth about ?20,000 but only up to 4 bedrooms - in other words two houses one with 4 beds and one with 6 will sell for comparable prices, all other things being equal. It was just one comment, one agent, a few years ago - but it might be worth asking a few agents to have a look and give you their views. If it's true, that would lend weight to your idea of converting it to a single space. Big study? Second sitting room? Sounds amazing. Best of luck.

[citizenED]

"The house is a shell and is being completely reconfigured. There are no floors, no ceilings, no bathrooms, no wiring, no nothing"

Do you live in the Concrete House?

[Mick Mac]

I'm no expert but I would have thought additional bedrooms are worth more than 20k. However may not add much value if they are being squeezed into a house with too small a footprint.

Also consider whether the garden is big enough to support 5 bedrooms as it is likely to be bought by a family at some stage.

These things considered, I would go for it. It should be cheaper than a stand alone loft conversion as the builders are there anyway.

[ClareC]

I think you should do it! Loft conversion made a huge difference to my house and we got amazing views over London too!

I was told the loft conversion added 100k but that was a few years ago now.....

[new mother]

As I understand it, you have planned three beds, one family bathroom and one en suite to the master bedroom? Builder can add two beds by converting upstairs. I'd be tempted to plumb upstairs now as well, I'm afraid so that a nanny or visitors could be totally private there in addition to having the two beds/one mega bedroom space. Oh dear - the bill is mounting. Good luck.

[granadaland]

My experience being structural engineer is that loft conversions don't add much more to the value of your house than what it cost you to do the 'extension'.

you will have a 5 bedroom house with the living space of a 3 bedroom house.

It's generally an improvement for personal reasons, making the most of what you have.

but that may appeal to somebody.

loft conversion bedrooms, cold in winter, boiling in summer.

just my opinion though, not sure of the market.

[Jeremy]

I'm pretty sure you'd get your money back (and then some) when you do eventually sell. So if you have the cash now, financially it should be a no-brainer. The main downside is probably all the extra work and time to completion.

[reggie]

oi granadaland

our loft is the warmest room in the house all winter

[ClareC]

Don't agree they are cold in winter and hot in summer! Warmest room in winter and coolest in summer given the through breeze from windows both sides..... Depends how well built perhaps?

[Chippy Minton]

I'd agree with Mick Mac. If you have a five bed house your resell market is going to be families and they are going to be looking for a reasonably sized garden so you need to consider that. Otherwise I'd go for it - we've done a complete refurb and know exactly what's involved so I'd say now is defiantly the time to do it.

Also, no nothing now and you're going to be living there in September - wow! Who's your builder?

[karter]

Do agents call it 'top heavy' if the number of bedrooms is not proportionate to the size of garden? I had that issue once and just asking the question of what people think?

A 24 kw boiler should be sufficient but depends on the size of house.

If you are midworks then it would be more cost effective and less hassle to do this now. Why has this idea come up now though, shouldn't the architect have pointed out his option from the start?

hope it's going well GG...