Anyone ever created a mezzanine floor?

[LondonMix]

To all of our ED architects and builders, I was wondering if anyone has ever created a mezzanine floor and how costly this is? I've seen articles saying to create one out of some of your loft space is just a few thousand pounds but somehow that seems too good to be true!

[Lowlander]

I'm guessing this would be done by taking out the ceiling, so that first of all you're just looking into the loft through the ceiling joists.

This will create untold amounts of dust, leave exposed wires and possibly piping which need to be re-routed (cheap and easy).

Then you'd have to remove the ceiling joists, easy, but they could be structural...

You'd then have to insulate and plasterboard the roof (easy)

After that they'd put in some supports and a new floor. You may need some beams in here for support (the expensive part)

I'd be very interested to see if this is any cheaper than a traditional loft conversion.

[LondonMix]

I agree. There are people on Mumsnet and an article in the telegraph that claim creating a basic mezzanine out of a loft is a few thousand (mumsnet said 3k). Given the work involved this seems incredible.

[red devil]

Depends what they mean by mezzanine. I've seen a raised platform bed, with ladder, in a 12ft high ceiling room described as a 'mezzainine level'. If it was a proper mezzanine level, like what you get in old school conversions, ?3k might just about cover the cost of the Structural Eng's fees...

[Jeremy]

A lightweight platform, using the existing ceiling joists, might be fairly simple. But you'd need to leave any cross beams supporting the roof structure in place. You'd also need to put up insulation around the roof, and board over it. And it wouldn't be strong enough to support anything but the lightest of use (i.e. no furniture). I'd really question the usefulness and financial feasibility of something like this.

If you want the new floor to be able to support furniture and other heavy usage, you'd need to insert new steel (or thick wood) joists. If you want natural light, you'd need to install a velux window. By the time you've done all this, you basically have a loft conversion.

[LondonMix]

Yes, I agree. I saw someone do a brilliant mezzanine above their master bedroom. The loft was too shallow to convert but somehow they managed (droping the ceiling perhaps) to create a standing room mezzanine floor that looked brilliant and they still had quite a bit of loft space for storage. The stairs ran along the wall in the master which might be what allowed them to make it work when a loft conversion wouldn't. I was just curious how much such a thing would cost out of curiosity. It was very impressive and a good use of space as they had a dressing room and ensuite up there.

[red devil]

As Jeremy said, you're virtually doing a loft conversion, so depending on footprint, could easily cost around ?30k for a basic fit-out...

[Salsaboy]

And it would come under building control/regs if it is used as a habitable space. More money.

[LondonMix]

Yes, footprint of about 150 sqft with a spiral stair case and plumbing for an ensuite might be as much as that. Not sure it will pay for itself at that price. It would create a massive master suite with ensuite and wardrobe / dressing area. However, I'm not sure how much more I would pay for a house with this architectural feature. Still its about nesting not always making an sound investment!