Key Questions To Ask Before Building A Loft Conversion

When you’ve got a young family, having the kids share a room isn’t a problem. As they start to get a bit older, they may not want to do that anymore. By the time they’re teenagers, it becomes more and more ideal to be able to give them their own space. For a lot of families, that means moving into a bigger house. But when your family has grown up together in that house, you may not like the idea of leaving it behind, so, what can you do? A simple solution is to convert your loft into another bedroom. It’s perfect for teenagers when they want to hide away at the top of the house and not be bothered, and it’ll give you the space that you need. If you think that a loft conversion might be for you, don’t do anything without answering these questions first.

Source

Can The House Take It?

Converting the loft into a fully functioning room complete with furniture and somebody walking around up there is going to add weight to the house. It’s not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things but if the foundations of your house aren’t strong enough to take that extra weight then you could find yourself in big trouble. Before you go ahead with any changes, expose the foundations and check them. You’ll need a professional surveyor to have a look for you. They’ll also need to check out any supporting beams to make sure they’re in top condition and aren’t likely to break under the extra weight of a loft conversion.

Is The Roof Ok?

A small gap here and there isn’t so much of a problem if your loft is just being used to store all of your old junk. If there’s a bit of a draft, nobody will complain. That’s not the case when somebody is living up there. You need to get a company like PH Roofing to come in and do a proper survey of the roof, and then fix any gaps or holes that you might have in there. The insulation in the roof is also a problem. It’s fine in the summer but as it starts to get colder, you’ll need to ensure it’s warm enough.

Is It Tall Enough?

It’s easy to forget about head height if you’re moving a young child into the room but a few years down the line you’ll have a lot of bumped heads if the roof is low. Make sure that you can stand up in there comfortably and you can be sure that the kids won’t outgrow it. If the roof is too low, you could consider trying to extend it but it’ll be expensive and time consuming so you might have to reconsider the conversion.

Can You Get Up There Easily?

Getting up there is another problem. A ladder is fine for a normal loft but if it’s a bedroom, climbing up and down every time is going to be a pain. Ideally, you’ll want to put a staircase in but that comes with its own problems. Firstly, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve got the space to put a staircase in without causing too much disruption. The price is also a big factor. The custom staircase that you’ll need to have built can cost about ten times more than a standard, off the shelf one that you’d put in elsewhere in the house so make sure to consider that when you’re totalling up the costs.

Building a loft conversion is a great way to add an extra room to the house but you need to answer these questions before deciding whether to go ahead with it.