what worked, what didn’t, what you’d do next time, if you used an all in one loft conversion company or got your own plans drawn up and employed a builder etc

any insight appreciated

ta

Ensure you know what you want, and involve the building control officer early on, remember the need for a proper staircase, mains wired alarms, door closers, and means of escape window, velux or ordinary window, that must open wide, then theres the strengthening of the floor ceiling, heating, ventilation, and insulation.

for normal domestic dwellings there’s no need for an escape windows or self closers on doors,however you will need fire doors to all doors except wc/bathroom that open onto the staircase enclosure and interlinked smoke detectors/alarms at all levels.

I’d get some plans drawn and look for a builder or go to a local loft conversion company.

Where abouts are you?

It’s a domestic dwelling, currently a bungalow, near Stroud.
Seems to have a bigish loft out of which we’d like to try and achieve two bedrooms, a toilet and sink room and possibly an open lounge / tv / sofa area at the top of the stairs.

I did a sort of loft conversion -the loft was adjacent to my flat rather than above it as I am in the attic

I got an architect to draw up plans – unfortunately he made mistakes in the spec which meant altho I built it to the spec it did not meet building regs. Mind you the building regs chap from the council approved the plans but then found the fault after I built it to the spec when it was inspected so he made mistakes as well. The structural engineer had to be told which walls were load bearing and which were not – he wanted me to put a massive steel in to replace a non loadbearing wall and I had to show him that nothing was resting ontop

I used a builder to do the structural work and did all the interior myself which meant I could make sure that fittings went where I wanted them to go. Unfortunately the builders put one of the windows in the wrong place – it was in the right place on the plans but they decided it would look better where it was.

I massively over ordered on the plasterboard as well. about 30% over estimate

all in all I got £20 000 worth of work for £7000 cash and 3 months of my sparetime.

By acting as main contractor yourself you save money – and I did a lot of labour which saves money as well. However its a lot of work. I used a the builder for the bits where I felt an insured professional was needed and then did the rest myself employing the likes of plasterers / gas fitters on a day rate when needed.

If I did it again I would check he architects work more thoroughly – I trusted him to get the spec right. I would research the correct spec myself. Other wise I would do much as I did.

The other thing I did was to make sure I got all the fixtures and fittings exactly where I wanted – including loudspeakers and lights – DIY makes that easier.

chose your professionals well. get personal recommendations if you can

Doorways
2.19 Every doorway within the enclosure to the
existing stair should be fitted with a door which,
in the case of doors to habitable rooms, should
be fitted with a self-closing device.
Note: Rising butt hinges are adequate as self-closing
devices (see Note to paragraph 2.13).
Any new door to a habitable room should be a fire
door. Existing doors need only be fitted with self-closing
devices. Existing glazed doors may need
to have the glazing changed, see paragraph 2.20.
Glazing
2.20

Also

http://www.southampton.gov.uk/Images/Loft%20Conversions%20and%20the%20Building%20Regulations%202000%20(inc%20L1a%20Rev)_tcm46-161536.pdf

See page 8

Where abouts in Stroud i used to live there.

If its currently a bungalow & will become 2 storey after the loft conversion, then no need to worry about fire doors – this only applies to 3 storey dwellings. Loft conversion companies are generally quick & can usually do the planning/building regs drawings for you, but quality of finishes not always the best & can be pricey. Best to get a local builder (ideally from recommendation-ask to see a portfolio of previous work) who has done loft conversions before. Always get min 3 quotes & never go for the cheapest. A good general builder should be able hook you up with someone who can draw plans & a structural engineer, which you will need. Talk to your local authority Building control dept also, they are generally very knowledgeable & helpful.

Talk to your local authority Building control dept also, they are generally very knowledgeable & helpful.

good advice – it would have helped me

Check out domestic fire sprinklers here Plenty of info to dispel the mis-information associated with them. Lots of info available regarding regs.

http://www.stroud.gov.uk/docs/planning/building_control_loft.asp

We used a loft conversion specialist. Get the stairs design right and the rest will follow. Check the pitch carefully as you may end up with not a lot of walking space. Dormer windows are always worth the extra. Consider a toilet and shower room, as this really helps come selling time.

After we converted ours, three other neighbours used the same company!