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The Perfect Loft Conversion: 5 Things You Need To Think About Before You Start Building

loft conversion

There are many reasons a family or landlord will consider converting a loft. For a growing family, the space beneath the roof is a great area to create an extra bedroom, den or office. For landlords, loft conversions can generate a huge amount of revenue in small properties, communal rentals and student digs.

But there are a number of things you need to consider before you can start dreaming about furnishings, wall colour and a skylight view of the stars.

Here are 5 things you need to consider.

Planning permission

The horror story for any new build or extension project is to add the last, final cushion or finish painting the last wall only to find that all your hard work has to be torn down as you haven't gained the right planning permission.

Fortunately, not all houses require planning permission for internal changes, and your local planning office will tell you if you even need consent in the first place. The main problem on most occasions won't be the council but your neighbours. Let them know far in advance that you are planning a small extension and they may hear some building work for a couple of weeks.

If you think your neighbours may object to this, sweeten the prospect with a muffin basket or bottle of wine!

Leaks and damp

Hot summers, stormy weather and wintry showers can take its toll on your roof, which is an issue even when you are just storing old books and childhood toys in the loft. But if you are converting the attic space into a liveable zone, a small crack in the slate and roof tiles can result in leaks, slow damp and a chilly breeze on windy nights.

Inspect your roof on the inside and also the outside to see if there is any noticeable damage. Repairing slate tiles is easy enough and requires no more than a hammer and copper nails, but is well worth the effort.

Will you need extra storage?

Our lofts are typically where we dump the junk we cant bring ourselves to throw away but don't know what to do with. You won't want this clutter taking up space in the new room you are planning so think about where this stuff will go.

If you have a shed, garage or other external storage then no problem. Other solutions are building a storage wall in your new conversion where you can keep your possessions out of sight behind a stud wall with door access. Otherwise call your local skip company or host a garage sale!

Rising heat and uncomfortable nights sleep

In the winter, your attic conversion will be the cosiest room in the house. In the summer months however the temperature in warmer countries could reach unbearable levels, especially if you haven't considered proper ventilation.

For fire safety and ventilation reasons you will want a skylight or other small window to help provide fresh air and natural light. Another tip is to add insulation between the floorboards so that the heat rising from the rest of the house doesn't escape into the loft, keeping the new bedroom or study cool in summer and the rest of the house warm in winter.

Space planning

However excited you get about the prospect of a new room and your loft conversion, you need to plan. What you may find in the planning stage is that there really isn't any room for a loft conversion – not in the loft itself but on the landing below.

Easy access to your new attic room means you will need to install stairs, but finding room in the hallway below to accommodate for an extra floor may be a struggle.

You can always divvy up the space, move bedroom walls slightly to one side and create the space, but this will all massively increase the cost of the conversion and need to be thought about well ahead of time.

Written by Arthur Hamilton, frequent blogger and DIY expert.

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