loft conversion

[Thomarse]

Hello all,

Im very sorry in advance for the vagueness of this question but I do just want a very ball part figure.

I have a 2 bed terrace and I am considering converting the attic into

1 bedroom. The majority of the work I can do myself however would just like to know what you think a rough figure for putting in 1 domer style window and a staircase.

Obviuosly each case would be different etc but an average cost woudl be useful to know as I literally have no idea on how much this kind of work would cost. I am going to get some builders in for quotes but for now just need to have an idea.

Thanks

Tom

[Bob Mannix]

Do you mean for a dormer window and a staircase just? If this is to be a bedroom it will require new joists (almost certainly), 30min fire door, 30 min fire protection in floor [and walls] and a "means of escape window" at the front. The dormer window and staircase would be done with the joists normally. It would delend on the area of the country I guess but for a small single room loft conversion all in you would be looking at 20-25k I would think. Getting structure only, which would give you an unfloored unplasterboarded unwired shell with dormer, front escape window, fire door and staircase would be about 2/3 of this cost, I would say.

You would then have to provide insulation/fire protection, flooring, plasterboarding, skimming, wiring, fire alarms, door closers on internal doors to staircase (and replacement of any glazed ones). Which is what I did (successfully!)

[John Rumm]

Tis what you will get ;-)

Doing it yourself or having these bits done?

The materials for a dormer will be say £2k - depends on if this is a pretty road facing one with a tiled bonnet roof, or a less attractive flat roof jobbie. Just doing the dormer ought to take a builder no longer than a few days, especially if they are not having to actually finish the interior or make good. So say £4K as a ballpark, perhaps £5k with scaffolding.

Stairs, again much depends on type. You can make most flights (even complex jobbies with quarter winders) for a couple of hundred in materials. If you have a set made to order then expect to pay £600 - £1000. Ballustrading will cost extra. Say two to three days to fit, so you can probably extrapolate a typical cost from there.

Here is a set I did earlier, total cost probably about £400ish but that included redoing the ballustrade on the other flight to match the new ones

you have a builder do a full loft conversion, then I would expect the minimum entry level price is going to be £25K to get you an undecorated shell on a basic one room conversion.