Not every householder can afford to move home nowadays, with property selling prices rocketing and expenses spinning out of control. It's not simply the house prices that affect this, but also the cost of moving house, which has gotten very expensive lately. If you find that your family is getting too big for your home however you can't afford to move there are more alternatives.
You could possibly put an extension onto your property to create additional living space but this may be expensive and will depend on your ability to get the required planning permission. You could do a garage conversion, as long as you have a garage and you aren't actually using it for your car. Another option is a loft conversion, which may not merely be cost effective, but can also put more value to your house without increasing its footprint.
In the 21st century, for some of the reasons mentioned above, loft conversion has gotten more popular than ever. It is vital, before deciding, that you verify whether your property is in actual fact suited to a loft conversion. Houses which have roofs made with trusses are not normally suitable. Virtually all homes built before the 1970's have ample head space and therefore are the most suitable for loft conversion.
To take a look the situation with your particular loft and ensure it is suited to conversion you will want to get in touch with a loft specialist. If the builder gives you the all clear to have a conversion ask him for a quote. Get some more estimates from different conversion specialists, so that you've a good selection of tradespeople. Use your instinct rather than simply thinking about the price when choosing who's the best company to carry out your loft conversion.
The vast majority of loft conversions in don't require planning permission, so there's a pretty good chance that yours will not either. Talk to your local planning office or ask your loft specialist whether planning permission is needed.
Do not imagine that a loft conversion is going to be cheap, because it's a fairly expensive thing to do. Unless you already have the funds you could perhaps obtain a loan, which hopefully won't be that difficult because the likelihood is that the loft conversion will substantially add to the market value of your home. As a rule of thumb you may assume a loft conversion to cost you about as much as a decent size brickwork ground level extension although the probability is that you will gain more space with a conversion without raising your property's overall footprint.
The layout and style of your actual dwelling will influence which kind of conversion you end up with. Loft conversions are available in several styles for example: dormer loft conversions, hip-to-gable conversions, roof light conversions, mansard conversions, roof lift loft conversions, loft pods and velux conversions. Speak with the loft specialist to find out which kind is best suited for you home as well as which is going to be the most economical to fit your budget.
Dormer Loft Conversions
Perhaps the preferred style of loft conversion at present is the dormer type, a kind that provides affordability, yet still yields the maximum additional space. This is a well-liked choice for homeowners as it's both appealing and effective and offers all that is needed. With a dormer conversion it could even be possible to add in a small balcony, which means that you're generating added outside space as well. You'll find there are various sorts of dormer conversions namely shed dormers, flat roofed dormers, hipped dormers and Velux dormers. Consult with a specialist to figure out which is actually perfect for your specific property.
Velux Conversions
Surely one one of the foremost names in roof windows, Velux, have now been around for more than fifty years and they can be trusted to provide you with a loft window that is both quality and dependable. Velux windows are designed to fit in line with the angle of the roof and hence do not change the look of the structure, they don't in general require planning permission and they're fairly inexpensive to fit. They let in a good quantity of light and in fact may require blinds during the summer. If your loft space has a decent amount of height, a Velux windows might be a great solution for your project, in particular if you've got limited capital.
How Much Time Should it Take to Complete?
The time scale for completing a standard conversion would depend on four or five things including the type of conversion, the availability of components, the degree of pre-planning that is done, the prevailing climatic conditions and the capability of the contractors. As a rough guideline it should take approximately four to five weeks to do a rear dormer conversion on a terraced dwelling and about 5 to 6 weeks to do a hip to gable dormer on a semi-detached house.
You just have to choose what to use all of that extra space for once the conversion is completed. You can use it as a new office, an additional bedroom or two or a new bathroom. But naturally there are numerous purposes to which a well built conversion can be put, restricted solely by your imagination!
Tags: Creating More Space, Loft Conversions, Loft Conversion, Home Improvements Specialist