THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CREATING A LOFT CONVERSION WITH THE WOW FACTOR GET INSPIRATION FOR YOUR LOFT CONVERSION CONTENTS A lof conversion can increase your property value by up to 20%. It can save you the headache, and heartache, of moving house to gain extra room. It can also be an excitng and stylish The Importance Of Good Design new space in your home, helping you to achieve the lifestyle Types Of Lof Conversion you’ve always dreamt of. Using Natural Light To Create Amazing Spaces Lof conversions do not have to be boring, practcal spaces; they can have the wow factor and become atractve, design- Lof Staircases led spaces for contemporary living. What kind of space do Heatng And Lightng Your Lof you want to create in your lof? A master bedroom with luxury ensuite, games room, home ofce or private retreat? Storage That Doesn’t Look Functonal Your lof conversion could be any of these, with the right space Inspiring Bathroom Design Ideas and some imaginaton. Smart Lofs And Smart Home Automaton This guide will take you through the many aspects of Eco Lofs: Reduce Your Carbon Footprint convertng your lof and help you decide what will work in your space and suit your needs. Our goal is to help you to Innovaton Is WOW! create a space you will love and be able to enjoy for years to come. We cover the following key factors that will shape your lof conversion - give them some thought now for a stress-free and successful conversion project: • The lof conversion experts you need on your team. • How to work with your experts to get what you want. • Types of lof conversion. • Finding the right soluton to ft your space and stll create the wow factor. • How to use natural light to create an amazing space. • Lof staircases and which type is right for you. • Insulaton, heatng and lightng. • Tips on functonal and practcal storage that is also innovatve and stylish. • Ideas for bathroom designs. • Inventve space saving solutons. • Advice on smart home automaton. • Creatng an eco-friendly lof conversion. If you want a lof conversion with the wow factor, read on! THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD DESIGN You will probably need the help of several diferent people. 1. Architect/technician or building surveyor – this person will prepare the proposed A successful lof conversion centres on good design. Good design is the diference drawings or design for the builders. They will also obtain necessary permissions and help between a space that fows with the rest of your home, and one that feels like a bolted fnd a suitable builder to manage the project for you. on extra. Good design makes sure that you do not lose important space on your frst foor, for marginal gains in your lof. Good design will ensure that your new lof room 2. Specialist lof conversion company – they can do everything from design and planning, fulfls its purpose, and looks great too. to project managing and building. Their specialist expertse can be invaluable in helping you maximise the potental of your lof space. You do not have to sacrifce good design simply because you are adding a practcal space in your lof. While an extra bedroom may be a necessity it can stll look great. However, 3. Builders – if you opt for the services of an architect, you will also need to engage a to ensure it works seamlessly with the rest of your home and meets expectatons it is building frm to execute their plans. Find a frm with good experience of conversions to advisable to get some expert advice. ensure yours progresses smoothly. When startng the hunt for the right experts at the right price, you will need to obtain various quotes. Make sure that they visit the site frst and create a quote from accurate measurements of your space. You should also ask how they expect to minimise dust and noise or water damage (should work need to be done to the existng roof). Whoever you invite to inspect your lof and give you a quote, expect them to ask you lots of questons about your conversion. They will be looking to ascertain the level of work that will need to be done so that they can give you an accurate quote. Here are a number of the aspects of a conversion that could afect the cost. These optons should all be explored with the frms you invite in to quote: TYPES OF LOFT CONVERSION fre spreading throughout the property and therefore you must put precautons in place. These will include some or all of the following: • An escape window. • Fire resistant stair enclosure. • Mains operated smoke alarms to the hallways and/or all bedrooms. • Doors or fredoors to all rooms directly from the hallway. • A dedicated escape route to the front door. • A sprinkler system (in open plan conversions). Finally, when invitng companies to quote on your lof conversion use it as an opportunity to explore the potental of your space. An experienced frm will have lots of innovatve ideas and creatve hacks to optmise the available space. The frst step before startng any lof conversion is to decide what kind of conversion you require. This will depend on your available space, your current roof design, your budget, and your objectves for the lof conversion. Do you need any work done to the roof? Have a look at what other people have done in your neighbourhood and especially at Ideally you need a minimum height of 2350mm from ceiling joists to ridge board to propertes similar to yours. If possible ask your neighbours if you can have a look - it will convert a roof space. This is usually one of the frst things the estmators will check. help you see what is feasible and also explore what you like, and don’t like, with other lof conversions. If your lof is not at a suitable height for what you want to achieve, you will probably have to decide whether you want to raise the roof or lower the ceiling below it. This will add more cost to your conversion but increase space in the long run. If you choose to raise the roof, you will have to get planning permission and be prepared to have scafolding covering the house and an open roof that can have an impact on your quality of living. Look at neighbouring propertes to see whether anyone has already done this kind of work. If a precedent has already been set, you should fnd it easier to get planning permission. The architect or lof conversion company should be able to advise you on The following 4 types of lof conversion this: choosing a local frm to work with can also help, as they will be familiar with local are the most common optons: planning departments. Roofight Conversion If you cannot increase the height of your roof (maybe you are in a terrace) then you may have to consider lowering your ceilings below. This can be quite intrusive as it will A roofight conversion is the simplest usually afect all of the frst foor bedrooms. But it may be a necessary pain point to go and most cost efectve conversion through if you want the ideal lof conversion that doesn’t feel cramped for height. soluton of all (it can save you 25% of the average cost of a conversion). If Do you need new ceiling joists? your lof has enough space (height above stairs etc.) that it doesn’t warrant any Usually your ceiling joists will stay in place if you do not have to lower the ceilings (see changes to the size and shape of the above). However they will not be strong enough to take the weight of the new lof foor, roof, then the interior can be fted so a fully suspended foor system will be installed. This suspended foor will be sturdy and out with roofight windows to add natural can also achieve good noise transfer reducton to the foors below. light. For a roofight conversion to be done properly you should stll have a Have you thought about fre safety? suspended foor & staircase installed that complies with building regulatons. You will need to ensure that your lof conversion comes with the appropriate fre safety You will also need to thermally upgrade measures. As soon as you open up a space with a staircase, you are increasing the risk of the roof with insulaton and plasterboard to keep it warm and energy efcient. Dormer Conversion It’s also common to combine a dormer conversion (see previous) to the rear of a hip-to- gable conversion, increasing the space even further resultng in a large internal roof space. This type of conversion involves placing a vertcal wall On some detached houses or bungalows it’s even possible to raise both hips and create from the botom of your sloping roof and placing a fat 2x gable ends. This creates a lot more space on the inside of the lof but also lifs your roof on top of it that extends to a higher point on the roof and changes the shape completely, which in turn will require planning permission. original sloping roof. A dormer creates more headroom to your existng lof and extends the available space from the side. The dormer is the most common type of conversion and ofen dormers can be built without the need for planning permission using Permited Development rules. Dormer walls are usually clad with tles, but you can also clad with slate, lead or a hardwood tmber.