Planning Your Loft Conversion
With house prices static and even predicted to fall this year and first time buyers locked out of the market by high deposit requirements, the UK’s housing market is just not in great shape. Small marvel due to this fact that many house homeowners are abandoning ideas of trading up and instead are looking at benefiting from their present homes.
One apparent resolution is to consider a loft conversion. As soon as the preserve of the servants or children’s nursery, in the final century attics have lost their enchantment with these cold and drafty areas being largely abandoned. The place children’s laughter as soon as reigned now the broken toys of childhood lie crammed in decaying boxes.
Luckily, modern building techniques and improvements in insulation imply that loft conversions are back on the menu. So what do you need to consider earlier than you leap in and remodel your dusty attic into a warm, vivid and livable space? Most importantly it is advisable to have a good look at the material and structure of your roof, chimney and ground joists. A report from a building surveyor or architect extension plans specialist won’t value very much and could prevent from making an expensive mistake later on. If any a part of your roof or attic space wants remedial work it must be finished both earlier than or as a part of the conversion work. Items to look out for embrace remedial work on the chimney to prevent smoke escape within the loft, the necessity to strengthen flooring joists to take the burden of a conversion and whether your roof is getting to the top of its life and wishes replacing.
Once you’ve got acquired the structural considerations out of the way the next task is to plan the way you wish to use your new space. From chill out room to ensuite master bedroom, your loft conversion has the potential to transform the area within your home. Planning will help to make sure that you finish up with a space that is not only useful however can also be flexible. If there’s any possibility of the space getting used as a bedroom sooner or later then plan now to install water and sewage pipes for a shower and toilet. Even when you do not plumb in a bathroom at the outset, having the pipes laid in will save potentially main structural work later on.
Finally remember the importance of light. Because it’s on the high of your house your loft can profit from direct sunlight. Choosing rigorously the place you need attic home windows can mean the difference between merely letting some light in and flooding the room with the warm glow of the sun. With your loft conversion in place you possibly can forget concerning the gloomy state of the housing market and instead bask in the warmth of your new space.