Thinking of moving? Go up instead!

A guide to loft conversions

With the property market still in the doldrums many people are stuck in the house they live in without having the means to move on. So instead many are looking to extend the home they already have. In fact in London alone 64,000 extensions were carried out in 2011 – a 14 per cent year-on-year increase according to Homes and Property.

One effective extension option could be a loft conversion. The beauty of an attic renovation is that you don't have to eat into any outdoor space you may have and apart from storage most people don't really use their loft for much so you will be converting what is in effect dead space. However, what do you need to consider before getting a loft conversion?

Plan, plan and plan some more

Before taking the plunge with a loft conversion you need to consider what the space will be used for and how you want to proceed with the work. Now is the time to grab a torch and really go and have a look at the room you have up there.

The most important thing to consider is ceiling height as you are going to need at least 2.3 metres in order to have enough headroom. Also look at the pitch of the roof – the steeper it is the more suitable it will be but if you have a shallow pitch you may still be able to get a mezzanine level in. If you do need to add in ceiling height then a double glazed Dormer window will add that all important headroom and can be the size of a single window or span a sizeable chunk of the roof.

You also need to decide whether you want going to employ an architect to finalise the plans. Even if you are not you still need to cost it up and get estimates from a number of different builders so you know you are choosing the best firm for you.

Now is also the time to think about practical things like electrical sockets and sound proofing as it will save you time and money later on and also decide whether you are going to keep a bit of space for storage.

Think about light

Also consider whether there is there enough light in the room as a gloomy dinghy space won't be very inviting. As most lofts don't have windows you will have to think about installing new double glazing as you will need lots of natural light.

When considering what windows to choice it is really important to make sure that it blends with the rest of the house so if your other windows are UPVC then go for that but if they are wood then you can still get some get wooden double glazed windows at Coral windows.

Decorate

Once the conversion has been carried out now is the time to consider how you are going to decorate the new room and this is the bit that is really fun as it here that you can really stamp your mark on the loft space. So whatever you choose make sure you love it so you can really enjoy the extra room without the hassle of moving.

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