Turning the loft into an office/bedroom

[princeperch]

So my victorian 2 bed house is about 910 sq ft at the moment. The kitchen is a good size and new, as is the bathroom. Both bedrooms are also a good size.

However my work is moving towards encouraging everyone to work from home very regularly and my wife will need some study space too when she starts her new job in September so we are now looking at turning the loft into a useable space, but I don't want to spend 30k and have the ball ache of putting a dormer on it, so we are looking to work with what we've got.

At the moment it's not a lot of use to anyone. There is a tiny hatch to get into it, and no extendable ladder either, so you have to mess around getting a step ladder out.

My mate is a surveyor who has had a look at it and has recommended we go with a space saver set of stairs. Something compact enough that can be used in the existing space. A spiral staircase would be ideal, so I'll look into those shortly.

My questions for now are:

How much is a reasonable price to pay for the installation of 2 good size velux windows in the loft area?

How much is a reasonable price to engage a builder to come in, install the staircase (pre fabricated) and open up the ceiling to receive the stairs, and make good to the area after?

How much would a sparky charge to install say 4 double sockets up there, and rejig the existing ceiling light position (there is an existing electricity supply up there for a light)?

Am I way off the mark in thinking I can get the room into a good useable, insulated space for about 4.5 grand give or take? The floor is boarded at the moment so you can walk around up there but that's pretty much it.

I appreciate it won't be a proper bedroom and dependant on the stairs I get it wouldn't get building control approval - I'm just after making the space as usable as possible for as little as possible(but want to pay a fair price to the trades as we all have to eat - I just want to make sure they are eating well but not extravagantly!)

[clockworks]

I would either do a proper bedroom/bathroom loft conversion, or just get a garden office

[Tom_C76]

You want a paddle stair, not a spiral. Much smaller and complies with Building Regs. You also want to check the joists are strong enough, as it's probably boarded on the original ceiling joists. If so the weight of books, furniture etc of using it as a study will probably crack the ceiling and maybe cause it to collapse.

Then there's fire safety. There are rules on loft conversions for good reason. If you're going to spend time up there do it right and get building regs on it. That will mean fire doors all round and a protected stair.

[princeperch]

Thanks for the replies. This house is identical to mine and is pretty much what I want to achieve with my loft

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...

[Little Lofty]

I used to do loads of lofts but I would never touch an unofficial one. Far better get in done properly and add value as it will be classed as a three bedroom house not a two. I've just bought a house with a friend that had an unofficial loft, the guy had cut out most of the roofs supporting timbers to create more room, unfortunately for him (but good for us) his house became un mortgageable so we picked it very cheap. At least if you involve building control you know it's being done to a reasonable standard and the roof isn't going to collapse. You don't have to have a dormer if you have sufficient headroom and generally don't need planning permission for velux.

[Little Lofty]

I used to do loads of lofts but I would never touch an unofficial one. Far better get in done properly and add value as it will be classed as a three bedroom house not a two. I've just bought a house with a friend that had an unofficial loft, the guy had cut out most of the roofs supporting timbers to create more room, unfortunately for him (but good for us) his house became un mortgageable so we picked it very cheap. At least if you involve building control you know it's being done to a reasonable standard and the roof isn't going to collapse. You don't have to have a dormer if you have sufficient headroom and generally don't need planning permission for velux.

[paulrockliffe]

The risk with doing what you propose is that when you sell, your buyer and their mortgage provider will send a surveyor around. The surveyor will pick it up as a habitable space that requires building regs approval. The mortgage provider will decline to lend on the property and you'll lose your buyer.

The only way you'll get it done properly below £10k is if you know someone that can do you a design and structural calcs for something you can install yourself. If you speak to an architect they'll design something that is quick to install, as the labour saving outweighs the material cost, this will mean lots of steel, a crane and lots of other expensive stuff. If your design is mostly wood and easy for a chap to do in his spare time then you can get it down to material cost only. But you'd need to put a lot of work in yourself.

Failing that £30k seems to be about the going rate.

[e8_pack]

RSJ's aren't too expensive, just get a builder to fit them, then do your own woodwork. They come pre drilled anyway. Just stick to your approved design and take it easy, measure twice, cut once, involve regs all the way.

You can save a packet on labour and so long as you can maintain the standards set out it shouldn't be a problem.

[bobtail4x4]

I was about to comment but then saw the Original Posters occupation..

[princeperch]

Eh?