Vat on Building work including lofts is to expensive and needs to be cut. By doing this millions of home owners will be able to stay where they are and extend their property. The FMB have put a petition together to try and crack down on cowboy builders on all trades to stop the gangsters doing cash deals with customers and then leaving them half way through a job without finishing it at the agreed the price, walking off the job and having no come back on themselves in court as the customer has avoided the VAT….

The FMB our are focused on lowering the 17.5% vat bracket down to just 5% which sounds like a good saving but with the cost of raw materials going up by upto 40% because of the works being done over the far east, building costs in this country are just spiraling out of control.

Get behind the Petition and go to cutthevat.co.uk for more details

For over 30 years The Guild of Master Craftsmen has represented many different trades and professions, promoting and supporting excellence. To the trade and public alike, the Guild’s emblem and Coat of Arms represent skill, integrity, quality and service – in all professionalism.

Guild members come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some are quite unusual, such as craftsmen in wrought iron, stained glass or thatch, others are traditional builders, plumbers or electricians. A growing number are involved in newer industries such as information technology and in the retail and service sector. The one thing they have in common is their commitment to work with skill and integrity.

The Guild encourages members to strive for excellence and monitors standards to ensure that its principles are being maintained.

to check out more visit http://www.guildmc.com/

‘How much will it cost’ Is a need to know factor when thinking of having a conversion. Loft costs vary from east to west coast, from London to Glasgow no two conversions are likely to be the same.

Ball park figures for lofts vary from £15,000 to £25,000 in the midlands and around £20,000 to £30,000 in the west of the country and some of the greater London areas. In London you could pay anything from £20,000 and £50,000 and sometimes even more.

These costs are only when going with a specialist loft conversion company. They can be drastically reduced by doing some of the work yourself or project manage the individual trades yourself but do keep in mind that this could become very stressful and has been known to end relationships.

Here are a few pictures of a roof dome from some different angles

Roof dome from the outside.

Roof dome from the inside

Insulation will be an important part through out the year when living in the loft conversion. In the summer with out the right insulation will make it very hot and sticky at night and unbearable in the day time as the heat will absorb through cheap or yellow quilted insulation known as Rock wall Insulation. Rock wall though is a very good sound insulator and brilliant for in the new floor of the loft. In the winter cheap insulation will also make the loft very cold as the heat escapes and makes it very uncomfortable to use.
The worst thing is your Building Control could still pass this old insulation if the builder puts enough of it in between the joists.

So what should I use?
There are great products out there such as Kingspan insulation and Tri iso super 10 which is what I have always been around when building lofts.
Kingspan Comes in lots of different sizes and in most used size around the country is 900mm in width. silver

The Countries leading Roof light company.

There are cheaper roof lights out there but none compare to the quality and style that Velux supply.

If your company / builder is suggesting to use another manufacture for the windows, this should sound alarms as they are clearly trying to save on costs, maybe to make a larger profit. If there cutting costs on the essentials needed to do a good sound loft conversion, then it makes you think what else they are willing to cut corners on to save a few pounds…? Timber, insulation etc.

Some roof spaces are more easier to convert then others in terms of size, shape and construction.

The major thing you need to have when wanting to convert your loft is head hight. if theres lots of height there’s much more of a certainty that you will be able to convert your loft. The higher the better and even when you cant get planning permission for lets say a rear dormer if theres a good head hight, you can still just convert inside space of the loft and still make a very good sized loft room and maybe even a shower room or bathroom.

The minimum head height you will need to do a loft conversion is 2.2m (7′2″) but you will need a dormer as the space is so restricted.

If your loft is under 2.2m then its pretty much a non starter. It will still be worth getting a quote through from your local builder though as there is a special way not losing any height in the loft called triperling the joists, or you could lower the ceilings but that will depend on the windows on the 1st floor and if theres enough space.

You achieve this dimension by measuring the top of the ceiling joists to the underside of your ridge board.

Some builders you might come across may say they can convert your loft even if it a bit smaller but please do be very careful. If you decide to take your builder up on his offer do make sure you get some sort or agreement between you both before the build commences the works.

Imagine being 3 or 4 weeks into the build and the floor and stairs have finally go in… the last thing you want to be arguing about with your builder is the new bedroom head height. He’s promised you a good head height but it ends up being 5′6″

The reason you need 2.2m or more is because once the new steels and the floor joists have gone in over the existing ceilings, the head height will easily be reduced by 150mm (approx).

Secondly you have to allow for all the new plasterboard, plaster, insulation and carpet/wood flooring etc. Taking all this into account, the total height lost in the loft will be around 180 to 200 mm.

Obversely on a 2.2m high loft a finished head height would be around 2m (6′6″) which is fine if your only 5′ tall but if someone was 6′4″ was buying your house it may be a problem for the purchaser if they cant use the loft room properly…

There are a few ways to convert your loft without having a good head height though but please do take professional advice and discuss all of your options before beginning the loft project.

This piece of footage is just to show how exciting a loft conversion is especially when you come home from work one evening and the stairs are in place or ready to be put in and you see that big hole in you ceiling for the first time. Your heart stops as you start to realize that your living in the middle of a major building project but know it will all be worth it once its all done and your living in the loft….

Your house will feel so much bigger as well. Your top floor will become the middle floor and you will have all that space up again and the stairs, if designed properly will flow from top to bottom making your house/flat feel massive…

Enjoy..

Just a few more of some unbelievable loft conversion disasters. Enjoy…

This house just needs tearing down! Look at the state of it….

OK so this dormer isn’t that bad but when doing a loft remember that all the small details matter, remember this when talking to you builder before and during any build works. So on that point the soil pipe (the pipe that carries the waste from the toilet to the sewer) is white…! OK the soil pipe should be up to the eaves of the roof but I think the soil pipe should of changed color to match the color of the dormer and tiles. Now to some of you this may seen odd but soil pipes aren’t suppose to be a focal point to the out side of the roof and the last place you want the eye to draw to on a not so nice looking dormer any way, is the the pipe that carries excrement…

If your property is on a corner site where the side or the rear faces a road or any public way, then unfortunately you will have to apply for planning permission. this is to protect the council from stopping you doing something they don’t like to the side or rear of your property. If you live with a house with a hip to gable and you have Permitted Development rights then you will be fine unless you are at the end of the street and a road runs alongside you property, then unfortunately you will have to go for planning permission.

BUT…!

If you extend parallel with the road then you will be OK under Permitted Development. Its just not towards the road…

This council formula works for public roads that run along the back of the houses too. Even though this is very rare, the dormer projecting towards the road will need planning permission and if a hip to gable is needed, this could be done under PD.