Loft Conversion

Loft Conversion

The popularity of adding livable space to a home without the need to build a new home or even an addition to a home using the loft has brought about hundreds of new loft conversion companies. The number of builders available to do the conversion has been both a good thing and a bad thing. It is good in that there are more competitive prices due to the number of companies vying for work. On the other hand, consumers who do not do their research could wind up choosing a company that doesn’t have the skills to do the job properly. So it is important to find the best of the best before making any choices and spending any money.

All Inclusive

A loft conversion company may or may not be an all-inclusive, one stop shop. This means that they may or may not have employees for every aspect of the job.

This is something the homeowner should know up front so they will know who is responsible should something go wrong with the project. If possible, it is better to use one company that handles all of the work.

An all-inclusive company is one that can come in and evaluate every aspect of the loft, from the loft insulation to the timber batons and everything in between. They should be able to plan out the conversion and present a detailed cost estimate. Some of the key areas to look for are:

Timber joist and insulation: If the loft has timber joist supports make sure the company plans on insulating between them with thermal boards or insulation boards and that they have included foil tape for smaller areas that need sealed. If the company is suggesting multi layer foil insulation find out if they have measured the ceiling height and accounted for the room space that will be negated by the multi layer foil.

Walls: If walls are going to be installed to divide up the loft is the company using fireproof plasterboard or simply installing normal plasterboard. This can be vital to the project because of planning regulation that requires fireproof board in some jurisdictions.

There are many other areas that the homeowner will want to discuss with any of the companies they consider for their loft conversion. However, seeing their work and following their reputation through to actually talking to someone who has worked with the company will be the most beneficial of all the tips.

 

Research the Companies

Online research is the newest way to find out practically anything about companies. First, the choices can be narrowed to down to the neighborhood area where the home is located. This should result in several companies to compare and choose from.

While researching look for references to other work they have done and make notes on the areas they point out. This is a good starting point for trying to see the actual work the company does. Call the company and ask them to point out specific homes that they have converted and then go see the house.