With the ever increasing cost of purchasing a home currently, not every property owner can even find the money to move to a bigger house simply to gain a bit of extra space. There are far more expenditures than merely the buying price of a new home to take into consideration, the physical act of house can be pricey and there will be a lot of added expenditure to consider. Nevertheless moving house isn't the only alternative open to you if you find that your family is getting too large for your current property.

You could potentially extend your home to make more room but this may be expensive and will be dependent on your ability to get the required planning permission. If you've got a decent garage that you're not presently using, you might think about doing a garage conversion which will be less costly. The other solution is a loft conversion, which may not only be cost effective, but may also put more value to your home without the need to extend its footprint.

Loft conversions have become a lot more popular over the last few years, generally for some of the reasons mentioned previously. Prior to going down this avenue, you need to be sure your home is actually suitable for a loft conversion. Lots of modern homes with trussed roofs aren't usually suitable. The optimum homes for loft conversions are the slightly older homes, especially those constructed before the 1970's.

To take a look the situation of your particular loft and make certain it's suited to conversion you will need to get in touch with a builder. If your builder gives you the nod to have a loft conversion you can get him to provide a quote. Contact quite a few conversion specialists and get a handful of quotations so that you have a general notion of the likely cost. Try to use your intuition rather than just considering the cost when selecting who's best to undertake your loft conversion.

The vast majority of loft conversions in don't need planning permission, so there's a high likelihood that yours will not either. The planning office is the place to head to find out if you do need to get planning permission.

Despite the fact that getting a loft conversion is a good solution for many homeowners, it is still a costly project. Lots of people ask the bank for a loan for projects such as this, or even get a second mortgage. As a guide you might expect that a loft conversion will cost you roughly the same as a fair sized brickwork extension though the likelihood is that you will gain more extra space with a conversion without raising the overall footprint of your property.

Which sort of conversion you end up with is likely to be based upon the layout and design of your home. There are different forms of loft conversion that you can get in including: roof light loft conversions, roof lift conversions, loft pods, velux loft conversions, hip-to-gable loft conversions, mansard loft conversions and dormer loft conversions. Speak with your builder or loft conversion specialist to ascertain which type is the best choice for your circumstances as well as which would be the most cost effective to fit your budget.

Dormer Loft Conversions

Maybe the most widely used form of loft conversion at the moment is the dormer style, a concept which gives you value for your money, yet still generates the maximum possible space. The dormer is a well loved option with householders because its both effective and appealing and provides everything that is likely to be needed. With a dormer conversion it is even a possibility to add a balcony, meaning that you're even creating supplemental outdoor space too. You'll discover there are different sorts of dormer conversions including Velux dormers, shed dormers, hipped dormers and flat roof dormers. Talk to a professional to learn which one is better for your specific property.

Velux Windows

One of the best known brands of roof windows, Velux, have been around for over sixty years and they can be relied on to provide loft windows that are both effective and high caliber. These windows are supposed to be fitted flush with the gradient of the roof and thus don't change the shape of the roof structure, they do not commonly call for permission and they are reasonably inexpensive to fit. They produce an adequate amount of light and in fact may even need window blinds in the summertime. If your attic has a decent bit of height, a Velux window conversion could be the perfect choice for your project, especially when you are on a budget.

How Much Time Should it Take?

The timescale for doing a standard loft conversion depends on three or four variables such as the trustworthiness of the constructors, the type of conversion, the prevailing climatic conditions, the level of planning which is done and the availability of materials. As a rough guide it should take approximately 4 to 5 weeks to carry out a rear dormer loft conversion on a terraced property and around five to six weeks to do a hip to gable dormer conversion on a semi-detached property.

When your conversion is complete, there are numerous uses you can put it to. You might turn it into an extra bedroom or two, a new downstairs bathroom or a kitchen/diner. But certainly there are plenty of purposes to which a decent conversion can be put, restricted only by your imagination!