Attic Conversion

BlazingSaddler

I'm thinking of getting the attic converted on a 4 bed semi in Clonsilla. Would anybody have any recommendations please? I had it priced about 8 years ago but am hoping it will be considerably cheaper now. Thank you!

DvB

We recently had ours done by the Attic Man, based up in the Blanchardstown corporate park (www.theatticman.ie)

We were delighted with the service & the quality of the work & the interaction with the guys themselves, I'd happily recommend them.

brightkane

Sister in law has also used attic man and has great things to say about him

dicky82

cut n edge carpentry kevin 0879149286

canihave

We got ours done recently by DCCS, tel 0858837410. Great job done, very professional

kbarnesie

How much are we talking these days for an attic conversion on a 3 bed semi ??

dodzy

kbarnesie wrote: »

How much are we talking these days for an attic conversion on a 3 bed semi ??

Bathroom will add a few bob but 12-15K I'd say ballpark

December2012

For those that had it done - what space did you lose to install your stairs?

BlazingSaddler

dodzy wrote: »

Bathroom will add a few bob but 12-15K I'd say ballpark

Think i had a quote of extra €3750 for bathroom

DvB

December2012 wrote: »

For those that had it done - what space did you lose to install your stairs?

We lost about 400mm off the smallest bedroom, but the majority of that was a tiny wardrobe over the existing bulkhead. The room actually works better now than it did before.

However, we went to a lot of trouble getting the new stairs positioned to not impact on the existing staircase (for building regulation purposes) whilst giving us the optimum landing space for the new door into the attic room. Being an architect I was quite fussy in how I wanted it to work.

cerastes

I suppose its specific to the size of the house, but

I'd never be able to fit a stairs for an attic conversion on the landing as those stairs would impose too much into the headroom space for the original stairs.
This means I would have to start somewhere in the boxroom, making an already small room smaller.
I can also see how the beginning of the stairs to an attic room might have to moved depending on the available headroom in the attic at the top of the stairs so there is enough standing room for an adult there.

Im not sure if there would be enough left or anything left that would be viable as a room, maybe a small office, even then it might be better to just incorporate an office into the room where the stairs to the attic start.

What do people consider or do? Ive seen where attic conversions have been completed that started in the landing and this keeps a whole extra boxroom/office/bedspace/whatever you want for that room. But that is only where the size of the landing or the space over the existing stairs permits that.

Ive also seen where the former boxroom is the start of the stairs to the attic and where that space is too large for that purpose and ends seeming to be a wasted space and maybe sacrificed space/room for a bigger attic room.

So, to maximise space and use, how small can you make a bedroom? such as an existing boxroom, is there a legal requirement? or what will look and be practical.
I'm trying to imagine a room that could be used potentially a single guest bed/office only, or a dual purpose, potentially with some kind of folding bed design, or is that in itself tacky?

Heisenberg1

DvB wrote: »

We lost about 400mm off the smallest bedroom, but the majority of that was a tiny wardrobe over the existing bulkhead. The room actually works better now than it did before.

However, we went to a lot of trouble getting the new stairs positioned to not impact on the existing staircase (for building regulation purposes) whilst giving us the optimum landing space for the new door into the attic room. Being an architect I was quite fussy in how I wanted it to work.

Can I ask what you paid for it? Did it include ensuite and is it classed as a bedroom?. Thanks.

DvB

Heisenberg1 wrote: »

Can I ask what you paid for it? Did it include ensuite and is it classed as a bedroom?. Thanks.

We got various bits of work done at ground & first floor levels outside the attic scope of works also, so it wasn't just an attic conversion, however, in the breakdown we agreed with the builder we paid €13,300 for the attic conversion elements. We didn't bother with an ensuite as we felt it a poor use of the space available.

Our attic conversion itself cannot be classed as a habitable room under building regulations and therefore shouldn't be used as a bedroom (another reason why we didn't bother with the ensuite), however, that doesn't necessarily mean that other attics in other dwellings can't be classed as habitable & therefore could, if constructed properly, be used as such, each house is different & should be treated as such when looking at what can & cant be achieved. Depends on the house really.

Sensay

We just had ours completed ,it was done by a company who work northside skerries and lucan on the southside.they are called <SNIP> ,done a fantastic job,we got loads of prices they were not the cheapest or the dearest but we had a look at a lot of the work they done in lucan,no hassle or messing they listened and done loads of little extras

We just got ours done in lucan by the a<SNIP> beautiful job,my wife was delighted as she is very fussy,great design and lovely lads ,we looked at loads and they had the best finish to be honest

MOD EDIT: Site name removed

cerastes

DvB wrote: »

We got various bits of work done at ground & first floor levels outside the attic scope of works also, so it wasn't just an attic conversion, however, in the breakdown we agreed with the builder we paid €13,300 for the attic conversion elements. We didn't bother with an ensuite as we felt it a poor use of the space available.

Our attic conversion itself cannot be classed as a habitable room under building regulations and therefore shouldn't be used as a bedroom (another reason why we didn't bother with the ensuite), however, that doesn't necessarily mean that other attics in other dwellings can't be classed as habitable & therefore could, if constructed properly, be used as such, each house is different & should be treated as such when looking at what can & cant be achieved. Depends on the house really.

What extra is there to do to qualify to use it as a habitable room? I assume you mean a bedroom is a habitable room opposed to a study/play room.
Is the extra, planning permission etc?
Im sure people have their reasons to get an attic conversion completed but not have it available as a bedroom, maybe its down to their current needs? or insurance purposes? is there some extra cost to get it certified?? and if so, can that be done at a later date.
I'd have thought it was more advantageous to getting the work so it could be used as bedroom from the offset, as I expected an insurance provider would still need to be informed of the changes anyway and these may incur a premium increase.

The insurance consideration is one big thing that has crossed my mind when thinking about getting an attic conversion done. I'd guess most conversions would be fine, but I know if I strayed from an exacting approach, I'd fall foul of something.
In my opinion, even though the room numbers would be the same with a conversion, I still think an insurance provider would expect to know or be informed about such a change, it could be a get out clause for them in the event of problems later.

I'm interested to do some measurements myself and see what size room and storage I can get, I've plenty of time to do that before doing any work as the funds dont exist now.

DvB

cerastes wrote: »

What extra is there to do to qualify to use it as a habitable room? I assume you mean a bedroom is a habitable room opposed to a study/play room.
Is the extra, planning permission etc?
Im sure people have their reasons to get an attic conversion completed but not have it available as a bedroom, maybe its down to their current needs? or insurance purposes? is there some extra cost to get it certified?? and if so, can that be done at a later date.
I'd have thought it was more advantageous to getting the work so it could be used as bedroom from the offset, as I expected an insurance provider would still need to be informed of the changes anyway and these may incur a premium increase.

The insurance consideration is one big thing that has crossed my mind when thinking about getting an attic conversion done. I'd guess most conversions would be fine, but I know if I strayed from an exacting approach, I'd fall foul of something.
In my opinion, even though the room numbers would be the same with a conversion, I still think an insurance provider would expect to know or be informed about such a change, it could be a get out clause for them in the event of problems later.

I'm interested to do some measurements myself and see what size room and storage I can get, I've plenty of time to do that before doing any work as the funds dont exist now.

I suggest you contact an Architect or Architectural Technologist to run through your queries & concerns.

An attic conversion will have building regulations & possibly building control impacts, so in order to satisfy yourself fully of your legal standing prior to commencing any works or even designs I'd talk to a professional.

cerastes

DvB wrote: »

I suggest you contact an Architect or Architectural Technologist to run through your queries & concerns.

An attic conversion will have building regulations & possibly building control impacts, so in order to satisfy yourself fully of your legal standing prior to commencing any works or even designs I'd talk to a professional.

I agree, but I wasnt asking for that kind of advice specifically if thats what you think? Im more curious
If the money becomes available, I know what I want, its just a matter of making sure that it conforms and a plan is adhered to.

I was wondering why, you or anyone would change a room to a "space" from an attic and not make it a habitable room, more especially as you say you're an architect??

Also, from what I have come across of a few people that have gotten attic conversions done, the usual way to tackle it seems to be throw caution to the wind, dont check for insurances, just let someone get on with it and not know what will come out at the end and just accept that, no matter how poor it may perform, no calculation, no assesment, nada.

DvB

cerastes wrote: »

I was wondering why, you or anyone would change a room to a "space" from an attic and not make it a habitable room, more especially as you say you're an architect??

Not being smart, but because we wanted to. Once we had ascertained the space that could be achieved & the costs associated with making that space available for our use we considered it better value than say an extension at ground floor level.

Despite the space not complying with the requirements for a habitable room we have complied with all the building regulations other than the required height dimensions for ventilation purposes (an element that was largely outside our control & not cost effective to solve or likely to get planning permission), therefore its a very usable space but is c.10% out on the full ceiling height requirements to make it a habitable room. We even upgraded the existing landing & hall & the doors accessing off them to comply with TGD par B 2006.

Something like that (overall ceiling height) may be enough to put some people off the idea, but we saw past that & saw how practically we could use the space & to be fair we're delighted we did it. I have a fantastic bright & open space to work in that I simply could never have achieved without giving up an existing bedroom.

FWIW I had a third party Architect certify the works (no conflict of interests) & a structural engineer certify the structural elements, I notified my insurer & my solicitor & have had my documents updated to reflect the changes to the house from its original state. If I've missed something along the way I'm not aware of it.

It may not be perfect but it works for us.

cerastes

DvB wrote: »

Not being smart, but because we wanted to. Once we had ascertained the space that could be achieved & the costs associated with making that space available for our use we considered it better value than say an extension at ground floor level.

Despite we have complied with all the building regulations other than the required height dimensions for ventilation purposes (an element that was largely outside our control & not cost effective to solve or likely to get planning permission), therefore its a very usable space but is c.10% out on the full ceiling height requirements to make it a habitable room. We even upgraded the existing landing & hall & the doors accessing off them to comply with TGD par B 2006.

Something like that (overall ceiling height) may be enough to put some people off the idea, but we saw past that & saw how practically we could use the space & to be fair we're delighted we did it. I have a fantastic bright & open space to work in that I simply could never have achieved without giving up an existing bedroom.

FWIW I had a third party Architect certify the works (no conflict of interests) & a structural engineer certify the structural elements, I notified my insurer & my solicitor & have had my documents updated to reflect the changes to the house from its original state. If I've missed something along the way I'm not aware of it.

It may not be perfect but it works for us.

Im not questioning your motive for/or your choice of the room use, if it suits your needs and you work with what you got, I get that, just wondered what factors make people come to a decision. In your case, I was curious as to yours and if that might apply to any plans I might make.

Ive come across examples of where what people told me was a habitable room converted from an attic, seemingly not certified, which effectively appears only to be suitable as a converted attic. In that instance it seems a waste of money to do it and not right, as you say you had a height restriction to work around, it seems obvious, or maybe where someone had enough room elsewhere.

Ive a fairly large attic, so think I wouldnt have a bother fitting a room in there, although that'd need to be confirmed by the time joists might be put in, I still think its possible. I would do it to sacrifice a very small box room and because the layout is otherwise poor which encourages me to think of doing a habitable room to supplement bedroom space.

Rodney1111

<SNIP>

Gaspode

@Rodney1111 anything more than just a phone number? Are you making a recommendation or advertising a business?

BlazingSaddler

Attic conversion now complete. I would recommend the Attic Man to anybody, we are absolutely delighted with the outcome. They were in the house just over 2 weeks and for such a large job the disruption was minimal. Very tidy, kept me informed of any decision that needed making and superb workmanship. The standard of plastering has been praised by the painter we got in afterwards, any issues post conversion were dealt with promptly - I noticed heavy condensation dripping in the eves but this was sorted immediately (probably the plaster drying out) but increased air flow into eves has sorted this. Overall, over the moon with it.

Skerries

has anyone when using a boxroom for the staircase knocked through to the other bedroom to make it bigger rather than have wasted space?

cerastes

Skerries wrote: »

has anyone when using a boxroom for the staircase knocked through to the other bedroom to make it bigger rather than have wasted space?

Id thought of this myself, but it wasnt practical for me, the work involved in removing the dividing wall (even though its not that much to do) creates too much mess and gets too little space in return to make it worth the hassle of doing it. It would actually impose on the walkway to the any potentail attic stairs, so really the gain would only be a matter of less than a foot, probably half that.
I'd considered making another doorway from the main bedroom beside it to make a walk in closet, but then it means the doorway takes up a space on the wall and again the shape of whats left and then no light going into the room would make it more odd or offputting in the event of being sold.

If I ever get the funds together to do the attic, Id make as much use of the space by having the space for a small office that might have the potential to have a guest bed in there folded out.

dodzy

mattb74 wrote: »

Attic conversion now complete. I would recommend the Attic Man to anybody, we are absolutely delighted with the outcome. They were in the house just over 2 weeks and for such a large job the disruption was minimal. Very tidy, kept me informed of any decision that needed making and superb workmanship. The standard of plastering has been praised by the painter we got in afterwards, any issues post conversion were dealt with promptly - I noticed heavy condensation dripping in the eves but this was sorted immediately (probably the plaster drying out) but increased air flow into eves has sorted this. Overall, over the moon with it.

Price, all in?

Did you get an ensuite fitted?

Sensay

Mine just finished in skerries ,beautiful job completed by the attic architects its a company owned by architects so design is stunning and the cost very reasonable

Rainbow bright

Hi All,

I'm thinking of getting the attic converted in a new house in Dunshaughlin ( the attic has been left ready for conversion). Would anybody have any recommendations please?

Thank you!

Sensay

Hi attic architects completed ours I think you will find them on google

Rainbow bright

Hi Sensay,

Thank you.

How did you find dealing with them? And were they overly expensive. We have gotten one quote and it was alot more than we expected. We are hoping to get planning to turn a 4 bed into a 5 bed with the attic as a habitable space so we need fire windows etc I know doing it this way makes it more expensive but still the quote we got was alot more than expected.

Thanks
RB

Sensay

Hi RB ,We had a few building disasters in our time and they were very expensive lessons to learn, so we were very careful who we chose this time . We spent a couple of months doing our research and got a lot of prices.These guys came highly recommended so we thought they would be very expensive.My friends were telling me an attic is an attic, we looked at seven or eight of them .When we looked at the work done by attic architects it was enough for us to make our decision .They were brilliant to deal with and brought there own independent architect who was a gentleman and acted in our interest and brought everything through planning. It was a totally new building experience for me. I am in the office at the moment I can get the number for Paul when I get home but they are online I am sure.

Rainbow bright

Thanks Sensay for the feed back it really helps when they come so highly recommended

Mousemini

hi did you get your attic done, whom did you get to it. Was it expensive more than 15k