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Archive for January 10th, 2012

Loft Conversions: A Closer Look At Your Options

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

Last time out, we looked at home extensions. In this article we will look at Loft Conversions specifically as a way to add space to your home.

According to a Guardian survey, on average, a loft conversion costs £10,000 and adds £20,000 to the value of your home.

Considering this, you might be surprised to learn that of the 60% of homes with a loft, only 2% have loft conversions.

So with some planning, design and high-quality carpentry, you can create excellent space in your loft which will add value to your home.

5 Types of Loft Conversion

Velux Conversion

This type of conversion is probably one of the cheapest to use, it’s main purpose is to create as much light as possible to come into your loft space. You use the Velux windows on your existing roof, opening a hole and fixing the window directly to your roofs rafters, and then the window is weathered in. It is also beneficial to the structure of your roof as not many structural changes are needed to add a Velux window to your loft conversion.

Dorma Conversion

A dorma conversion is a popular and excellent way to increase walking space to your loft conversion by extending out your existing roof. It is built out further to your outer walls, thus creating more room in your loft. This style of conversion is suited to a total loft conversion where as you would be putting extra rooms in your home with a complete finish to maximise usage of space in your property.

Mansard Conversion

Mansard conversions are one of the largest loft conversions you can have on your property. It totally maximises the space in your loft from one gable wall to the other gable. Mansard conversions have two slopes, one slope comes down at a shallow angle from the ridge line of the roof, and next slopes down virtually in line with the outside wall of the house, thus maximising space. It has the same effect of a dorma conversion except that it usually carries across your whole roof.

Hip to Gable Conversions

A hip to gable conversion literally means that you convert a hip end of a house into a gable end, which means you can maximise the space of that part of your loft conversion. This type of conversion usually needs a fairly big change to the structure of the roof as you are removing one style of roof, and replacing it with another style. But in doing this you can create enough space to add extra rooms if need be.

Regulations of Conversions

To begin with its a good idea to see if your property is able to have a loft conversion installed. A good check of this is to see how much head height you have in your loft, the general rule is that you must have a finished floor to ceiling height of 2.3 metres, allowing for the floor joists to be installed and to take into account that your ceiling may well be dropped.

One of the main considerations for loft conversions is the fire regulations. With this in mind a loft conversion must have escape windows set in place in case of an emergency. And as alot of loft conversions nowdays have dormas set in them, the dormas themselves must at least hold a half an hour fire restraint on it. Livable spaces in conversions tend to have fire doors, the only places where a fire door is not needed are wet rooms, such as bathrooms and toilets.

Uses of a Loft Conversion

Loft conversions can be handy for many applications: adding bedrooms, studies, playrooms, etc.

Any professional carpenter, experienced in loft conversions, will help you figure out the best application of space for your property. For example, you may have a two bedroom bungalow and need another bedroom to accommodate a new addition to the family. Your first thought might be to move to a 3 bedroom house. But have you considered, it will probably be cheaper and easier to add an addition room to your existing home by converting the loft?

If you’re currently having similar thoughts about your home, please get in touch. Loft conversions are second nature to us, and we’d love to discuss our ideas with you.

Posted in Loft conversions |

Home Extensions – A Must Read For All Sussex Home Owners

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

The ever-increasing house prices in Worthing (and pretty much every where in Sussex) means it’s tough for the average family to move home when they out-grow their current accommodation.

But moving home isn’t the only solution to find more living space for your family.

Home extensions are a flexible and comparibly cost-effective way to add some extra space. And when done right, they are also a nice way to add value, personality and point-of-difference.

5 Ways You Can Extend Your House

Whether you build up or out, on or in, there are 5 ways you can use your extension.

Bedroom
Families grow: Babies, friends, relatives. They all come with their own need for space. This is where a bedroom extension is an excellent option. Adding a bedroom to your existing home is much easier that buying a bigger house.

Playroom
A playroom addition to the home will give the children a room to themselves. This means that all those toys, equipment etc for the kids can be stored in the room, and used to play in a nice safe area all for themselves.

Kitchen
A very popular choice is to extend your kitchen, creating a nice large area to either have more space to cook, or to add a kitchen/diner to your house, where you and your family can have its meals.

Lounge
Extending your lounge area gives you a couple of options. You can either use the space for entertaining, with the addition of a dining table. Or you can use the extra floor space for sofas, which perfectly compliment that new widecreen tv you just bought.

Two-Storey
An excellent choice of house extension is to go for the two-storey build. This presents a lot of options to what type of rooms you would like. Whether you would want to have an extra bedroom and bathroom, kitchen and entertainment room, the choice is yours.

Extension Regulations

Laws regarding planning permission for housing extensions have changed. It used to be that a detatched house could add 70 cubic metres before planning permission was required, and a terrace house would be allowed 50 cubic metres added before planning permission was needed.

Properties can now have a two storey extension stretching ten foot back from the rear wall of the property, with no limit to the volume of the extension.
Of course, before starting out, please discuss your extension with us or another professional carpentry/building firm.

Benefits of Home Extensions

The main benefit to having a house extension is obvious. You get the added space and extra room without the additional stress (and cost) of moving home.
In addition, when building your extension, you also have additional control over the design and layout. This gives you greater creative freedom to make extra space for exactly what you need it for, rather than relocating and ‘shoe-horning’ your needs into a new home.

Contact Us For A Free No-Obligation Chat About Your Extension

As with all of our carpentry and building work, we start by discussing your needs, plans and ideas in full. We are always happy to help you think of new and exciting ways to improve your home with an extension. You can find our contact details here.

Posted in Home Extensions |

 

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howden

Howdens Joinery supplies over 400,000 inspirational kitchens each year to UK homes. What makes us different is our culture and our people. We are a British business that prides itself on a sense of local community, traditional values and long-established relationships that thrive in each of our 500 trade depots.

 

Address

24 Taw close
Worthing
West sussex
BN13 3PQ

Tel: 01903 266 387
Mob (Darren Cooper):
07891 543 844
Mob (Paul Lewis):
07917 365 605

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