Loft Conversion Costs Are We Getting Ripped Off?
With the property market in the doldrums and more and more homeowners looking to extend their property with a loft conversion, its never been a better time for the loft conversion companies but are they providing value for money or ripping us off with their prices?
What is the Cost of a Loft Conversion?
I wish I had a penny for ever time I was asked about loft conversion costs. Its not rocket science to make the determination that loft conversion costs will be higher in London than they would be some where in the middle of the country side. Everything costs more in the heart of large cities as all the costs are different.
For starters tradesmen get paid higher rates in cities especially London. Materials cost more in the cities as does delivery. In fact almost every cost that form part of a loft conversion will be higher in the city so why are homeowners surprised that there are huge differences in loft conversion costs.
Loft Conversion Design
What about loft conversion design? The reality is that there are no two loft conversions that are exactly alike. You might have two loft conversions next door to each other but yet one is 10,000 more than the other. To find out why you need to look at design factors such as:
- Roof finish Is it slate, tile or vinyl cladding?
- Flat roof plain felt, zinc or asphalt?
- What about the overall design Is it a single dormer, twin former, semi-mansard or full mansard?
- Roof windows Is it Velux windows or a cheap alternative?
- Staircase Is it a cheap mdf staircase that gets painted or is it a custom timber staircase to match existing character and design?
- Heating Is it a few electric heaters or an extension of the existing heating circuits?
- Bathroom Did you install a bathroom suite, shower, pumps and w/c?
As you can see there are many areas where the costs can escalate and its not altogether surprising that a loft conversion can vary by 10/15k depending on the loft conversion design.
Loft Conversion Size
Another huge factor with regard to loft conversion costs is the actual size of the loft conversion. For starters a loft conversion to a standard period terrace is probably the easiest conversion you can do. But what if it was an end of terrace property or a semi detached property? Go one step bigger and suppose you were considering a loft conversion to a detached house with a Georgian hipped roof, what would the costs be then?
Specialist Loft Conversion Companies
Its abundantly clear the best loft conversions come from the specialist loft conversion companies. Their in-house design team will have the most up-to-date designs, materials and access to the best suppliers at cheaper rates than say the local builder. On average you are likely to pay about 10% more for a loft conversion by a builder than a loft conversion specialist.
Conclusions
Whilst the loft conversion market is getting a much needed boost it is highly competitive and homeowners are getting better value now than at any time in the past. The key to getting the costs down is to seek at least three comparative loft conversion costs.
You can prices and compare costs at Loft
Conversion Supermarket The UK Leading Price Comparison ite For Loft Conversions.
