Home DIY

Consider getting glass rated to reduce solar gain. Also you can get integrated blinds

@Trunkie I added a big window to a very basic "summer house" which is now an "office" to get more light in. Was the most budget way of doing it for me and works well with a blackout blind when the sun is out. We get about 3 hours of sun in the big window in the winter and about 6-ish in the summer. Never felt too hot.

Really depends on your budget. Mine was sub 1.5k so everything was done on the cheap. The window I added cost be £10 plus fuel to collect and my time.

Back to the plan of having a home office that is more than just a corner of a bedroom. Loft is a great space but dangerous to get up and down from and 3 year old has a real issue with me going up the ladder without him.

I've looked at spiral space saving things but feel they're too dangerous for kiddo so I think the best bet is a full length staircase (though open to something I've missed - still like this a lot but not sure on shipping from Straya https://bcompact.com/bc-hybrid-stairs/)

There's not a lot of room on the landing - landing floor to attic floor height is about 3m. The landing is about 3m wall to balustrade. The party wall to corridor wall is about 2m. To have a proper staircase it'd presumably mean eating into the master bedroom which I'm fine with.

Presuming this means knocking through/removing a wall which runs parallel to party wall right up to the door frame.

The party wall to the edge of door frame into master bedroom is just 26 inches though so it's pretty tight. There's no room on the other side of the door frame to shift the door along to widen it - could make it open plan I guess or a sliding door into the bedroom or something maybe?

What should I be thinking about here? (Apart from just use a different room).

Presuming best bet is to have someone qualified in something relevant come and look / give me some options. A surveyor? Architect? Builder? What kind? What should my search term be on google?

Decent builder should be able to help you out, wouldn’t go abs spend the money on a surveyor or architect from what it sounds like your after!

Quick q: we're having the unused downstairs shower room taken out to make a more usable utility room. When they took up the shower tray the concrete floor came with it leaving a hole about... well about the size of a shower tray. maybe 1.5m sq? They're going to patch it up but have warned that that new screed needs a week of drying before they can tile over it. I'd get it if it were a whole new floor, but a 1.5m sq patch? Is that a thing?

PS i realise that referring to "an unused downstairs shower room" could lead directly to the golf club thread but it's nothing to brag about. The house had previously been converted into two flats, then recombined but they left the downstairs shower room they'd built into a shonky blockwork extension off the basement kitchen. We've lived here 5 years now and no-one has ever used the shower which just gets piled up with laundry, pushchairs and other junk that won't fit under the stairs.

Even if it involves drilling stuff into a party wall? Thought that was a necessity if it was a new staircase (but not if replacing staircase). And in terms of use of space above? Aren't there hoops to jump through or do we just not advertise it as an extra room when we come to sell?

There's those space saver staircases with alternating treads.

Also worth looking into whether adding a staircase will turn the loft into a habitable room and what building regs implications that may have.

Haven't seen any of those space saver things that seem any safer for inquisitive/won'tbefuckingtold 3 year old perspective.

Also worth looking into whether adding a staircase will turn the loft into a habitable room and what building regs implications that may have.

Yep, this was my main concern.

Is that a thing?

I'm assuming your Builder is using a cheap cementitious grout.
If 'Yes' the drying/curing time is not dependent upon the surface area, but the thickness of the applied layer, and the time it will take for the excess mositure/water to escape from the ever densifying mass of screed.
Cementitious systems need more water for placement/ to give sufficient liquidity to allow flow than they need for the hydration reaction of the cement. This excess mositure has to be allowed to escape, or it will 'blow' whatever surface you put on top of the screed.
Bear in mind the current temperatures and the humidity outside, I'm surprised their willing to commit to a just a week.

Traditionally speaking this is architect territory - quick survey and feasibility study with some options. Surveyors / design and build contractors can also do this stuff too tho.

Edit - sorry assumed you were talking about a proper loft conversion - not just using a loft space to work in - as above - stairs - building regs - habitable space - natural light - all that stuff

A house we looked at had cleared thrown in a shonky staircase and clearly used their loft as a bedroom but they said "THIS IS NOT A BEDROOM wink wink". I ran away.

Is there a reason why everyone seems to go down this route, beyond current trend?

Trend is important as that's where people get their ideas from. Generally people now want light and clear views. As you're in a garden having a nice view of it makes sense.

But fundamentally you need to get light in somehow.

The obvious options are doors, windows and skylights/velux. You need at least one door, so making it a bigger one that removes, or reduces the need for windows and skylights is a simple move. Each point of light entry requires work and a cost so part of it is balancing it all.

or do we just not advertise it as an extra room when we come to sell?

Someone I work with did a... soft(?) loft conversion. i.e. floor, better storage, small desk. Seemed like a good idea to me. I expect it would be something that helps sell a place rather than adding on any value.

Once you tell the EA they'll do all the nodding and winking for you.

inquisitive/won'tbefuckingtold 3 year old perspective.

For this reason I think an old school pull down one is best. But if they're going to kick up shit every time you go up then you're a bit fucked.

Stair gate?

Remove the first 4 steps?

Presuming best bet is to have someone qualified in something relevant come and look / give me some options. A surveyor? Architect? Builder? What kind? What should my search term be on google?

The simplest and fastest option is to ask your neighbours if they have or know anyone nearby who's done it. Otherwise any local company doing lofts will probably be able to tell you how they do it.

I like the design of our neighbours' garden palace.

1/2 of the front is glass - one big floor / ceiling window and normal sized glass / alu door.

Of the remaining 1/2, a good chunk of it seems to be a separate compartment with it's own door that acts as as shed for storage.

Garden is north facing so it will mostly be in the shade however.

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Well from what you've said its not gonna be a full conversion just somewhere to work, so yeah Id start at a builder first personally.

Ah yes. My grandma used to have one and I remember it being a bit deadly when I was running up and down it when I was young.

They're going to patch it up but have warned that that new screed needs a week of drying before they can tile over it. I'd get it if it were a whole new floor, but a 1.5m sq patch? Is that a thing?

Yes, as has already been mentioned, it's the depth not the area which is important. I can't remember the recommended drying rates, but it's mms per day. And laying any floor coverings before it's properly dry is a bad thing.

What about those stairs that alternate each side/ tread?

I'm not sure re building regs although I'd imagine they are a lot more stringent if it's classed as a bedroom opposed to a storage space that happens to be fitted out.

Will follow with interest as I'm thinking about doing the same with my place.

I saw something similar, the staircase was actually through a cupboard which seemed particularly dubious.

Bummer. He did say guidance was 1mm per day. It's about 80mm deep so 2 and a half months before we can tile over the void?

Dunno. Just seems like a crazy amount of time for a dent you could cover with a dustbin lid.

We had a thick screed put down here, took about 4 months to be dry enough to lay flooring on, we worked to 1mm a day for the first 50mm then 2mm a day for 50mm plus, so working on this 80mm would take 110 days to dry. Depending on the screed used, some need to be sanding if you are sticking some flooring to it.

Unofficial (bed)rooms in lofts suffer from a few problems:

• It can't be sold/described as a (bed)room (only loft storage space) so until it is done properly and complies with building regs it won't add any value to the property (in terms of mortgage valuation and buildings insurance)
  
• If it was just a board and cover job then the thinner roof joists may not be up to supporting the weight of it being used as a fully functional room, could lead to problems in the future
  
• Sound insulation is going to be poor, and roof insulation likewise (the bulk insulation barrier is usually between the loft and the lower floors), if you heat the loft a lot of that heat is going to escape out the roof without further insulation
  
• Home insurance may be tricky, and may be invalidated if it is used as a room (without associated building regs compliance) and its use as an unofficial room was contributory to the claim
  
• Adding windows/dormer may require planning consent, which will trigger building regs compliance requirements
  
• If leasehold, freeholders may decline permission to add windows/insulation or charge a huge fee for permission
  
• Also leaseholders may not officially own the loft space so the freeholder may decide to be an arse about it in the future
  
• Access is often ill thought out and cumbersome, however nice the idea of a 'free' extra room is.
  

We have a terrible unofficial loft conversion in our place. A ridiculous staircase has been added, eating into the spare room and it's generally cold and poorly constructed. It also turns out we need a new roof, despite the surveyor being pretty confident we'd get 20-40 years out of it. This has kicked of quotes for a dormer...

That’s nuts. I can’t believe that there isn’t a better way of repairing a small hole in a concrete floor that doesn’t take months.

I’ll talk to the builder tomorrow. Might descope the tiling and have someone come back to do it. Ffs.

There are such things as fast dry screeds, may be worth investigating.