Attic Conversion - Where to start?

Hi All,

We are hoping to get our attic converted in the near future...towards the end of the year or very early 2023. I know a lot of companies are very busy at the minute and probably booked for a few months out already, so we would like to get started somewhat on getting a plan going, quotes, recommendations, if we need drawings etc.
We live in a standard 3 bed semi just outside Dublin built very late 80's . We have a truss roof so I know these require a bit more work and cutting the roof. Others on the road have attic conversions so should be convertible.

We want to get the attic converted as non habitable space, I do not plan on ever having anyone use it as a bedroom.
I think as long as we don't plan to use it as habitable space that we don't require planning permission. I know many people with non habitable attic conversions would then get a carpenter or attic conversion company to convert their attic. We did go sale agreed on one house with an attic conversion when we were buying and we were advised by the surveyor not to go ahead as he had concerns about the attic conversion not being structurally sound....floor was dipping in a few places and the ceiling below looked like it had been patched up in a few places where there was maybe issues.

Since we have a trussed roof we wanted to make sure its done right so we wouldn't run into any similar issues. We aren't sure where to begin though. Should we engage with our own architect, or engineer or both? To get them to do up drawings and/or monitor the job even if we don't plan to apply for planning permission just to make sure everything is done correctly? Or do we just get a reputable contractor/carpenter/attic conversion company and have them do it themselves? Many of these from what I've seen supply a cert from an architect/engineer themselves to say the conversion conforms to building regs but its also someone they are employing so I'm not sure what we should do or where to start at all. Any advice from anyone who has done this already or recommendations would be really appreciated.

You say you don't want it as a habitable place, so when you say you want the attic converted? Converted to what are you thinking about?

lemon1984 said:

Any advice ..................................

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I am not recommending this company one way or the other, I know nothing about them, they did not do my attic conversion but their FAQ’s answers a lot of your questions.

https://www.atticconversions.ie/frequently-asked-questions/

twofor1 said:

I am not recommending this company one way or the other, I know nothing about them, they did not do my attic conversion but their FAQ’s answers a lot of your questions.

https://www.atticconversions.ie/frequently-asked-questions/

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Thank you I'll take a look.

Talk with your neighbours who have converted and ask them who the used and the cost etc.

Go and see as many conversions in similar and also, other houses. You will come away with ideas, some of which will be practical, and some won’t.

We did one about 18 years ago, we put in a toilet and shower also. At the time, this required a seperate sink water heater, and a pump from the hot water tank downstairs to supply the shower, an electric shower is another option, bit we didn’t want one. A few years later, we got in a pressurised water system, so that enabled us to get rid of that very noisy pump (located by tank in hopress)for the attic room.

If you are doing an ensuite, get a non wood velux,(pvc) in the bathroom, as they can get moldy with hot showers going.

We got in contact with the builder as a neighbour had it done, but they did not get a toilet/shower.

We had a lot of issues with the plumping generally, and problems with the rads.

Years later, we had an issue with the electrics, we got an electrician down, and he said whoever wired the attic did it unsafely.

Point is, be careful who you pick, i was probably a bit naive, and should have checked these items out more thoroughly.

Also think of the larger picture of a full house retrofit, as some of the attic decisions may impact on that, such as insulation, shower and water system, heating system.

Also, there maybe storage space available in the new stairs up to the attic floor, try and plan this to optimise storage, i didn’t and should have paid more attention to that. Don’t skimp on the stairs, you maybe limited on the width, as its a tricky compromise between taking space off a bedroom or hotpress, and the need for a decent stairs to the attic.

Its proven to be a very valuable addition to the house, we had au pairs for more than 12 years, and they had their own floor with bathroom, and its a lovely quiet space.

Pinoy adventure said:

Talk with your neighbours who have converted and ask them who the used and the cost etc.

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Unfortunately two of them have it converted and both were done before they bought the house.

fayf said:

Go and see as many conversions in similar and also, other houses. You will come away with ideas, some of which will be practical, and some won’t......

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Thanks for all the points, very useful information and a lot to think about. We completely refitted our water and heating system 3 years ago when we bought the house but I also don't think we would need a bathroom up there anyway. Either way it would have been good to do upgrades regardless if we were changing water tanks etc. We must think about what else might need upgrading that would be easier now instead of later e.g. roof repairs or replacement or things like this.

If there is any possibility, of it being used as a bedroom, nows the time to be thinking about that. Peoples circumstances can change etc.

I am way out of touch with current regulations etc, but my understanding back when we converted, is that if the stairs to the attic, and various doors are not replaced with heavy duty fire doors in and around, the route from the ground floor to the attic, and other fire protection measures, then, it cannot be included as an extra bedroom, in the house sale description, if you sell it later on. We did not do that, as costs were off the charts, and we just couldn’t afford that much higher level of expenditure at that time.

It still adds value, as the house has much more space, and more lifestyle options, than say the neighbours equivalent houses, but we didn’t do it in terms of selling it later on, it has served as an excellent addition of space, for more than 10 years for our Au Pairs, and my eldest has been up there for a few years now, allowing us to use one of the smaller unoccupied bedrooms, as an office, which was extremely convienient, in the last 2.5 years or so.

In the same way as, i wouldn’t convert, if i thought i might be moving on, in the medium term, to another house. People have longer term plans, and these become valid, when considering doing major works.

Finally, i heard several cases, where people who did a cut price job, without proper surveying, can actually do long term damage to the roof supports, and house structure, if the conversion is not done correctly,from a structural point of view, the supports, flooring etc are built originally, to support a certain type of roof, this has to be surveyed and supports etc adjusted correctly, for the converted attic, i’m not a structural engineer, but it needs to be checked out thoroughly, to be suitably supported, post conversion.

You will want to get an engineer's cert at the end of the conversion.

@lemon1984

I’m watching this thread with interest. I’ve been kicking around an attic conversion with bathroom for a few years now. If you have any learnings or costings that’d be great.