New house - Convert the attic?

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Philo123

Guest
Im buying a new house, and I was thinking of asking the builder about the possibilities of converting the attic while they are building the house.
Good / Bad idea ??

Wondering too about pricing, presumably it would be cheaper to do the conversion now than later.
 
I would imagine it would be more cost effective and less hassle to do it now. If i had the chance all over again I would have.
 
I didn't get a full convertion but I got the beams and trusses put in place and got the attic floored, 2 velux windows, 2 double sockets, light fitting and a stira stairs, it will be very easy to make into a room later on down the road if I want, all it really needs is plastering and a stairs fitting, other than that its all there, using it for storage at the moment.
Cost me €5.2K
 
"Cost me €5.2K"
Bloody heck, that's some value!
Was that a retrofit or when the house was being built?
Running out of space myself in my 3-bed semi, but move to a 4 bed in my area will cost me approx 70k in Stamp duty alone, so I'm reluctant to take such a plunge in these uncertain times! Was thinking of an attic conversion but assumed the cost would be wildly prohibitive.
 
amgd28 said:
"Cost me €5.2K"
Bloody heck, that's some value
Was that a retrofit or when the house was being built?
.
Click to expand...

I got all the difficult stuff done when the house was being built so if I ever want to convert it then it should be handy enough.
 
Definitely do it now - way more cost effective..

Built nearly eight years ago and really regret not having the attic done back then.. it'll probably be nearly the cost of the house again to have it done now!
 
Did the original Planning Permission allow sufficient height in the upstairs to allow for habitable space upstairs?
 
Another point to ponder - If a new house includes an attic conversion from the start, does that increase the floor space in terms of qualifying for exemption from stamp duty?
 
Salmon said:
What is the space required to allow for a habitable space?
Click to expand...
You have to have 8ft over 50% of the floor area.

The biggest problem (apart from headroom) is that most modern houses use roof trusses, which leaves you with timbers crossing the attic leaving no useable space.
 
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