Are you thinking about adding a loft conversion to your home? It’s an exciting prospect, but as with any big adjustment to your property, it requires a lot of careful consideration. To help boost your research and help you get closer to this dream renovation, here are the key benefits of loft conversions:
Often Faster Than A House Extension
A house extension requires building from scratch, but a loft conversion is built on top of a home that is already developed and ready to go. This means that it generally is a lot faster to have a loft conversion compared to a house extension, which means a lot less disruption to your daily life overall.
Various Styles To Choose From
There are all kinds of loft conversion styles to choose from such as; dormer, mansard, skylight, hip-to-gable and L-shaped. All have different pros and cons, but it does mean you have plenty of options when it comes to elevating the functionality and aesthetic of your home.
More Living Space/ Multi-Use Room
Why go through the stress of a house move when you can stay in the place you love the most? A loft conversion helps you to utilise the complete footprint of your home.
You can use it as a bedroom, a snug for older children, a playroom, or perhaps a home office.
Home offices, in particular continue to be a priority for homeowners and homebuyers post-pandemic. At the peak of the pandemic over half of us did at least some work from home, and either fully home-based or hybrid office/ home arrangements are set to continue to be the norm moving forward. With that in mind, the home office becomes not only a luxurious addition to a house, but an essential one.
No More Loft Clutter
Having a loft often creates a version of Parkinson’s law, only instead of expanding the work to fill the time needed for its completion, we find clutter to fill the available loft space. Utilising the loft space encourages us to deal with our clutter, Marie Kondo our lives, and generally improve to store and organise more efficiently overall.
Energy Efficient
Adding a loft conversion to a house is more energy efficient than you might imagine. This is because they tend to have multiple windows which bring in lots of natural light, leading to a lack of artificial light needed in the day.
Loft conversion experts will also ensure that the loft is completely insulated to meet high standards, so warmth will be kept inside.
Lastly, heat rises and so you won’t need to use much heating to keep your loft conversion warm because it will benefit from the heat you use across the rest of your home.
Potential For Increased House Value
Loft conversions could add up to 20% value to your home, especially if you go through the necessary regulations and additions to officially list the conversion as an extra bedroom. This is something you can discuss with the professional loft conversion company you use when you’re planning your conversion. This is so that you not only understand what needs doing to officially create an extra bedroom, but also which conversion types might impact the value of your home in different ways.
An Easy Process
You may need to hire a project manager when you have a house extension. However, with a loft conversion, the best building companies will usually keep you fully informed and abreast of the adjustments as par for the course, without any need for the cost of a project manager (or the stress of managing it yourself!).
A New View
Loft conversions sit above the sight line and tree line of lower level bedrooms which can mean you get a beautiful view of surrounding areas that you didn’t know you had access to.
Options Without Planning Permission
There are some loft conversions that do not require planning permission. All loft conversions will require building regulations, but planning permission is often unnecessary with a skylight conversion, or a dormer conversion. This makes the paperwork process of the work much simpler and easier, especially with the help of your expert building company guiding you every step of the way.
A Beautiful Aesthetic
Externally you will be blending the conversion into the aesthetic of your home. Internally, the aesthetic of a loft conversion is quirky, unique, peculiar and absolutely beautiful. With the right splash of personality-filled decorating and creativity you can harness the individuality of this kind of space and make your loft a stunning and entirely a standalone visual treat.
No Need To Steal Garden Space
The average value of a garden is impacted by various different factors, however, in London post-lockdown it’s certainly an asset. Pre-pandemic it was worth around 20% of the value of your home, but after we were all confined to the footprint of our homes to ‘stop the spread’, the value of a garden in urban areas has risen hugely. It’s your own little slice of nature to benefit from, which is why it’s just not desirable to fill it with a new extension.
Instead, many homeowners and particularly London homeowners choose a loft conversion instead, preserving their garden space whilst boosting the liveable space of the home itself.
A Way To Expand In London
We mentioned having a garden above, but over 10% of the UK does not have a garden, and in London that’s more like 40%. So, extending outwards isn’t even an option. The good news is that many homes are suitable for loft conversions, so even without an outdoor space you can boost the indoor space of your home with relative ease.
Rental Potential
A loft conversion that meets all the right regulations and permissions could be something you choose to rent out to guests on a site like Airbnb. On average, on Airbnb you can make around £100 a night renting out a private room, and about the same (monthly total) renting to a long-term tenant, which is a really handy extra bit of cash to help with the increasing cost of living in the UK.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
A loft conversion doesn’t just have to remain a dream. Why not enjoy all the benefits above and more from an efficient, exciting home improvement? Speak to a trusted loft conversion company today to take the first step towards the home you’ve always wanted – it’s more accessible than you think.
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