Attic Conversion

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Carmar

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We are considering converting the attic in our house. We probably have sufficient head height to meet the standard for a 'habitable' room if we get a dormer in. However we have been told that a huge amount of work would need to be done to the rest of the house - to walls, ceilings, doors. We have been told that the costs involved are excessive. I don't know if the costs are indeed excessive or if companies just don't want to do it. Would anyone be able to give me an idea of costs to convert with a dormer, plus the other costs to the rest of the house to meet regulations.
Also we have been told that 99% of attic conversions are 'non-habitable' but are used daily and not just for storage. Looking at daft.ie, this seems to be the case. Would this not make the home insurance of tens of thousands of homes invalid if an assessor sees a non-habitable'' attic furnished as a habitable room eg bedroom, home office, tv room?
This is all quite confusing and is stalling us from making progress with this. Can anyone advise us and even offer your thoughts on it?
 
Unless you have a very high sum insured, or high value silver, antiques, jewellery & the like, I doubt you'll have any insurer sending out one of their reps to do a pre-insurance survey.

Impossible to say what the additional costs might be to include the necessary regs with so little information.

Assuming you are not in a very high value area or are (say) creating two self-contained dwellings, (with all the necessary planning in place); then you are as well go with the 'non-habitable' version.

Make sure you get structural engineers report and cert - you'll need it if you come to sell.
 
As above, engage an engineer who can assess what is feasible. In many homes, the joists, walls, foundations may require reinforcement to hold the additional weight. An engineer will at least tell you what's possible.

I assume the insurance concern is one of them refusing to pay out in the event of a claim rather than them refusing your business. On that, I'm not sure how they would treat a claim, it's likely that they would not pay out for fixtures and fittings within a non-conforming attic, but whether it invalidates the insurance I don't know.
 
Thank you for your reply. The works involved in making an attic conversion 'habitable' include:

The existing stairs and the new stairs and the walls from the attic to the front door should be enclosed in 30 minute fire resisting wall construction. The doors to habitable rooms from the stairway should be fire resisting doors of not less than 20 minutes. Each floor in such a should achieve 30 minutes fire resistance. Fire doors need to be installed.

Re. insurance. I was asking about the validity of people's house insurance if, after a claim e.g. in the event of a fire, an assessor sees that a 'non-habitable' attic has actually been used daily e.g. as a bedroom or home office. Could an insurance company then decide not to pay out in the event of a fire?
 
Carmar said:
Could an insurance company then decide not to pay out in the event of a fire
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Good chance the attic wld be destroyed anyway!

I've never heard of a claim rejection on the grounds that someone was using their attic.
 
I'm interested in this for dow the road but I have concerns regarding usability of attic if the dormer is not added. Also if its made as mot habitable, im not sure Id be comfortable taking on the risk of having someone sleep in it, if the additional fire safety is not in place. Id imagine that the regulations are thete for good teason and if the worst wete to happen, it could make a real difference. But time and time again, properties for sale tell a different story.
 
I have recently completed our attic conversion my self with the help of a carpenter friend.
Yes it’s messy/dusty work but very doable either way.
Time frame is roughly 10 days start too finish.
You will need a couple of trades like,carpenter, joiner,electrician,plumber,plaster boarder & plaster,as well as a painter.
Costs can range from €10,000 bear min too top of the line at €70,000.
Spec wise it really depends on what you want.
Planning permission will be required for dormer and perhaps roof windows too the front (which we went for as we wanted too maximum natural light especially over the space saving original stair case).
 
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Depending on circumstances, a constructed extension to the rear of the property, or the purchase of a "shomra" type unit, may be the cheaper way to go, and give you more space.
 
MrEarl said:
Depending on circumstances, a constructed extension to the rear of the property, or the purchase of a "shomra" type unit, may be the cheaper way to go, and give you more space.
Click to expand...

Good idea. I always feel the loss of the storage space in the attic is a big loss.
 
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