London Loft Conversions
London Loft Conversions
With the arrival of the recent cold weather, millions of people up and down the country are feeling the chill. Around 25% of all heat in the home is lost through the roof, often leading to a very cold loft. One of the best ways to ensure that those cold feet are kept warm during the long winter months is to invest in the latest insulation technologies. The initial cost of good quality insulation may put people off but in most cases, reductions in heating bills mean that the investment pays for itself within just the first 24 months of installation. The newest insulation methods also are effective for at least 40 years giving you piece of mind, as well as keeping you warm.
One of the cheapest ways to ensure that your loft temperature stays nice and toasty is to upgrade your cavity wall insulation, which could save you up to £160 a year. Most homes that were built after the 1920s have cavity walls and an easy way to tell is to look at the brick pattern.
If your bricks have a regular brick pattern (left), you probably have cavity walls whereas if your bricks alternate in size (right) you probably have solid walls. If you have solid walls, don’t worry! Solid walls can still be insulated, and though it’ll cost that bit more, they actually save more money in the long run that standard cavity walls.
So how much can you save? The table below shows costs and potential savings for houses in England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland, the payback time is even quicker at around 2-4 years.
Britain’s building stock is one of the oldest in Europe. In order to bring it up to date, properties need to be adequately insulated. Then, once buildings are properly insulated, occupiers will spend less on energy bills to heat them. The government has recently introduced the Green Deal Initiative to help businesses and home owners to implement more green technologies in their properties. It’s a very simple idea, install green technology in your property and pay no upfront costs. The costs incurred will be repaid through your energy bill over a period of time. The ‘loan’ is associated with the property rather than the bill payer so there’s no obligation to continue paying after you move out.
The golden rule of the initiative is that the expected savings must equal or be greater than the costs attached to the energy bill. There are two main ways to apply for the scheme, through a Green Deal Provider or via a Green Deal Assessment.
An ensuite shower room, a luxurious bathroom, or anything in between, can be an inventive way to make use of your loft conversion. Shower rooms can be a good answer to the question of how one fills the empty but tricky spaces that can be caused by an alcove or sloping roof etc. Work with the natural architecture of your loft, choosing a shower and clever storage solutions for smaller areas. Well-placed mirrors will also create the illusion of a much larger bathroom, lending a light and airy feeling, even to cramped attic spaces.
You can add even more features to larger rooms to add a luxurious touch to your new bathroom. A bathroom in the loft can be the perfect space to relax and unwind, with the right lighting and finishing touches, you could create a place of tranquillity to retreat to after a busy day. Natural loft fixtures such as exposed beams and skylights can aid in finding just the right feel and look that will resonate with you.
Every room is created depending upon the needs of the customer. The bathroom is a very personal space that has to meet a variety of needs and on any given day it may be an oasis of relaxation, a room for reinvigoration, transformation, or even somewhere to play. So, think about the role your loft bathroom will play in your day-to-day life. Will it be used on a daily basis? If so, and there’s limited space, then it may be more practical to include a shower, rather than a freestanding bath.
As always, if you are thinking of converting your loft to create a bathroom it may be possible without planning permission. If your loft is of a sufficient size then you may be able to turn it into a habitable space under permitted development. Avoiding a planning application will speed up the project and may allow for greater scope than planning policy would permit.
We always recommend using Velux windows in our conversions as we feel that they are the best windows available. They are the best in quality and require no maintenance. Space and light have a positive influence on our energy, mood and concentration levels, and converting your loft with high quality windows will bring the daylight into your life. Installing high quality Velux windows into your roof space allows plenty of natural light and ventilation into the new loft conversion. We can fit a wide variety of styles and sizes, and can advise you on the best position for the windows to go, and they can also fit any gradient of roof. An attic conversion that relies on artificial lighting can feel oppressive. Velux roof windows are specifically designed for maximum daylight and plenty of ventilation whenever you want it.
We always seek to get the best possible outcome for both the loft conversion, and our customers. One of the ways that we go about this is finding the best way to allow natural light into their conversion. Sleep is crucial for brain development and the way we function on a daily basis and so the amount and quality of sleep we get is all linked to the amount of light in our lives. Our modern lifestyles mean we have stopped leading our lives in line with natural light. In essence, our biological clock – or our circadian clock – which helps our sleep pattern, our alertness and our mood, is being tampered with. So we design our conversions to allow as much natural light inside as possible. By exposing ourselves to light early in the morning and throughout the day, and letting the light guide our sleep patterns, falling asleep quickly and feeling a general sense of wellbeing is a natural and welcomed result.
So for quality products and advice, you’re in safe hands with Modern Attics, bringing light back into your life.
How often on average do you go up to your loft? Perhaps it is a world of dusty old books, toys, and Christmas decorations, a dead space in your house.
Lofts have near unlimited potential when it comes to conversions, from an extra bedroom, to a luxury bathroom, turn that wasted space into a usable one that can add value to your property. Apart from costing less on average than a standard ground floor extension, loft conversions use the available space that is already in your house.
So what could you use that new available space for? Here is a list of potential ideas and common designs for attic conversions:
Guest bedrooms and bathrooms are very common, and with a rise in people working from home, home offices are being requested in ever greater numbers. Loft conversions are especially great for young families who can’t afford to make that move to a bigger house, an extra room gives that additional space that’s desperately required for a growing household. All loft extensions that we undertake are based on the needs of our clients.
Converting your loft can be a perfect upgrade to your house, creating a functional new space and a new look for your house. Modern Attics has years of professional experience in building loft conversions in all areas of London. To learn more about how we could help you refresh your home, please contact us on 020 7254 5222, or email us at info@Modern Attics.com
