And when given reasonable advice argues the toss about it all! Who's on for a group block?
i'd rather not, as his posts/attitude/not-having-a-clueness does amuse me sometimes.
Much like B-A-S in the electrical forum. Except B-A-S at least knows what he is talking about!!
I agree, though it's a shame that someone came here for advice, and we've spent two pages having this pointless conversation instead. I'm going to have another stab at answering the questions; please say if you disagree.
"1) I am planning to use the space as a home office, all the building regulations state that I must have stairs IF it is being used as a bedroom or bathroom. Since this isn't the case, do I need stairs or can I use a loft ladder?"
Building regulations must be complied with if the room is a "habitable room", it doesn't have to be used as a bedroom. Obviously you can use a loft ladder if you are not seeking building control approval, but then you won't add any value to your house when you come to sell it, and if it's badly done you could even devalue it, and the lack of paperwork could delay a sale.
"2) What would the rough cost be for such a project if I was to hire in a builder? I have had wildly different estimates so far ranging from £15k to £35k. It requires two windows put in, floor, a light and 4 double wall sockets."
I paid around £15k for a small loft conversion in 2006. This was one room on top of a 15 foot wide terraced house, including a staircase, dormer on the back, two Veluxes on the front, plumbing to a radiator, powerpoints and lighting, but not decorating. I think this was very much at the cheap end, and £20-£25k might be a better estimate now. It could cost a lot more for a bigger space, or in a more expensive part of the country.
Obviously cost is a factor, but are you able to see any previous conversions done by any of the builders, and speak to their past customers? We were fortunate enough to be able to observe our neighbour's conversion being done, and employed our builder on her recommendation.
There's a lot involved in doing a loft conversion to regs. More often than not new floor joists have to be installed, and steel might be required both for the floor and for the dormer. Your Building Control Officer may want to see calculations, in which case you would also need to pay a structural engineer.
I confess I'm not always a stickler for regs, but in this case I do think it's worth doing the job properly and getting a completion certificate. Not only will it be safer and better insulated, but it will add value to your house (we spent 15k and added £30 to the value of the house, which we sold soon after. though we had the advantage of selling in a fashionable part of York in 2007 ...).
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Richard
