Lath & Plaster Attic Room Renovation

[John Peden]

Has anyone renovated an attic room-in-roof with lath and plaster ceilings? I'd like to tackle mine at some point and was considering some of the schemes that subsidise costs but I'm not convinced that any of them would actually be any good.

The room-in-roof isn't particularly cold in winter time, as we're mid-terrace, but it does get quite hot in the summer and it needs tarting up as the previous owners had some interesting tastes...snakeskin wallpaper anyone?

If I'm going to renovate, I'm very keen to do it properly, take it back to brick and properly insulate the room.

Any tips?

 

[Bonni]

Yes, get some plans drawn up and apply for building regulations, they will keep you on the right path.

If you don't get building regs, you will get 100 different bits of advice off different people and in the event of selling the house in the future, it can only be described as an attic room instead of a bedroom etc..

 

[John Peden]

OK, cool. The room is already recognised as a bedroom; all of the houses on the street are the same and have a full staircase up to the room.

Would there be any purpose applying for building regs with that being the case?

 

[^woody^]

You wont need building regs. But what is the actual question?

 

[John Peden]

Is it a straightforward (albeit messy) job that a competent DIYer could do over a few weekends or do you think it'd be preferable to get a builder in and attack it quickly to minimise the disruption?

 

[Dereekoo]

Builders answer - Definitely get a builder in as he needs the money

DIYer answer - Do it yourself and save the money

 

[23vc]

What do mean by “renovate”? Replaster etc?

 

[John Peden]

I want to pull the walls and ceiling down, remove the laths, install insulated board and then plasterboard over the top. I'd be happy to get a plasterer in for the last boarding/skimming as it's not something I can do myself.

 

[23vc]

Definitely messy (probably more than you’d imagine if you’ve not pulled lath ceilings down before) but perfectly doable if you want a few pretty unpleasant weekends. Need skip.

 

[Ian H]

DIY it. My misssus and daughter did ours while I took pictures.

 

[John Peden]

Best to clear the entire room before attempting this then? Dust sheets no good for the job?

 

[Ian H]

Empty the room, lock yourself in with a decent mask and rubble sacks, tape up the door, sheet the floor.

 

[John Peden]

OK, you've inspired me. I'll recruit some friends and aim to get the job done over a couple of weekends once the weather gets warmer as I imagine the attic will be pretty chilly without anything other than slate keeping the heat in!

 

[John Peden]

One thing that would be handy is a rubbish chute that I could hang from the window so that we could just hoof **** straight from the attic room into a Hippobag in the front garden. Something like this:

https://heatherednest.com/diy-garbage-chute-trash-chute-from-concrete-forms/

Any suggestions?

 

[Ian H]

What are you planning insulationwise when you put it back together?