Loft Conversion - Advice

[johnny2007]

The most essential thing is to get a structural engineer involved so to plan the loft conversion and do the floor accordingly

This makes all the difference.
Then you can get your friend to do the job accordingly to the structural engineer calculations.
You take your cut for getting the team together.
Don't take anything out of that loft before consulting a structural engineer.
Unless you just want to board it for storage.

 

[AkiraDIY]

I dont actually have to ask about.this.on this forum.

I can simply call my friends who know more about these things than me, and get them to come see the loft and give the quote.

So far I have only briefly spoke to one of them and asked for advice on converting a loft into storage. He was in the middle of attending to his baby, so we said we will discuss it in more detail later. Then I thought to make a thread on here.

If the client wants to proceed I will be taking a friend/builder to view it again, (as mentioned to the client, and on this thread) to assess loft to see if structural work is needed.

End of.


Unless someone wants to talk about loft conversions no more need for is to waste time on this thread about this.

You calling your friends or asking on the forum is simply a result of the same reason. You don't know how to do it and therefore are not experienced enough to take on the job.

"End of."

You should be doing your friend and more importantly, the client, a favour by putting the two of them in touch. And you could work as a labourer for him and learn how to do it. But cowboys do like to play the boss, overestimate their skills/knowledge, and chase after the $$$ while ignoring all the advice that hurts their ego.

 

[DM7]

You calling your friends or asking on the forum is simply a result of the same reason. You don't know how to do it and therefore are not experienced enough to take on the job.

"End of."

You should be doing your friend and more importantly, the client, a favour by putting the two of them in touch. And you could work as a labourer for him and learn how to do it. But cowboys do like to play the boss, overestimate their skills/knowledge, and chase after the $$$ while ignoring all the advice that hurts their ego.

What you are saying is nonsense.

 

[DM7]

Nothing wrong with me getting people to complete parts of a job I can't do for me...

 

[DM7]

Also, some do work for me cheaper than what they themselves would have charged the client, as I am bringing the tradesman lots of work.

There are different ways of doing business.

There isn't always one correct way of doing things...

Your posts are full of false presumtioms, negative and not helpful.

 

[DM7]

If I want to add on a % to the sub-contractor's bill, whether or not that increases the cost to the client, that's perfectly fine.

No one is forcing the client to pay.

They can get multiple quotes from different companies and choose whichever one they want.

 

[DM7]

I.e., I have a friend who does tiles and bricklaying. He has 20 years experience.

He will do tiling of x format types for me at £33 a sq metre. Other tilers are charging £80 a sq meter for this same tile type.

This means I can charge my client £40 a sq meter and save the client time, hassle and money.

Another friend of mine does decorating. He will normally charge a client £400 to do a room of x dimensions. But for me, he does the room of x dimension for £350. So I can add £50 and the client is only paying what they would have had they gone directly to my friend (who they didn't even know anyway).

So I'm building up my team. It doesn't always cost the client more, but sometimes it might and that's just the way the world works.

If people shop around they sometimes get a better deal. That doesn't mean that the one with a more expensive deal is now a rip off.

 

[AkiraDIY]

You know the thoughts and opinions of everyone that replied on here. Just cause you don't like them doesn't make it any less true.

Whether your building a team, employing subcontractors, getting friends, or whatever idea you flip flop to, you're in no position to be leading a loft conversion. You keep saying you have friends in the know. Well you should be giving this project to these friends and be part of their team to learn. You don't know what you're doing for a conversion, not even remotely, but you've arrogantly decided you're going ahead regardless and don't accept/understand why people are telling you it's got trouble written all over it.

I'm done wasting time on this thread. You do you. Hopefully your client doesn't take you to court for a botched conversion cause your subcontractors won't give you a second look when it comes to it.

 

[DM7]

You know the thoughts and opinions of everyone that replied on here. Just cause you don't like them doesn't make it any less true.

Whether your building a team, employing subcontractors, getting friends, or whatever idea you flip flop to, you're in no position to be leading a loft conversion. You keep saying you have friends in the know. Well you should be giving this project to these friends and be part of their team to learn. You don't know what you're doing for a conversion, not even remotely, but you've arrogantly decided you're going ahead regardless and don't accept/understand why people are telling you it's got trouble written all over it.

I'm done wasting time on this thread. You do you. Hopefully your client doesn't take you to court for a botched conversion cause your subcontractors won't give you a second look when it comes to it.

And you also seem to think you know my subcontractors are going to botch a job... Like, you are just making things up in your head.

I have friends who know how to do these jobs. Nothing wrong with me getting them to complete the parts I don't know how to do....

The client has actually benefited from asking me to do the job, because some people do just care about money and would have just boarded up the loft for storage and took the money.

I was honest with the client, told them that if I board it up for storage it most likely will need to be redone again in the future when it comes to doing the full conversion.

They are not yet ready to pay for a part conversion so it means I probably won't get any work out of it now.

In the future, when they are ready, I will be involving a structural engineer, a certified electrician, and probably a roofer/carpenter to do the structural work. The work will be done to meet all regulations, with a quality finish.

This will all be clear to the client, before they sign any contract.

Nothing at all wrong with any of this.....

 

[blup]

Board it out for flooring and don't touch the structure, the loft conversion requires a professional to design it, sounds like they're looking for a habitable room on the cheap. That is a no no from building regs perspective.

Blup

 

[blup]

Not that it matters, but he was from Essex

Lol

 

[catlad]

Literally thousands of posts regarding loft conversions, the pictures you have shown look good for head height which is generally a major factor.