Most families purchase new furniture, appliances and other items for their home. Often they wish to retain the older items in their home due to which the home looks cluttered. Hence many families are using their loft for storage. After some time the loft may not be large enough to store all items, so the family is interested in getting loft extensions to increase the storage space. In other cases they would like to use the loft as an additional room in the house and want to increase the space. Hence they would like to find out the procedure for getting a loft extension from a reputed builder.
Hiring a specialist
Though there are a large number of builders doing construction work, it is advisable to hire the services of a builder who is specializing in loft conversion for multiple reasons like
- better optimization of the loft to maximize the space available
- familiar with the government regulations, so it will be easier to get the required planning permissions.
- lower rates since they already have contractors and suppliers for the materials and work done
- time taken will be less since they are experienced and can anticipate the problems
- better quality, since the specialists are aware of weather conditions, environmental factors which affect the loft and take suitable precautions
Choosing a builder
The builder contacted for loft conversion will first check the loft, consider the requirements of the property owner, and give a quote for the cost of the work. The builder will usually require an initial deposit, and the rest of the amount has to be paid after the construction work starts and is completed. It is advisable to get quotes from multiple builders, to get a better deal. While comparing the quotes, it is also advisable to check the warranty offered on the work. Better builders will give a warranty of up to ten years on their work, while cheaper builders may give a warranty of only one or three years.
It is also advisable to check the scope of supply for the loft extension. In most cases, the builders will supply all the material required, the home owner does not have to procure any material. In some cases, the builder will clearly specify that the home owner should supply the sanitary ware according to his own preferences, so the home owner should make suitable arrangements. It is advisable to hire a builder who will get all the planning permissions, certificates required, pay the fees, since the home owner usually does not have the time, to visit the different offices to get the work done.
Construction
After the permissions have been obtained, the selected builder will start the loft extension work. For this all the garden furniture, pots in the area will have to be moved. The scaffolding will be installed and the materials will have to be delivered. First the structural work will be completed to extend the roof. The electrical, plumbing fixtures will be installed and a staircase is built. The painting work is then completed for the loft extension