My parents live in India and often come to visit us for extended periods of time. Our three kids are getting a bit older now and we need extra space to more easily accommodate my parents when they visit.
At the least, we’d like to add a bedroom with an en suite and some additional storage. If we were to extend, we would be interested in adding more space to our living area as well.
We’ve heard absolute horror stories from neighbours about the amount of time it took and the frustration it caused to finalise an extension plan, get it approved and then manage the project to completion. What advice would you offer on value for money, how to plan for the work to be completed efficiently and so on? Also, would it be better to choose an attic conversion or a ground-floor extension?
While you will be doing this primarily for the convenience of having more space and to enhance your enjoyment of your home, you should also keep an eye on the impact that alterations could have on the property’s market value.
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The saying “the day you buy is the day you sell” also applies to the building of an extension. You will be hoping that the “wow” you build now will still wow potential buyers when they come to view it in the future. (Okay, I’m no Seamus Heaney, but you get the gist of the argument.)
There are, of course, pros and cons with an attic conversion and an extension at ground level. As a general rule, assuming the attic is big enough, the conversion of an attic is more cost-effective than the building of an extension to the rear of the property. You don’t say what the house type is, so for the purposes of this answer, I will assume it’s a standard two-storey three-bed semidetached house. An extra bedroom and an extended living area will more than likely exceed the 40sq m permitted development size that is exempt from planning permission.
The attic conversion is a quick build with fewer planning implications in most cases. However, it does impact on the structural integrity of the roof. Generally, a prefabricated timber truss roof (the W-shaped frame) cannot be adapted for use as a room without completely replacing the roof structure. There are also likely to be space constraints within the roof void area and meeting a regulation height for a functional living space is not easy. As a rule of thumb, half of the attic space must achieve the 2.2m minimum height.
You will also require fire doors to the first-floor bedrooms to create a protected escape route to the front door at ground level. Existing bedrooms on the first floor will now have a live room above and footsteps will be heard on the floor overhead. You will also have to sacrifice some of the first-floor area to provide a staircase to the attic. Generally, the stairs will go directly above the existing staircase. A straight staircase is recommended over a spiral one as it is much safer and less likely to put off future buyers. Dormer windows or Velux roof lights will require clever design to ensure compliance with part B (fire) of the building regulations regarding escape in the event of a fire.
An extension will increase the market value of the property more than an attic conversion. It will also be more accessible for elderly parents in years to come. It will generally be a solid block wall structure but will need planning permission if the floor area will be greater than 40sq m. It will be more expensive to build per square metre and will reduce your rear garden space. You may end up doing a combination of both an attic conversion and an extension depending on the advice of your designer.
When working out your budget, don’t forget the desire to upgrade the rest of the house or a substantial part thereof. Items here would include decorations, fixtures, flooring and so on. Aside from aesthetics, consider the additional electrical load, plumbing pressure and heating efficiency. Are the existing systems suitably sized to accommodate the additional floor space, or will a wholesale upgrade or replacement be required? You risk opening the “while we’re at it” can of worms at this point – ie, adding in expenses here and there while the work is being done – but it’s much better to have that conversation in advance when working out budgets.
Don’t forget to give your neighbours’ notice of your plans and any likely impact on the party wall. Assure semidetached or terraced neighbours of the retention and improvement of the fire seal to the top of the party wall.
On the duration of works, typically, an attic conversion will take eight to 10 weeks on site but allow 12; an extension could take twice as long. If you require planning permission, you will be adding a design period, a 12-week planning process at minimum and a tender period. Blink, and six months will have passed. As always, seek advice from an architect, building surveyor or engineer before embarking on a project of this nature.
Pat McGovern is a chartered building surveyor and a member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland
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