Loft Conversion, what would you look for in a company???

[estwig]

Wondered if we could get some help please, we are looking to have some copy done for an advertising campaign, leaflet drops to start, probably about 5000 solos and maybe press adverts as well. Steve Gibson is doing the copy for us but we need some ideas.

What factors would you take into consideration when choosing a loft conversion company??

What would you need to hear from us to be able to say 'yes' - i.e. what are the green flags you'd need to see??

What would be a deal-breaker? i.e. what are the red flags that'd make you grab your money & run??

Would £14,000 seem like a lot of money for a loft conversion??

Maybe you've had a loft conversion, what factors helped you to choose a company??





Any other ideas or input gratefully received.


Thanks
Keith

[Mister B]

What factors would you take into consideration when choosing a loft conversion company?? Membership of trade organisations, guaranteed work, previous references/examples, trust.

What would you need to hear from us to be able to say 'yes' - i.e. what are the green flags you'd need to see?? In addition to the above, a clear breakdown of charges and an explanation as to why the cost is so high/reasonable. As an example, how costs could be cut and why that is not neccessarily a good idea.

What would be a deal-breaker? i.e. what are the red flags that'd make you grab your money & run?? Ponies parked outside of the house. Joking aside, poor presentation, poor quotation, lack of references and understanding of the work required. Also if the price was too cheap.

Would £14,000 seem like a lot of money for a loft conversion?? Depends on the conversion in question. In some houses, that could actually be a very reasonable quote.

Maybe you've had a loft conversion, what factors helped you to choose a company??


Never had a loft conversion but when we had the garden landscaped, we went for the most expensive quote because the guy took the time to explain the quote to us and how he could, if we wanted to, save money. By doing so, he won our confidence and a £10k order:eek:

Mister B

[business123]

A few before and after photo's would be good. Pay nothing until the job is completed maybe?

[KidsBeeHappy]

What factors would you take into consideration when choosing a loft conversion company??

What would you need to hear from us to be able to say 'yes' - i.e. what are the green flags you'd need to see??

What would be a deal-breaker? i.e. what are the red flags that'd make you grab your money & run??

Would £14,000 seem like a lot of money for a loft conversion??

Maybe you've had a loft conversion, what factors helped you to choose a company??



Never had a loft conversion, but did have a £40k building project on converting old outbuildings into a shop.

From Experience, the companies I got to quote were companies that I had experience of. My husband knew one of the builders well, the other was the large local company.

Things that I look for are a resassurance that the final bill isn't going to be double the estimate. I am keen on fixed prices, but am also aware that some people offering fixed prices will build in a margin to cover themselves.

I will phone previous customers to find out how happy they were, and also to see how different the final bill was from the estimate/quote.

£14k seems reasonable for a loft coversion. I was quoted £10k to turn a garage into a living room, in a wimpey house.

I would look for your company to take care of planning permissions, building warrants, plans & drawings. And for that to be included in the quote you give me. (Unless I was coming to you with a specific project/design that i was looking for a quote for).

I would expect the small print to say that the £14k may not apply to listed buildings, houses in conservation areas or SSSIs.

I would want you to start on my project, stay there until it was finished, and then tidy up when you leave. I would not want any gaps. I would also expect to see a sitemanager/foreman out regularly, because i know from experience that the subbies and workers do sweet FA when the foreman isn't on site.

Hope that helps :)

[dingbat]

Not speaking for myself, because I'm a cynical git, but I'd say customers were assured by associations with 'Federation of Master Builders' etc and all that jazz.

When you say loft conversion, presumably you mean uprating all joists etc and providing proper rooflights etc? For that £14k would be a min figure - certainly in London.

[Lasting Designs]

In my view, you need to say you've got insurance, take policy with you. You need to say that all the time the roof has a hole in, there's a quick method to cover it in-case of rain. Need to show testimonials, photo's of past work, landline telephone number, building organisations/ trading standard schemes you belong to.

These are what I'd be asking of a builder.

[MH1]

Never had a loft conversion done but similar too the above comments.

I would want a company with a track record, preferably member of various organisations, one which could offer finance to insure double indemnity in these uncertain times.

A good comprehensive spec and fixed price, with ideally an independent surveyor inspection during and at the end of the job to ensure the full spec was adhered too, plus any and all planning permissions obtained correctly, with all the correct insurances in place as well, in effect a one stop shop facility start to finish.

Such an investment is not just based on price, although you would wish to be competitive that would be secondary in my decision making process, even explaining how the rubbish removal is dealt with becomes important, seen many jobs with untidy front gardens left at the end.

A no deposit pay at the end when happy finance is the ideal for myself, and as importantly an undertaking once you start you remain on site until the job is finished, no taking off for two weeks to start other jobs.

[KidsBeeHappy]

Love the new avatar !

[estwig]

Brilliant answers so far thank you very much.

A lot of what has been said we already do as a matter of course, but that's what makes these answers so good, we are so used to doing all this anyway, we overlook them as selling points.


Keep 'em coming.

:)

[estwig]

Love the new avatar !


Not yet spotted by a mod, me thinks!!

;)

[Matt1959]

well apart from all the bog standard stuff that has been mentioned that should be a given - I think I would be looking to put across the message that "you can increase the floor space in your house by a third" "create as many as two extra bedrooms AND an ensuite in your roof" "create another floor in your house" " convert your loft and take in a lodger to earn extra money" "hide the kids in the loft - big play areas or hobby rooms in your roof space" "add value to your property by creating 30% more floorspace" etc etc etc

These are the type of things that would make me sit up and think if I were reading an ad or leaflet

get the idea:) I'm wondering how many people actually know they can have their lofts converted, what it will give them etc etc

For me, with a contractor, the main thing I'm looking for is a proper job for which I'm willing to pay (within reason)

[Mattonella Tile Studio]

I think I'd want to see a professional looking company. By this I mean nice quality leaflet, nice looking website, logo, contact details, pictures, even stupid things like a nice van on the photo, not a rust bucket where you can see the faded image of another company. And any recommendations would be good.

I don't know whether 14k would be a lot for a loft conversion.

P.S. Laughing at your new avater.

[Stevej]

If you are talking about your leaflets then big no no for me is any Company that lists mobile numbers only - get binned straight away. I want to see a land line number AND an office address. Anything that you can do to show that your Company has been around a while and is here to stay would be great for me

[estwig]

So it would appear a lot of the things we already do, got the portfolio, testimonials, insurance, presentable, good quotes, we need to emphasize them more.

But what would you want a loft conversion to achieve for you, personally??

More space is obvious, but what about the reasons for wanting more space??

Somewhere to escape the kids, kids are a bit older and moving back home, parents are getting on a bit and need to move in with you, need a home office/study, guest room, hobby room.

If you had a loft conversion, what would you use the extra space for??

Any input is appreciated, thanks.

[KidsBeeHappy]

My sister will be considering one in the next year or so. She has a 2 bed house, doesn't want to move because she likes where she lives., a wee boy and is now pregnant with a wee girl. She's conscious of her monthly bills etc, doesn't really want a bigger mortgage for a bigger house.

She is already discussing a loft conversion, it's her "if it's a girl" contingency plan.

I think that there are prob quite a few young families in the same situation.

[kerching]

A Loft conversation is a way of gaining an extra room,saving you from the hassle and extra cost of buying another property.
Adding value to your house and making it more marketable should you want to sell at a later date.
The loft conversation has to be achieved within budget and on time.
It needs to be project managed end to end,with weekly updates being presented to the client to highlight the progress being made.

[UKSEOAgency]

state what the guarantee does and does not include, and fixed times for coming out!

I know to many people in the building trade, where the guarantee is effectively worth nothing after they have got to the end of the street with payment!

I know they have 2-3 clients they did a good job on, usually there mother in law (different surname), their/partners married sister and a couple of friends they use for references, and as such if i couldnt examine it - i always take references with a pinch of salt.

14k does not seam that much to me for a loft conversion, especially when you consider what is included material wise, and then the labour on top of this.

A lot of people do watch the rogue traders on BBC etc, so maybe a bit of a paronym on the advertising - NOT Seen on TV?

These are just a few things that come to mind to me, as well as ensuring the client the work will be done in one big hit from start to finish - with none of the team just nipping off for a couple of days!

[Mark Addison]

Suggest you look at the DIY option before splashing out £14k.
Get a Joiner to quote for stairs, roof window, insulation & boarding out.
Get a Sparky to quote for power points & lighting.
You'll need heating - different ways of doing this.
If you are a competant DIYer, or know someone who is, there's lots you can do yourself.
There's not many new houses being built at the moment, so there's lots of Trade Guys with time on their hands.
Couple of years ago I helped a friend do a decent size loft conversion.
She'd been quoted £8-10k.
Our costs were something like - £800 for stairs & door, £500 for Velux window, insulation & boarding then less than £1k for woodwork, plaster, artex, paint, varnish, power tool hire etc.
Hope this helps.

[Mister B]

Suggest you look at the DIY option before splashing out £14k.
Get a Joiner to quote for stairs, roof window, insulation & boarding out.
Get a Sparky to quote for power points & lighting.
You'll need heating - different ways of doing this.
If you are a competant DIYer, or know someone who is, there's lots you can do yourself.
There's not many new houses being built at the moment, so there's lots of Trade Guys with time on their hands.
Couple of years ago I helped a friend do a decent size loft conversion.
She'd been quoted £8-10k.
Our costs were something like - £800 for stairs & door, £500 for Velux window, insulation & boarding then less than £1k for woodwork, plaster, artex, paint, varnish, power tool hire etc.
Hope this helps.

Not something that I would neccessarily agree with, unless you are really capable at DIY. You also need to factor in the cost of your own time. How long would it take to do a loft conversion in your spare time? most certainly not a weekend. You'd more than likely end up blowing a whole years holiday entitlement. Factor in your hourly rate and it will probably work out ot be more expensive. And the results wouldnt be as good, so possibly devaluing the house.

Re the reason for the extension, would have to be used as an extra bedroom or a study. Saying that though, in our old house, we converted half of the tandem garage into a playroom so it very much depends on the needs of the family in question. Some may even want a room within which they can park their telescope:eek:

Mister B

[Lasting Designs]

Keith, you might also like to do a recky on the cost of moving, solicitors, removals, fees etc and make a point that it costs an average %age of these costs to improve the size of the house they are in. Particularly if its in an area with v.good schools, stay put and reap the benefit of not having the hassle of swopping schools etc.

[Matt1959]

I love loft rooms, mainly cos its a bit surreal to go up another small staircase and find a wonderful big living space where the grotty roof used to be. A main benefit is roof lights (no other room in a house usually has daylight streaming in through the ceiling)

I'd have no hesitation in spending many ££££ getting mine done if the resulting area was big enough (its not!) I'd be looking to be inspired with fantastic before and after photos (maybe huge metre square photos on laminated boards) perhaps 360 photos like Mattybaz does, great quality video walkrounds of past jobs.......re. uses skys the limit!

extra bedrooms, room for lodgers (earn tax free income) room for dependants, office (work from home save on office rent which pays for the conversion over 3 years) hobby rooms (railway and scaleelectrix) playrooms, a special room for star gazing (through the rooflights!), library, study, teenagers retreat, the list goes on......