How Much Does a Loft Conversion Cost?

Loft conversions can be an amazing addition to any home, providing a huge range of different ways to capitalise on your existing roof structure. However, that does not necessarily make it cheap, and different loft conversions can fetch wildly different price points.

Understanding the loft conversion cost you should expect – and the actual costs involved in your specific project – is extremely important for budgeting reasons.

If you have been given a rough idea of what you are likely to be paying for a loft conversion, then you will be able to decide whether or not it is within your budget and how much of a difference it could make to the home. How much you need to budget for a loft conversion is going to depend largely on the size of the space you are transforming.

Getting Loft Conversions

Whether you want to increase the value of your home by transforming your loft or even just making it easier to move around, a loft conversion could be your best option.

However, this is not going to be easy without the right team behind the project. We offer a huge range of different loft conversion options, as well as an entire team of skilled professionals that know how to develop an ideal, bespoke loft for each client.

We can offer a huge range of loft conversion services to make sure that your loft idea is done to a high standard of quality, taking the time to fully understand what you are looking for and how we can deliver it. This includes:

Loft Planning

Keeping your loft conversion cost low requires proper planning, especially if you do not have an initial idea to base the rest of the project off. Even the smallest change to your general plan can completely change the cost breakdown, and major adjustments can lead to a completely different loft extension or conversion type altogether.

Our planning and design team will use a range of different building standards – as well as industry-specific standards – to create the perfect bespoke loft conversion for each of our clients.

Budgeting

No matter the type of loft conversion you are looking for, budgeting for it correctly is not always easy. Whether you have got a fairly substantial budget or are scrambling to get enough for a basic loft conversion, it is important to get a cost breakdown and follow an actual budget plan if you want to avoid overspending.

Our experts can help you find the average price of your chosen loft conversion, tracking down the typical loft conversion budget requirements for the kind of project you are looking for. From there, we can aim to help you save money on your project by using our own connections and sources to handle the loft conversion ourselves, all while sticking to your original vision.

What Affects the Cost of a Loft Conversion?

The cost of a loft conversion can vary wildly depending on a number of factors, not least of all the design of the finished space. Generally speaking, though, the more money you are spending on materials, and the longer the project takes, the greater the cost will be.

In some cases, you can expect to see additional costs for the building of a new floor, the connection of the new space with the rest of the house, and various other parts of the project that are done primarily to make your old loft into a usable space.

However, understanding the finer points behind the cost of your loft conversion project is important. Depending on your loft type, average cost can vary quite heavily, but there are also a lot of specific factors that might completely change how much your new loft space costs.

Materials

The first thing to consider is what the materials will cost you. Depending on your project’s loft type and materials, the cost of your loft conversion project could vary by thousands of pounds.

For example, more expensive materials might increase the cost of a loft conversion by at least 10%, if not more. This all depends on how much of the budget actually goes towards those materials and how much raw material the new loft conversion actually requires.

Remember that many loft conversions require you to use similar materials to the rest of the house if you are modifying the exterior. This can sometimes force you to spend more than you would have liked on your loft conversion or limit your options for cheaper alternatives.

Size

In general, the larger a loft conversion, the more it will cost.

Not only do larger-scale loft conversion projects require more materials, but they also take more time to plan and a lot more effort to construct. The final cost can be hard to estimate without help from an expert (like ours), but you still need to assume that a larger conversion is going to eat into your budget more than a smaller one.

While loft conversion specialists like us can usually find ways to reduce the amount you are paying for your conversion, the average cost is still an important baseline to consider. Remember that certain conversion types are also based directly on the size of one part of your roof, such as hip to gable designs having an entire section of your loft converted.

Complexity

The final cost of your conversion will also depend on the complexity of the project itself. The more difficult it becomes to create a certain conversion plan, the more you will usually have to pay, even if the project itself still takes the same amount of time to complete.

A simple conversion that will only require minor structural changes to your home is going to be far cheaper to convert than a complicated renovation. The same goes for conversions of existing lofts into studios and apartments – the added space is already there, but it takes a certain kind of plan to make the most of the space efficiently.

The final cost of any loft conversion will largely depend on the design and size of the finished space and the plan that your contractors followed when building the conversion.

Pre-Conversion Work

Remember that a loft conversion is not always something that can be done immediately. Sometimes converting a space is not possible until the floor is made solid, a staircase is added, or the room receives some kind of lighting so that contractors can actually do their jobs. In many cases, work needs to be done before the conversion can even begin.

This kind of pre-conversion work often involves things like making the space accessible, removing any immediate safety threats, and evaluating the existing loft to see if it is actually suitable for a direct conversion.

This can matter for even the most simple of loft options, such as a roof light conversion. Not having a usable loft space means that you need to have the area worked on to make it safe before you can get the loft converted, especially if you plan to do any DIY loft conversion work yourself in the near future.

Other Work

Beyond the loft conversion itself, sometimes you need to do other kinds of work to make the space fully complete. This might mean adding plumbing if you are creating a loft bathroom or insulating the space once it is all set up and ready to use.

As a specialist loft conversion company, we can provide bespoke services to make these factors easier, but you still need to consider them beforehand. If you plan to divide the extra space into more than one room using dividing walls, for example, then you need to have an understanding of how that will work and what it will cost.

Every new loft conversion can be something entirely bespoke and unique, but that only increases the chance of you overlooking something. It is important to think of the loft conversion project as more than just the conversion process itself. Otherwise, you may focus on completely the wrong thing.

Types of Loft Conversion

Each general type of loft conversion can come with a vastly different set of costs, usually based on how complex they are and how much material it takes to construct them. Depending on your conversion choice, you might end up paying far more (or less) than another option you were also considering.

Of course, the loft conversion cost is not the only factor here.

Some types of conversion offer completely different amounts of space, comfort, style, headroom, or even overall accessibility. Others are meant to be used alongside other home improvement work or do not even completely convert your existing roof space.

Choosing the right type of loft conversion is important for getting the ideal loft conversion prices for your budget. However, you also need to think about what each type of conversion will give you in return. We can help you develop the ideal bespoke loft for whatever your personal needs and requirements are.

Dormer loft conversion

A dormer loft conversion is one of the most common types of loft conversions in the UK, and for a good reason.

A regular dormer conversion effectively adds another room to your existing roof, giving you a loft room with a flat roof instead of the usual sloped shape.

This is one of the best ways to get an entirely new room added to your home using your loft space, providing a good amount of floor space while also being relatively cheap to install.

Dormer loft conversions are more comfortable than a regular sloped-roof loft, as you will still get plenty of headroom, along with the added space of the dormer itself.

However, this comes at the cost of still being smaller than most loft conversions and often being limited by the shape of your roof itself.

Since a dormer loft conversion is usually placed on one side of the roof, you do not get the same amount of loft space as a full internal conversion can provide.

As an added note, the location of the dormer matters. Ideally, it should be somewhere that can be easily accessed by stairs, which may limit your placement options.

Dormer loft conversion cost

A large dormer loft conversion usually costs around £30,000 to £60,000, depending on the overall size. The estimated average in the UK is around £45,000.

Going for something smaller can sometimes reduce the price down to around £25,000, but this naturally comes with less space.

Note that a dormer conversion is one of the few loft conversions that can apply to almost any home, regardless of shape or party wall issues.

This means that it is almost always an option, making it a good baseline for judging the conversion cost of other options you may be considering.

Dormer Windows

Dormer windows are a much smaller-scale addition that adds an outcropping window to your existing loft space.

This is a great addition to existing loft conversions, but it is obviously not a full conversion. A window dormer loft conversion costs far less than a full-scale dormer conversion, making it cheaper overall.

Even so, this can be a good option to consider if there is money left in the budget when the conversion is done.

Wrap around loft conversion

Wrap-around loft conversions are large, wrapping around the outside of the roof and providing an entirely new room.

These are basically large dormers due to the two basically being the same idea at different scales. They are even often called “wrap-around dormers” due to the similar concepts involved.

This is almost like constructing an entire new floor of extra space, although with some distinct differences in the project itself.

These are highly versatile, giving you a massive amount of space to work with compared to other conversions.

While they require a lot of planning to get right due to the way they interfere with the roof structure, they also add a huge amount of practical room to an unused loft area.

Wrap around loft conversion

These are effectively just larger dormers, meaning that the loft conversion prices use the same system.

The only real difference is how they are added. Most wrap-around dormers offer a huge amount of space compared to a typical dormer, meaning that it costs more while also providing more room overall.

Hip to gable loft conversion

A hip to gable loft is added to the sloping side of a roof, converting it into a gable wall.

This provides a lot more headroom and opens up floor space that was previously unusable, making it similar to a dormer conversion as a whole.

Hip to gable loft conversion work is larger scale than a dormer project, meaning that you tend to get more space overall.

However, this naturally also costs more than smaller projects would, meaning that it requires a slightly larger budget to carry out effectively.

Hip to gable loft conversion cost

This kind of conversion generally costs between £42,000 and £65,000, with a UK average of roughly £54,000.

This makes it slightly more expensive than a dormer overall, but it is entirely possible to get one for a similar price if you are looking for a small loft conversion job.

Keep in mind that this kind of conversion is not as versatile as dormers. You can only put them in a specific area of the house, and they generally need to use the whole space – you can’t make them arbitrarily smaller like dormers.

This makes them far more static and limited but also ensures that you are always getting the maximum amount of space possible for this type of conversion.

Mansard loft conversion

Mansard loft conversions are effectively an entirely new room built over the top of part of your loft, like a larger dormer.

These are mostly used to add a huge amount of living space to a home without building an extension.

Due to the size of a mansard conversion, they can often be divided into multiple smaller rooms or even an entire new floor of the house.

These are large and expensive compared to other options, but they work very well for people who want the most living space possible from their loft conversions.

There is a range of ways to design a mansard loft conversion, meaning that they do not need to adhere to the existing roof structure. However, this obviously costs more than just converting the insides of your roof.

Mansard loft conversion cost

The average mansard loft conversion cost in the UK falls between £45,000 to £70,000 or higher, making it one of the most expensive ways to get more loft space.

Naturally, the loft conversion cost increases based on the total size of the loft conversion project.

You can save money by going for a smaller mansard loft or one that modifies the roof structure less, but this requires extra planning.

Our experts can help you arrange a mansard conversion that falls within your budget, using a range of specific techniques and planning skills to get the conversion at a price point you can afford.

VELUX loft conversion

VELUX loft conversion is incredibly straightforward and surprisingly cheap, being one of the most direct ways to convert a loft.

These conversions are ideal for a space where there is already plenty of headroom or at least enough space to turn your loft into a slim but usable room.

This loft conversion focuses on minimal construction, instead being based entirely on adding windows to provide natural light.

There are a lot of different ways to approach this, but almost all of them are cheap and easily affordable on a smaller budget.

By doing this, a loft space can be made usable with minimal effort, allowing you to create a new room with only a few small changes to the loft space itself.

VELUX loft conversion cost

A VELUX loft conversion is usually incredibly cheap, often costing around £28,000 in total if the loft requires a lot of work.

Naturally, this varies heavily based on the size of the loft and the number of windows you want to add.

Note that a VELUX loft still requires a lot of other factors to be accounted for, such as ease of access or the flooring actually being safe to stand on.

This will generally mean that the cost of the project depends directly on how usable your loft already is. The more work that is needed to get it into shape, the more the whole loft conversion project will cost.

Roof light conversion

A VELUX loft is not the only option available for getting roof lights.

A lot of different conversion options focus entirely on adding a roof light to a space and making sure that it can be used as a proper room.

These all still have to follow proper building regulations, so adding a light will not immediately make a loft usable. However, it can be a good way to make a simple loft space into a room that is worth using as a bedroom, living area, or hobby space.

Modular loft conversion

A modular loft conversion is incredibly uncommon and far more complex than many people expect.

Modular lofts are constructed off-site by a professional team and then used to replace the old roof once it is cut away from your house.

While this opens up a lot of new options in regard to how the loft is built, it is also incredibly complex and highly precise work that is mostly used for specialised situations.

This also tends to mean that modular loft conversions are incredibly expensive, fetching a higher price tag than even some of the most extreme loft conversion work.

Since this is more of a complete loft replacement project, it takes a lot of planning, time and money to get the modular loft right.

As such, it is not an option that most regular homeowners will ever consider. In most cases, it is used as a way to fulfil some highly specialised requirements.

On the other hand, it is incredibly fast since the actual work does not impact the house at all until the new loft is ready. This means that the homeowners get no disruption to their normal living space until the day of the conversion itself.

Modular loft conversion cost

A simple modular loft conversion can cost around £50,000 on average, often far more if the work involved goes beyond basic loft conversion requirements.

Remember that the loft itself is being built off-site, meaning that it is being constructed from scratch. The original walls and building materials can’t be used, so the average cost is increased due to needing to buy entirely new materials.

This is another kind of conversion where the cost depends heavily on what you are actually getting. The more complex the work, the more you should expect to pay.

It is entirely possible to use modular conversion for a cheap, basic loft conversion, but this is usually only done if the homeowner wants to avoid disruption until the conversion is ready.

L-shaped loft conversion

An L-shaped loft fits over existing home extensions, effectively adding another floor above them.

This can be important for any home that has an extension with unused space above it, especially if the roof of the extension is already ideal for building another floor over.

These can be very complex projects, but they can also add a substantial amount of space depending on how large the original extensions were.

However, a lot of planning can be required to get this all right. Very few homes have identical extensions, and that means that each one needs to be designed bespoke to suit the property.

Additional details like window layouts, floorplans, doors, stairs and even chimneys need to be taken into account when building this kind of extension. If done incorrectly, the conversion may not have enough space to be used for much.

L-shaped loft conversion cost

These can be expensive projects, often lingering around £45,000 and £75,000 in total.

Remember that L-shaped lofts are going to be different for each property, though. This means that the cost can vary wildly depending on a lot of different factors.

For example, one home may require a mansard-style L-shaped loft, while another can enjoy something closer to a regular dormer. These can dramatically influence how much the new loft will cost overall.

Average cost of loft conversion

The average cost of a loft conversion project can vary anywhere from £20,000 to over £80,000, depending on all of the factors mentioned above – along with almost countless others. This makes it incredibly hard to nail down a single average that you should expect since no two projects are exactly the same.

Even so, knowing the average cost of a loft conversion project is important. It gives you a ballpark amount to work with, making it a lot easier to budget before you have even gotten an accurate quote yet.

While the type of loft conversion matters (and you can find the average cost of each one above), it is important to remember that loft conversion is never completely straightforward. Two properties may set out to get very similar loft work and end up with two completely different sets of costs, so you can’t take the averages as fact.

Loft conversion cost calculator

If you are not sure where to turn for your loft conversion cost details, then some people decide to use an online calculator. While this can be good in a pinch, it does not accurately break down the costs of your specific project, just the traditional loft conversion cost amounts estimated by averages. Again, this is a good baseline, but nothing more.

Instead, it is a good idea to turn to a professional like us for an accurate and well-estimated quote. Not only can we use more information than just the average costs to figure out your expected expenses, but we can break down each part of that estimated cost and what it means.

Inspection and Cost Quotes

We want to provide all of our clients with reliable quotes for their loft conversion work, regardless of what type of loft conversion they are looking for. To get this loft conversion quote, we take an accurate look at your property and the plans you have put together, helping you figure out the right way to make it all work in a cost-effective way.

Not only can we offer suggestions on how to keep the costs low, but we will also be able to submit the plans for planning permission requests – after checking over them ourselves. This makes your loft conversion approval process a lot easier.

We aim to make sure that our quotes are as accurate as possible, using real-world data to estimate the costs of our work. Having a more accurate quote is better for both sides of the arrangement and makes it a lot easier for you to begin budgeting effectively if you are preparing for the conversion itself.

Loft conversion plans costs 

If you have not got plans drawn up already or just have a basic sketch of what you want, then it is important to get your loft conversion plans drawn by an actual architect who can include any necessary details and data. Our specialists can take charge of the planning work to turn your basic idea into something real, possible, and fully within your budget.

This is not just for show – it is important to have a detailed and accurate plan that you can submit for building regulations and planning permission approval.

Even if you do not need planning permission for your project, it still helps to use a plan that our specialists can refer back to for exact measurements or other fine details that you might not have measured out on the original.

Planning permission costs 

Planning permission is a vital part of any loft conversion. While you do not always need planning permission, it is still important to seek it where necessary or do it retroactively if you have already started some DIY loft conversion work.

Not all loft conversion work requires planning permission, but it is important to make sure that you do not need it before you make any assumptions. We can double-check your plans to work out whether or not planning permission is the next step for you.

Permitted Development

Permitted development rights allow certain projects to not require planning permission.

The requirements for this are quite specific and often hard to pin down, but we can check to see if your plan will make your loft conversion add anything that pushes you into needing planning permission itself.

Planning permission is not a problem, but the process is often faster if the entire loft conversion falls under permitted development. For example, a roof light conversion often does not need it, but a hip to gable conversion might.

The Party Wall Agreement

The party wall agreement deals with the walls between you and another person’s property, whether that is a literal party wall in a garden space or the wall between two semi-detached houses.

In most cases, you will not easily be able to modify walls between a semi-detached house and its neighbour or on either side of a terraced house. This is because these vertical walls are connected to the interior walls of other properties, limiting what you can do with them.

The party wall agreement does not stop you from doing the loft conversion, but it does require the neighbour of your semi-detached house or terraced house to consent to the plan. They can also request changes, such as refusing some extra space in a loft conversion due to it modifying the interior walls of their own loft.

Conservation Areas

Conservation areas limit what you can do with the houses there, including loft conversion work.

Simple things like a roof light may be acceptable, but no matter what you want to do, you will need to approach the person in charge of the conservation area to get permission.

Listed Buildings

Listed buildings place you under similar restrictions, although most listed buildings also require you to keep the exterior aesthetic of the building the same. This means that certain conversion options, such as a large hip to gable conversion, may not be available.

Building regulation costs

Following building regulations are important for any conversion or extension. After each project, a final inspection is usually done by a local authority, so it is important to project manage the building regulations well – or get experts like us to do it.

Safety

Safety is a core part of any building regulations. You need to be sure that your loft conversion will produce a safe space to use on a daily basis and take all the right steps to ensure that safety whenever possible.

Accessibility

Most regulations also call for stair access to a loft rather than a ladder or similar method. This could either be through a corridor or direct access at the top of a set of stairs, usually ones installed as part of the conversion.

Emergencies

In emergencies, a loft conversion needs to have suitable exits and fire safety measures to ensure that it does not become an inescapable space.

Building Types

Sometimes there are specific regulations regarding how you can install loft conversions in certain buildings.

For example, a bungalow loft conversion may follow very different rules from a loft conversion on top of a three-storey home.

Loft building costs

As mentioned above, every additional detail or set of materials needed to build a loft conversion increases the overall cost. You will often see a loft conversion increase in average cost after even the slightest change.

For example, switching out concrete roof tiles for a slate roof is going to make a difference. So is getting an extra roof light in your rooflight loft conversion for more natural light.

The average cost you have to pay for building your loft will change dramatically based on the project, but our experts can help you figure out the perfect ways to budget for the work ahead.

Other loft conversion costs

Hired Equipment

Hiring equipment as part of the loft conversion project will naturally increase the overall cost. Keep this in mind if you are going to need any specialist gear that you do not own yourself or have to get from an independent leaser.

Specialists

Hiring specialists like us is going to add to the price tag, too. However, we aim to provide enough value to make that trade-off worthwhile, especially for people with highly specific loft conversion needs.

Maintenance

Maintenance costs can be an important factor to consider post-installation. Even once the loft conversion is completed, you will want to budget out some money for the repair and maintenance work that may need to be done throughout the following year, just in case.

Get In Touch

If you want to know more about what we can offer – whether that is a roof light bungalow loft conversion or an entire loft replacement for a terraced house – then contact us to learn more. We can offer a massive range of loft conversion options and countless ways to give you the bespoke loft space you want and deserve.