I remember the first loft conversion that I ever worked on as a foreman of the site. It was a Mansard Conversion within the Leeds area that was actually very large for its size, allowing for an additional 3 rooms within the extension of the conversion. The original loft space gave an additional 2 rooms for the home as well, meaning that the grand total of rooms that were created within the mansard loft conversion was 5. This included a bedroom, a bathroom, a large bedroom and two hobby rooms. The overall size and scale of the mansard loft conversion meant that for a first foreman job, a loft conversion doesn’t get much bigger in general. In fact, it is very rare for a loft conversion to grant so many additional rooms. With a mansard conversion, you would usually get 3 – 4 additional bedrooms, and it took a very large extension for the additional space to be granted.
While many dormer and mansard loft conversions usually start with the conversion and creation of the rooms within the original loft space, I found it best to create the additional space first. There are two schools of though on a loft conversion of this size, which is to prioritise the original space before working on the construction phase of the extension. The other school of thought is to convert and construct the loft and extension at the same time before preparing the creation of the rooms itself. I favour the second school of thought, as the construction phase of the loft conversion is the most difficult and time-consuming part of the project itself. It is also the most important part of the loft conversion, since the health and safety risks of any construction issues far outweighs the priority of converting the rooms within the loft itself.
After the construction phase had been completed, I made sure to create the rooms themselves. I felt that once we had a real feel for the space that had been created, the home owners would be able to get a grasp of the general sizes they would like each room. Since the hobby rooms did not need to be too large, it was possible to create a large second bedroom as opposed to two medium sized rooms. This made the home owners much happier then they were with the original project, since the large bedrooms were a necessity for them since it would be a guest room for visitors.
The hobby rooms within the loft were designed for two things: a games room and an artists room. The artists room was mainly designed for the home owner who is a painter. They wanted to use a room for inspiration in which they could paint without distraction. They could also use the room for many different pictures or landscapes, or even for the ability to use their imagination in a small room that allowed to creative juices to flow. The games room would be designed around table top games and video games that were set up with a tv on the wall.
Overall, the project became a relatively successful endeavour. Although the construction and finished conversion was not to the original plan of the homeowner, the finished project was quite a success as the homeowner was very satisfied. Being the first loft conversion that I had ever got to be in charge of, it was a very eye-opening project that allowed me to feel confident in the future of my career. Please check out just some of the future blog posts I will be putting up too!