#short
After working out that you have sufficient headroom for a decent conversion which would result in a good floor to ceiling height you are happy with and rationalising out that a loft conversion would be financially viable for you, there is another key consideration before emabarking too far into your loft conversion journey.
This key consideration is the staircase which will lead to the loft.
Inevitably the staircase will use up some existing space from the floor beneath and you would have to weigh up whether the benefit of the additional habitable space in the loft or rooms gained would outweigh the loss of existing space as a consequence of the additional staircase.
This can sometimes work well if you have some “dead space” on a landing or hallway which is not really utilised but might be suitable for a loft staircase position.
The use of the created loft area and the number of rooms you wish to create up there might dictate to some degree the ideal position for the staircase and where the top of the stairs should come out positionally in the loft.
An example is when you intend to create 2 rooms in the loft but wish to minimise corridoor space leading to the rooms, as corridoor space is essentially non useable.
When you have these circumstances it is often adventageous to position the stairs so that you exit the stairs in the centre of the loft leading into the position of maximum headroom.
This usually means a small rectangular area with doors leading off to rooms on either side can be formed utilising the available space for the actual rooms as much as possible.
Once you’ve established that :
- A conversion is financially and practically viable (rooms wise)
- There is sufficient headroom
- The loss of existing space due to the stairs is not a real issue for you.
Then you are probably at a good point to start talking to consultants such as ourselves about moving the project forward, getting drawings and approvals in place etc.
Hope this helps , as it is a point often overlooked in the excitement of visualising using the loft for extra rooms.
Kindest regards
Mike of MB Design and Surveyors Ltd
Please see video below :