UKC

So, I'm faced with the rather scary problem of trying to find a company to do a loft conversion who might actually do a decent job. Does anyone know of any good companies in London? Or, how would you choose a company if you don't know anyone who can personally recommend one?

In reply to BarrySW19:

I don't know of any but I can offer some advice.

The less a builder spends on your property then the more he makes. Its in his interest to cut corners if no one will see. Building control will help with this and use them as your friend and not as the builder will see as his foe. Try and take lots of pictures for record purposes. Make use of BC as much as possible your paying for him. Ask questions basically.

If you have little construction knowledge I would recommend the Haynes manual on loft conversions. It really explains simply the different aspects involved in loft conversions.

I did my own one as it was a lot cheaper but I wouldn't recommend unless you have some knowledge in basic construction skills.

In reply to fmck:

Haynes do a manual for this - that's useful to know - I think a bit of time invested in reading that will be worthwhile... thanks.

In reply to BarrySW19:

My neighbour has had the whole job done my a national company who specialises in this particular work. They were extremely unreliable, took months longer than planned/promised, were never available to contact when they didn't turn up for weeks on end and were pretty hopeless at managing the project.

If you want the name message me.

In reply to BarrySW19:

Do you know any decent builders ?? Shouldn't be out of the realms of a good builder to do an loft conversion. But a lot depends on what type of roof trusses and supporting walls you've got as to whether it's a big job or a really big job.

We had a builder do ours. He was very poor to be honest, but that's by the by. I'm a sparky by trade, so knew what I was looking for in the build, ours was eventually done to a good enough standard. Building control will be your best friend if you keep them on side.

In reply to BarrySW19:

Ask at work or neighbours for recommendations. Ask people you might not otherwise chat to, the caretaker for example or admin staff.

Do you have any other workmen you trust? They often network.

If you are having velux windows (as an example) you could ask who they recommend.

Good luck.

In reply to arch:


Totally agree, also depending on the layout of doors and rooms on the lower floors, it might entail extra work and cost to meet fire regs. As you need a clear exit from attic space to outside door, that doesn't involve enter any open space on the lower floors, there are get outs with escape ladders, a balcony style loft, fire doors etc.. minefield of regs, as said read up what you can first then use BC.

In reply to BarrySW19:

We had ours done last year. We asked the community in our local Facebook group (northfield friends - very active, I'm sure you have an equivalent for battersea) for opinions on candidate builders and recommendations. We got 35 responses in an hour and one highly recommended company kept cropping up with glowing reports again and again, while others (plus rooms I think, and another local one which we liked) got repeatedly slagged off. We never heard of SMA Lofts before but so happy we opted for them in the end. Beautiful job and no surprises at all in costs. All done in 12wks. They were around £2k above average quote but well worth it, so I recommend them if they cover your catchment, but definitely recommend getting local recommends from your active Facebook group.

Phew.

In reply to BarrySW19:
Check to see if the company or individual builder has ccj's against them (dom little wood does this on cowboy builders) and avoid them like the plague

In reply to RockAngel:

Asking about references, contracts, guarantees and insurance is a useful cowboy-spotting technique as well - tends to bring out the bull**** or just scare them off.

In reply to RockAngel:


How appropriate, as the guy is the tv programme equivalent - a complete muppet if you ask me!

In reply to BarrySW19:

You might get some info over on "DIYNOT" website rather than a climbing walking forum. Plenty of trade guys giving advice on that as well as folks who are having work done using builders.