Customer Reviews

Loft Conversion Manual

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If, like me, you are about to go down the route of pushing skywards with a loft conversion then you would be well advised to read this book.

Simply written with the 'lay person' in mind if covers all aspects of the loft conversion and gives helpful, up to date, advice whether you intend to get in a specialilst company to do all the work, get a part conversion carried out or intend to totally go it alone the book covers the many pitfalls along the way and taking the time to read this book could save you a lot of money in the course of the conversion. Definitely recommended!!

This book is excellent, a step by step guide to loft conversions. It may be a bit too easy for experts but we got it because we are not experts and it has filled in all the gaps in our knowledge, highly recommended.

As a qualified Building Surveyor, and someone who is about to embark on a loft conversion, I found this book to be invaluable, particularly with regards to the ways of how to comply with Part L of the Building Regulations regarding thermal insulation and the options on how to address this. The book is full of very helpful hints and suggestions with regards to dealing with many technical problems, but is not over complicated with jargon and will help to explain to most good DIY and others how to decide on your conversion, or even whether to do it at all!
It also deals very well indeed with the preliminary issues on dealing with the planning and building regulations, as well as how to go about actually getting the job done, choosing surveyors and building contractors.
The book met all my expectations and more, it is very well illustrated with lots of pictures, is hard backed and very good value for money. My only suggestion would be for the next edition is probably to uprate it slightly, and to include a bit more with regards to the technical issues and design, so that it will appeal to the more technically minded and perhaps loft conversion specialists and contractors.
Over all and excellent publication, which has not only saved me a lot of time, but has probably saved me hundreds of pounds on the cost of the work.

I looked at several books on loft conversions and this one is one of the best books. It is the only one that really starts to deal with insulation. But it is unfortunately not complete and I would have liked more `good practice' on the subject. If you ask your builder to do exactly the same as in the pictures on page 197-201 and make sure he does it, you're OK - ish (read also the other pages!). A good place to look for good practice is on the planning portal of the government and look for the `accredited construction details'. There is a Scottish version too.
Don't trust your builder, even if he is (or pretends to be) a `specialist'. Ask lots of questions and keep asking and make sure you keep a close eye on the construction. In the vast majority of cases you need 2 layers of insulation: a lot of builders and architects get it wrong. I would certainly recommend this book over the other ones.

I opted for this one because I thought, hey! they've got car manuals down to a tee.

Obviously the brief for this book was to cover as much ground as possible. From the survey, planning and building regs to completion. It goes into enough detail on floor/roof structure, windows, stairs, walls, electrics, plumbing & energy conservation that all the questions I had in my head were answered.

There are loads of photos and illustrations. Plenty of shots of work in progress which was exactly what I wanted. I also wanted an overview of timber strengths class, steels info, rules of conventional stairs (eg Pitch degree, min gap between balusters etc) eco specs, insulation options, planning requirements etc. I got what I wanted (feels strange)
I also got a lot of info that I didn't think I wanted. Like a chart showing how many energy efficient lights are needed for floor area.

For anyone with practical skills and common sense about to tackle their own loft conversion this book is a great investment.

Great book, well layed out and easy to understand. Has saved me alot of money and hassle by choosing not to convert my loft. Part of the fire regulations now stipulate you have to change all doors within the stairs area to fire doors but I have animals that roam the house. Fire doors need to be closed at all times and not jammed open other wise you invalidate your house insurance. I have spoken to as many people as i could that have had a loft conversion and they all followed the fire regs (the local councils inspect all work carried out) and then invalidate their insurance by jamming their doors open.

A thourghly good reference guide on any loft project, it will not tell you how to fully do it yourself but very useful and full of great ideas and as a reference source. Fully recommend.

I bought this book because I wanted to learn DIY techniques about LOFT CONVERSION. There arelots of valuable information for the novice. However, this is not the same when you buy a Haynes's car manual. Therefore, the title of this book is misleading. If you want to know how to build it yourself, this book is not for you.

Very good manual, I read it from cover to cover and learned a lot, very well explained. Good photos mostly overall the best book on the subject that I've come across.

good reasonably priced purchase for anyone considering this kind of work
straight forward and easy to understand but not an how-to-do-to-it -yourself guide
at least know that builders are talking about so very good from that point of view
not very inspiring if you are looking for ideas
but full of all the practicable considerations