subject: What You Ought To Understand When Beginning A Loft Conversion [print this page] Individuals often get confused concerning permitted development and planning permission although the difference between the two is pretty simple.
As a rule of thumb, planning permission is usually meant for ventures which impact on the next door neighbours or others who live near by where as permitted development is used for projects that don't.
With loft conversions you will have to contact the local authority for permitted development and they'll then decide upon whether the plans pass the present building guidelines or not. You should definitely locate an effective architect since they're experienced in drawing up professional plans.
Once the blueprints and plans have already been submitted to the council it will typically take a month or two to get passed and they may very well contact you further to arrange an agreeable time to be able to come and check on the work in progress. The good news now is pretty much all the bureaucracy should be out of the way so that all you have to do is focus on completing the loft conversion
When it comes to selling your property you will be in a much better position anyway, being able to show that the work has been done to all the building code specifications. It's a good idea to make certain that your loft conversion plans do fall under permitted development because there are sometimes the odd exceptions to the rule such as if your property is very old and perhaps protected by the grade system.
Also, it's worth noting that if you live in a maisonette planning permission must be sought as well, simply because anything you do can significantly affect the other party in the overall property.
But let us assume that the work you are planning can be done under permitted development and you have previously been through the entire operation of getting in touch with an architect. Just what is the next phase?
Well you may perhaps be amazed to know that you shouldn't scan the newspaper for loft conversion north London and acquire prices yet.
The reasons for this are numerous. First of all it can take as much as eight weeks to get your plans and blueprints passed by the planning department, therefore by the time you have got consent to go ahead with the undertaking it may be over two months since the last estimate.
If you choose to commence making enquiries without delay and at some point later on there are additional complications then this will most likely prevent the project even more.
Both of these issues make the estimates unneeded basically because they wind up being redundant as a consequence of ever changing operating expenses of numerous building contractors. For example, the price of supplies can change tremendously from one month to the next. New building regulations necessitating that builders comply with certain practices can mutually have an effect on price.
The 3rd problem is when you think that your choices are fine and you do not see any problems. However, you soon realise otherwise after the architect has scanned over the project and taken into account all of the building regulations you have got to abide by.
As soon as that's all done you may get a plan which is very different to the one you first of all received a quote for and once again this makes the estimate null and void.
Working on the permitted development application and plans is one thing yet unfortunately there are other issues to think about which must be taken into account before you make a start.
You will have to think of how long the loft conversion is going to take from beginning to end. It's all well and good brushing off the fact that it will take 3 months to finish but having workmen shifting things around and creating a mess can be somewhat frustrating.
Precisely how much of a mess are the builders likely to make and also what processes do they impliment to keep things tidy at the end of every single day?
You will want to get a set price at the start to ensure that you only pay up an agreed upon rate in the event that the constructors come up against unforeseen problems later on.
It's advisable to keep in mind that the particular work may possibly extend beyond the due date by quite a bit. Will you be prepared for that? Obviously you will need to have in mind different problems which could show up.
At this point , let's say you've taken pretty much everything on board in addition gone over the proper process of having the plans basically finished first, how do you then find the right building firm?
The two major criteria you ought to keep in mind are the quality of work and the fee which in some circumstances have a strong relation to one another.
The expenses are definitely a contributing ingredient and individuals oftentimes make the slip-up of simply just picking the lowest estimate to save money, but at what cost? On many occasions a lower quote comes along with it plenty of drawbacks such as the kinds stated so just take this into account. The grade of work isn't merely about the construction itself but the complete experience.
To bring home this point let's say that you decide to rent a car and there are two available. The first has a rock bottom price but with that you get the smallest basic model which has nothing extra to offer where as the second car is twice the price, has the same engine but is much more roomy, has electric windows, very comfortable seats, a nice radio and lots of other little extras. If you pick the cheaper model you will get there at the same time but your experience will be marginal at best, where if you choose the more expensive ride you are almost guaranteed to have a pleasant trip.
Just remember to take into account not merely their samples of the recent superior quality work but also just how well-organized they are, precisely what their procedures are with circumstances that turn up mid way through a job etc.
Through taking all the aspects into consideration one will then be in an even better standing in terms of choosing the right company to construct your own loft conversion
