ᐅ Costs of Loft Conversion / Attic Renovation

Hello @ all!
We are planning to buy a mid-terrace house and, due to budget constraints, have to skip the attic conversion. Even after some research, it is difficult to estimate a rough amount for the potential savings. Therefore, the question is for a very rough estimate from you on what could be saved if the entire attic conversion is omitted. More specifically:
- Size of the roof structure 33 sqm (355 sq ft)
- 3 doors removed
- 3 walls removed
- Heating moved from the attic to the basement
- Solid concrete staircase replaced with a loft ladder (wood)
- No screed, only “standard” insulation

Thanks and best regards!
0-Nummer

Hello,

nullnummer schrieb:
We want to buy a terraced middle house and, for cost reasons, would have to forgo the extension of the attic. Even after some research, it is difficult to estimate an approximate amount as "potential savings."

The seller should be able to give you the exact amount; why don’t you ask them directly?

nullnummer schrieb:
Therefore, the question is for a very rough estimate from you about how much could be saved if the entire attic conversion is skipped. More precisely:
- Size of the roof structure 33sqm (355 sq ft) - 3 doors removed - 3 walls removed - heating moved from the attic to the basement - solid concrete staircase replaced by an attic ladder (wood) - no screed, only "standard" insulation

To me, this initially does not sound like an attic conversion but rather a roof space; this would also correspond with the stated number of doors and walls — what confuses me is the mention of screed...

Anyway, whichever decision you make — and assuming I am correct — I would definitely not forgo extending the staircase to the roof space if a later conversion is planned anyway. Whether it is a concrete or wooden staircase is a matter of personal preference. Installing it later does not justify the resulting costs, not to mention the expected mess.

Maybe before considering a later conversion, you might think about whether to forgo the basement; depending on the size of the semi-detached house, this can be an amount in the range of 30,000–40,000 euros (approx. 30,000–40,000 USD). In most cases, the basement is only used as storage space; this can just as well be a "tool room" adjacent to the garage.

Kind regards

Thank you very much for the quick reply. Unfortunately, we cannot skip the basement (there are valid reasons for this!), so we would rather do without the studio. It is also not intended to ever convert the attic, so the staircase could be omitted as well.
The seller is currently preparing the offer without the conversion. My main concern is to be able to better assess the offer. I am not yet very experienced with house building, even though I am reading a lot about it at the moment. Therefore, an evaluation would be very helpful for me.

Hello,

nullnummer schrieb:
Thank you very much for the quick reply. Unfortunately, we cannot do without the basement (there are real reasons for that!), so we would rather omit the studio. It is also not intended to ever convert the attic, so the staircase could be omitted as well.

Apologies, but if you already don’t trust the seller at this stage of your consultation—otherwise, why ask about possible savings if not to double-check—you should probably refrain from further discussions.

You didn’t mention the finishing stage of the attic in your first post, so I assume it was offered as “ready for conversion.” For 33 sqm (355 sq ft), the price reduction should be roughly between 5,000–7,000 euros including skylights, depending on the features.

Kind regards

If we assume that this area was already included as living space, the actual correct costs would probably be even higher. Depending on the actual living area and the required daylight factor in the state, there would have been at least 2-3 windows included, depending on the size.

In the end, it probably won’t matter, because if the provider or general contractor calculates "backwards," you will only be offered a part of the selling price anyway. This usually amounts to a factor of 0.9 to 0.8 of the construction cost. Of course, this is far from the final selling price!

Hello Bauline,

BauLine schrieb:
...In the end, it doesn’t really matter, because if the provider/general contractor calculates "backwards," you will only be offered part of the sale price anyway. This usually amounts to a factor of 0.9 to 0.8 of the production cost. Of course, this is far from the final sale price!

With all due respect, this general statement is not correct.

If the entire industry worked this way, no sensible client would ever sign a construction contract, as it would ultimately be meaningless. During the bidding phase, the actually incurred discounts are usually shown 😉

It’s different — and here I agree with you — if the contract has already been signed and the architect, structural engineer, and possibly other experts have already done their work.

Kind regards