Thinking about tackling an attic conversion on your own and not sure where to begin? Attic conversions can run the gamut from a quick sprucing up of the available space to a major overhaul involving raising the roof, installing plumbing and electrical wiring, and putting up floors and walls. But no matter what type of attic conversion you are thinking of doing, the most important step is the first one – coming up with a feasible plan and design.
Attic conversions are a great option when you need extra space for another bedroom, home office, sitting area, play room, or even family room. The first part of the planning process should include determining what you want to do with the space that you have within your attic and then figuring out the basics of what will need to be done to use the space in the way you intend on. Do you need to raise the roof? Is there already electrical wiring in the space or does it need to be added? If you are planning on installing a bathroom, how easily can the new plumbing fit into your existing plumbing system? Is there already an easily accessible entry, such as a regular stairway, or will you need to build one?
If you are planning on doing a DIY attic conversion, what you can do with the space will depend in part on your skill level and your budget. So, if you come up with a good attic conversion plan up front, you can get a better idea of whether or not you can tackle the whole job yourself or whether you are better off hiring a professional contractor to handle certain portions of the job. And if you need to hire a professional contractor, then you need to determine if that added expense will fit within your budget constraints or not.
Another factor to consider in your attic conversion plans is any building codes or ordinances that exist in your area. It is a good idea to find out about these at the very preliminary stages of planning for your attic conversion, so there are no big surprises later on. There’s nothing worse than devising a plan, getting your heart set on doing something, and then finding out that you cannot do what you want or that in order to do it while meeting building codes, you have to drastically increase your expected attic conversion cost.
Once you have decided how to most effectively utilize your attic space and have begun to factor in the major decisions such as budget, major renovations, whether or not you can handle the work yourself or need to hire a professional, and such, then you can begin to prepare a more detailed design of the space. This is where you will decide where to place any walls, how to set up a room, what type of flooring you will use, and so on. You can get lots of attic conversion ideas by looking through magazines and searching for attic conversion pictures and photos online to see what you like and don’t like. Then based on what you see, you can begin to design a space that you love, while staying within the parameters of your budget and skill level.
A DIY attic conversion is generally a major project, unless you already have a finished space that just needs a bit of sprucing up to make it more functional. But one of the most important aspects of converting an attic into a great space is starting with a well thought out plan and design.
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