Streetlife

Hi,

We just completed a loft conversion and extension and used DM General Builders. They were very professional, easy to work with and provided a top quality finish, which was important to us.

Here's their site:

http://www.dmgeneralbuilders.co.uk/

Slavo Kysel and his team have a lot of experience doing loft conversions.  tel: 0800 977 52 56 or 07944 090 934 & email: slavo@d2projects.co.uk.  Slavo offers great guarantees for their work & he is a happy person to have about the house, very sympatico to keeping disruption to a minimum.  please do let him know Lucy recommended him.  

What sort of cost are loft conversions these days?

Try Lofts London they are a great company with a great sales person (Brian 07799880311 )  say Ayano posted his number on here,

Hi Robin, I used More than Lofts and had less than a house at one point - they fell through the ceiling into a room that should not have been affected and failed to secure the tarpaulin in that terrible winter a year ago and a ton of snow/rain came through, 3 different project managers - I could go on.  They did put everything right, to be fair, and the end result is great, but it was a tortuous process and took over 7 months from start to finish.

I used A1 Lofts who were excellent - very professional from start to finish - did a good job designing and building a very good conversion. The project went smoothly and the pricing was at the lower end of the range of quotes we received once we'd delved into the details of what was included and what were extras. http://www.a1-loftconversions.co.uk/index.php

I have just had my loft converted by MoreSpace (based in Ealing) http://www.ineedmorespace.co.uk/ who did an excellent job. They do everything, including designs/plans and submission for planning permission and the quote was very competitive. The team I had was so good, I asked them to do some extra work eg. building a new front wall and painting the outside of the whole house.

Hello, Try my husban's company, DeianoffDevelopments, can take you to see his works, and does top jobs. His name is George, 07799791701, and also can give you numbers of his customers for ref. Hope that helps.

I would totally agree with Karen M. The team we had from Morespace were great. They've just finished our loft conversion in super quick time and the results are fantastic. Hard working and very polite. I took the decision to use them after making a similar post last year.

Have a chat to George Simons Gooding on 07747 635 126 - he has done work in several houses in Keble Street (he lives on Garrett Lane) all by word of mouth recommendation 

I would recommend Scott McCabe and Associates (SMA). They have their own architect, are stream line in their lofts which are well built. They finish to a high level, give you detailed description of what the price includes (which is always referred back to), never cost creep, and finish on time. They also don't contract out, but have all their own teams and guarantee the work for 10 years (they have been in business for 15 years). They come in around a mid range price. Not the cheapest (as they make sure they do it right), but not the most expensive either.

Thank you so much, everyone, for taking the time to post these very helpful recommendations.  It's good to know there are a lot of satisfied loft customers out there!  Robin

There are some horror stories too. Try Absolute Lofts if you are looking for an opportunity to feature in TV's Rogue Traders or Cowboy Builders. 

Search for "loft conversion" and there are a few good (and occasionally rather spirited!) discussions from a few months back.  For example 

http://www.streetlife.com/4e9ac127f97ab51dc3001459/?r

and

http://www.streetlife.com/4e9abd3af97ab51dc3000bad/?r

Disclaimer from me: I've never had my loft converted, have no relation to any loft conversion company, and actually don't think I even have any friends who have had their loft converted, so I have no idea to what extent the comments on the above threads were true then, or are now.

And finally I've just noticed that Ayano T has commented on this thread.  Strange that this user has only ever posted twice before, 11 months ago, recommending a loft conversion company, and now they're back today.  Their actions seemed pretty suspicious to me back then, and they seem even more so today.  Who are you Ayano and why on earth should we trust your recommendations?

A1 lofts were fab....I agree.

Professional from start to finish.

Matthew G has the right attitude to this loft conversion business (be suspicious of everything and everyone). Check out the history of the Streetlifers - I bet some of these people aren't genuine.

Here are a few tips which I suggest you follow if you don't want to end up in big trouble. I recommend them to ANYONE considering a loft conversion ... I wouldn't use any loft conversion specialist company including any of the above companies without doing the following:

1. check out any company's accounts/record before even getting them to quote - you can do this online for free through various websites - company check I think it's called. Most companies close and reopen with slightly different names to avoid fulfilling any guarantees, being sued, etc. Also, check out the previous history of the directors on the same website. They are likely to be/have been directors of several dodgy companies. Companies who haven't changed names for a good while etc are more likely  able to honour agreements/be decent builders. Also ask what real qualifications they have to be a builder. Most of them have nothing except "years of experience" which you can't accurately check. Also, make sure it's written down exactly who will be working on your job and what their qualifications are.

2. ONLY use a proper contract. Do NOT use the builder's contract unless you are a lawyer.  Pay a few quid to get the relevant industry recognised JCT Homeowner's contract. Again you just download it from the internet and can adapt it to suit your needs. It's for exactly these situations. If your builder doesn't want to use it, there's something wrong with him. If you get into trouble, it's respected as the proper way to proceed and outlines arbitration agreements etc.

3. ONLY use/hire your own architect and check out he really is an architect with RIBA. Do not use the builder's architect. He will NOT be a real architect (check out his qualifications as above) and maybe not even a qualified "Architectural Technician". It's easy to find a reasonable local architect either from this website or from RIBA. He/She will probably use the JCT Minor works contract which is also acceptable, I believe.

4. ONLY do building regulations through the council. DO NOT use the private Approved Inspector company used by the builder. And do not pay the builder for building regs. Pay direct. You, as the homeowner, are ultimately responsible. Wandsworth Council are really really helpful. Same with Planning - you need either a Certificate of Lawful Development or Planning Permission. The builder may tell you you don't need either of these. Not true if you want to sell your house without a problem. Do not do either through the builder and you must do all of this BEFORE work commences or it gets more complicated and your builder doesn't have to take responsibility. An architect will help you with all of the above.

5. Do not think any guarantees are worth the paper they are written on. Recognise you have no legal/consumer protection even if you think you have "right" on your side. Even if you were naive enough to think you could sue your builder, he will just dissolve the company.  Same with insurance. Your builder has to claim off his insurance and if he doesn't want to, there's nothing you can do about it. You are totally reliant on his goodwill and, in my experience, that's not a great place to be when it comes to builders and your home.

6. Do not believe anything you are told. Question everything. Take photographs before, after, during. Do not be bullied or fobbed off with "this is bread and butter to us" or "this is how we always do it" etc.

7. Whatever he says, do not give your builder anything other than a small payment up front for materials. Check out advice on line from proper organisations but I think it's about 5 - 10% of total. Do not pay anything else in advance. It's not necessary. If you use an architect, he/she will supervise handing over money at the right time. It's part of their regulated job.

Basically, do not go into this lightly. My theory is that people who commission loft conversions don't usually know much or anything about building work and have therefore become prime targets for every cowboy out there to make a fast buck and ruin your lovely home. They pretend to make it easy for you and frighten you with how complicated it all is so you put all your trust in someone who isn't trustworthy. You might think it's costing a bit more to do it the way I've suggested, but, believe me, it will cost you a lot more to put right after they've walked off.

Hope this is of help and stops other people going through what we're going through.

SLSH - I'm guessing you're going through a very bad experience and having been through something similar I empathise with you.

However, I would disagree with your comment on not using a specialist loft conversion company. There are good ones and bad ones, but regular experience of dealing with the same issues every day can potentially be a significant advantage. I appreciate your cynicism about genuine posts, but we have to use our gut instinct sometimes. Why not ask the person posting a positive comment to see their loft conversion? I'd certainly be happy to oblige.

I think good experiences are worth making a noise about, especially in an area that most of us know little about. My advice would be to talk face to face with at least three or four people that have had a loft converted by the company you're assessing. Get all their feedback, good and bad.

Hi Richard. We did check out a couple of places and used our normally reliable gut instinct before we got in this mess builders are Jekyll and Hyde. Sweet as pie till they've got the job and taken the roof off your house leaving you at their mercy. Proper real knowledge and research is what you need we actually took a friends recommendation and saw the work first. What we didn't realise was that the friend knew nothing either and didn't even have the legal paperwork. And he didn't come back to fix snagging issues despite the so called guarantee. Your house is too important to go on guts. Go with proper professionals instead. It's just my experience.  

SLSH - sorry to hear about your awful experience.  It does put me off a bit!  We will proceed with great care.  Do you mind telling me your company so we can avoid them?  Message me privately on here if you prefer.  Hope you get it all sorted soon.  Many thanks.  Robin

Just had a loft conversion done - absolutely over the moon with it.  We used a company called Rempol.  Not the cheapest but the workmanship was second to none.  Turned up at 7.40am - had 2 breaks of 20 and 30 mins the same time each day and left at 5pm.   Would highly recommend them.  They are now painting the outside of our house.    They did also build the medical centre on Balham High Road.   Look at their website, well worth getting them round to quote.    Best of luck.

I agree with you SLSH. I have had a loft done and had a good experience, but still most of your comments ring true.

We used Scott McCabe associates - TWICE!! - office in Ealing but work all over South West London - we have recommended them many times and they always deliver. Nice guys to have around as well and sort things out quickly when (and they always will) go wrong.

Yes, www.qubitat.com 

Polish firm led by Maciek. Great guys, reliable and honest. Lovely attention to detail.