Regardless how much space we have in our home, we always want some more, especially if we work from home. As more and more people have shifted to working at home, the importance of having a comfortable and stylish home office has become paramount.
Any area at home is suitable to create your own mini-office. One of these areas is a loft — it is an ideal place to separate an office from a living space down below. If you are lucky enough to have a loft in your home, you should think of converting it into something useful and functional – like a home office.
Converting a loft into a home office area can give you a much-needed extra space to work, so follow this useful guide to find out how can you transform it.
Converting a Loft Space Into A Home Office
Converting a loft space by yourself can be cheaper, but you need to know that this will be a time-consuming project. Luckily, there are many companies out there who do loft conversion and who take care of every aspect of it, from planning to getting building permissions.
But if you are on a limited budget though, you should consider hiring someone to do the main (and the harder) part of the work and you can take care of the simpler tasks such as painting, doing basic carpentry work or cleaning after.
First things first: you will need to check if your loft is suitable for conversion. You see, converting a loft into an office space may not be suitable for all types of residential properties because of height or size, among other reasons.
You need to check the internal height, pitch and the footprint of the roof. Height should be around 2.5 meters, the pitch should be at least 30 percent, and internal walls should be 5.5 meters from side to side and 7.5 meters from front to back. These are minimum requirements, so if you satisfy them you will be able to continue with your plans.
You also need to see if your loft conversion is approved by Building Regulations. You don’t want to get into trouble because you haven’t prepared. Before starting any work, contact your Local Council office to check everything. If the loft conversion means not adding the size or volume of your house, then you may not need to obtain a building permit. But if you’re still not certain, it is best to contact your local builder and/or planning office. There are cases that you may actually need a building regulations approval before you actually begin the loft conversion work.
You may need to comply to these building regulations to ensure that:
- the structure of the new floor is strong and stable enough;
- the stability of the overall structure is not compromised;
- it offers a safe escape from fire;
- that the stairs leading to the newly-converted loft is stable and safe;
- that there is a good sound insulation installed between the newly-converted loft and the areas below;
Once you know everything you want from converting your loft space, it is time to contact building professionals and let them deal with all the difficult tasks.
Feel free to check this awesome infographic about converting a loft space – it will be helpful!