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A loft that doesn't feel like a loft
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Forest Hill · Loft conversion · May 2026

A loft that doesn't feel like a loft

The trick with a loft is to spend the money where you stand, not where you lie down.

We ran the new stair directly above the existing one, which cost a slice of the box room but meant you arrive under the ridge with full head height in every direction. The alternative, a stair off the landing, would have kept the box room and given a bedroom you enter crouching.

The en-suite sits in the dormer with a rooflight over the basin, so it gets the morning. Plumbing was dropped through the airing cupboard below, which we rebuilt with better shelving as part of the job.

Every eaves void became storage with painted MDF doors that line through with the wardrobe run, so there isn't a single sloping corner you can see from the bed.

Programme · 9 weeks
Scaffold and strip-out1 week
Structure and dormer3 weeks
Staircase and first fix2 weeks
Plaster and second fix2 weeks
En-suite and decoration1 week
Where the money went · £74k
Structure and dormer£31k · 42%
Staircase and joinery£12k · 16%
Plumbing and electrics£10k · 14%
En-suite£11k · 15%
Finishes and decoration£10k · 13%
Milestones · 9 weeks on site
  1. Week 0Call, survey and fixed priceDrawings agreed, price fixed before anyone starts
  2. Week 1Scaffold and strip-out1 week on site
  3. Weeks 2–4Structure and dormer3 weeks on site
  4. Weeks 5–6Staircase and first fix2 weeks on site
  5. Weeks 7–8Plaster and second fix2 weeks on site
  6. Week 9En-suite and decoration1 week on site
  7. Week 9HandoverClean, paperwork handed over, keys back
  8. Week 15Snagging visitWe come back and put right anything on the list
Before and after
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After: A loft that doesn't feel like a loft
Before: A loft that doesn't feel like a loft
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BeforeAfter
Walkthrough
The bedroom under the ridge. The wardrobe wall on the left hides the eaves.
01The bedroom under the ridge. The wardrobe wall on the left hides the eaves.
New stair directly over the old one, so you arrive at full head height.
02New stair directly over the old one, so you arrive at full head height.
En-suite in the dormer with a rooflight over the basin.
03En-suite in the dormer with a rooflight over the basin.
Eaves storage with painted doors that line through with the wardrobes.
04Eaves storage with painted doors that line through with the wardrobes.
“We’d had three builders round. Colin was the only one who asked what we wanted the room to feel like before he asked about budget.”
Priya · the owner
What we'd tell you before starting one of these

Ask every builder where the stair goes and why. If the answer is "wherever is cheapest", keep looking.

Talk to us about yoursEstimate a similar project

Further reading

The official guidance for this kind of job

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