Time and time again, Alvaston Loft Conversions alludes to the fact that carrying out an attic remodel on your home creates ample benefits, such as extra living space. But, one of the most attractive benefits as the result of a loft conversion is the possibility to increase your home’s resale value significantly.
Naturally, such benefits are the consequence of hard work, manual labour, meticulous planning and a seemingly substantial outlay to fund the attic conversion project. When you invest your hard-earned money, whether that be on a designer handbag, a car or a home renovation, you want to ensure you always receive the greatest levels of workmanship and an outstanding product or service.
With that being said, we’re going to give you five pointers that will aid your mission in finding the most reliable and hardworking loft conversion company to execute the work on your latest home project and gift you with your dream loft room:
Do they Boast about Their Accreditation’s?
The first tell-tale sign to look for when choosing a loft conversion company that you can trust with your investment, which may seem obvious in hindsight, is to check for company qualifications and accreditations. Due to the risks involved with ANY construction project, the industry as a whole has many qualifications and certificates to guarantee the quality of work and if your chosen company can prove their memberships and approvals, it means their work consistently meets or exceeds industry standards.
One of the most important accreditation’s to look out for is the ‘NIC EIC Approved Contractor,’ especially so if the loft conversion company has proposed to carry out any electrical works on your house, the ‘NIC EIC’ then becomes a legal requirement and you should always ask for proof of this qualification before agreeing to any work.
Another important accreditation to keep your eyes open for is ‘FMB Associate Member,’ which is the Federation of Master Builders – sounds serious, right? The FMB is the largest trade organisation in the industry and any members of the FMB must adhere to strict code of conduct if they want FMB approval, which is why you can have confidence that any attic conversion company with this accreditation is going to be reputable.
2. Seek Recommendations from Friends & Family
Personal recommendations are worth their weight in gold, especially when you are investing a lump sum of your money into one project. This might seem like an obvious suggestion, but many homeowners overlook the chance to ask close friends and family for their experiences with different attic conversion companies in their area. You can trust your friends and family to have unbiased and honest opinions when giving you their review of a specific attic conversion company, and they are likely to be more critical about their results, highlighting any issues to hopefully prevent a relative from making the same costly mistake if that is the case.
Avoid Companies that Outsource Work
Quite often, companies will outsource different aspects of their work to other builders if they are not equipped or experienced enough to carry out all work that is required for the attic renovation. On the surface, this might not seem like such a bad thing considering the work is being carried out by a person who is able, but outsourcing can interrupt time schedules and potentially cause irregularities in the quality of work on your attic room. There is an abundance of companies on the market who are able to complete all the major and minor tasks themselves, to unsurpassed quality, and creating your dream loft extension in the process.
Obtain At Least Three Like-for-Like Building Quotes
When making an investment as substantial as an attic conversion, the importance of the quality of the work far outweighs the cost of the work. However, most people do have their own set personal budget and it is important to seek out the greatest service that works within said loft conversion budget. Regardless if you are splashing out or cutting down, one of the best ways to ensure value for money is by shopping around and requesting as many loft extension quotes as possible, with the aim for a minimum of three. Requesting as many building estimates as possible allow you to determine what should – or shouldn’t – be included in your attic conversion quote and allows you to greater understand who is providing the most superior industry service for your money. You can also use this as a way to make sure you wouldn’t be on the receiving end of some extra hidden charges further down the line or after your loft extension is completed.
Ensure You Are Protected by Insurance
Adequate building insurance is not only important for during the build, but it should also be in place to protect you and your home afterwards. Hopefully, you won’t encounter any issues along the way, especially if you use our tips to scope out a reliable moving company, but it is always better to be safe than sorry, especially when your home is involved. After you have assessed your quotes, inspected accreditation’s and have somewhat decided which loft conversion company you want to complete the work, you MUST ask them for proof of insurance that also guarantees their work upon completion, as well as during. Having Contractors’ All Risk Insurance or an equal, will protect your home, your family, your belongings and potentially even your future finances.
Ask for References
Similarly to seeking impartial recommendations from friends and family, you should also ask your chosen attic conversion company for their own set of references to prove their quality of work and customer satisfaction, the more you request the better. Any legitimate loft extension company will have many previous customers who are willing to shout their greatness, and genuine companies will not have hesitations about providing references. If the quality of work is there, they will be proud to boast their work portfolio. Upon receiving these references, we must stress that you should follow up with the references provided. Some may assume that if a company has been willing to provide references, they mustn’t need to check up on them, but just to completely eradicate the chance of false reference, follow up and if possible, kindly request to go and see the completed project in person – this isn’t usually a problem!
