Deciding on getting a loft conversion can already be a fairly difficult decision to make as you have to figure out if you have the money to do so, what exactly you want in the new conversion and whether you can deal with having builders in your house for a couple of months. On top of that, one of the most difficult decisions you’ll have to make is which loft conversion you should get on your home! With the two most popular types that add extra headroom being Mansard and Dormers, which one should you go for? In this post we’ll briefly go over the pros and cons of each one to help you make your decision on which to go for!
The Case For Dormer Loft Conversions In Leeds
Dormer loft conversions are the most popular type of loft conversion in Leeds for a few main reasons:
- Dormers add a large amount of headroom into the loft by knocking through the angled roof and replacing it with a flat wall, which means the ceiling doesn’t cut through the room like in a Velux.
- Dormers add a large amount of natural light to the loft in the form of a large window in the flat wall, which can also be made into a bay window if large enough, and often, a skylight window placed into the ceiling of the loft for even more light.
- Dormer loft conversions in Leeds usually don’t require planning permission to go ahead as they are part of permitted works, this saves you time and money! This may not always be the case however, so it is always worth checking first just in case!
Where dormers fall short however is that they can often be eyesores, especially when done on the cheap by cowboy companies. A row of beautiful roofs can be ruined by a giant black monolith in the middle of them. If your community has an active home owners association, you may also have some serious trouble with this! Also, Dormers can sometimes suffer from poor insulation form the new flat wall, especially, again, in the case of cheap conversions!
The Case For Mansard Loft Conversions In Leeds
Mansards have a couple of advantages over Dormers, however they also have a couple of drawbacks. First the good news:
- Mansard Loft Conversions look fantastic inside and out! From street level, Mansard conversions look like a regular roof on the house and don’t stand out to the naked eye.
- Mansards add almost as much room into your loft as Dormers do, due to their unique design. The slope can also be fitted with windows which give a fantastic amount of natural light, while still being in arms reach!
- Mansards are always very well-built, as less skilled companies tend not to perform them due to the complex structural engineering needed.
Their main disadvantages are three-fold however. Mansard loft conversions in Leeds absolutely need planning permission, as you are changing the structure of the roof, so this will add time and cost onto your conversion. Due to the complex construction work required, these conversions also take a fair amount of extra time and money compared to Dormers as well.
Generally, the rule will be that if money isn’t a great deciding factor for you, Mansards will be the better choice, however if money is tight, a Dormer will achieve most of what you want from a Mansard! We hope this post has helped you, and whether you need us to build you a new Mansard or Dormer loft conversion, get in touch with us today for a simple chat about how we can help you!
