ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
Style editor Anna Morley’s loft is taking shape. There are men, dust – but perhaps too many pivot windows
Style editor Anna Morley shares her loft conversion journey
‘You’re always talking about the loft,’ Lonny, our four-year-old, said accusingly the other day. He has a point. There’s been a lot of discussion about this project, now in its fifth week and cruising along at quite a pace.
We currently have six windows in place, a new staircase, a skip on the front garden (killing the grass), a plethora of electrical points and markings on the floor where the bathroom walls will be. And yet it’s been a relatively smooth process.
Yes, there’s been noise, draughts, sawdust, a makeshift door, dust sheets, Capital radio, plus a few unexpected holes in the ceiling, and it’s all happening while we’re both working from home – but it’s been pretty slick.
The arrival of the scaffolding kicked things off. Three guys built a giant tower at the front of the house, in less time than it took to drink the coffees I made them. Next on the scene were the two joiners, who knocked politely on the door and were met by a naked Lonny as I cleaned a toilet.
Post-awkward meet-and-greet, the timber planks arrived and were fed into the loft via the hatch. A hole was created in the side of the roof on day three, so the team could access the space via the scaffolding. I managed to tune out the drilling , but the sawdust coming through the light fixtures was harder to ignore.
I inspected the progress and was surprised by the amount of insulation and additional wood there was. They obviously knew what they were doing. Day five they took the loft ladder away – maybe to stop me peeking. Then the steel came (this was important), which got winched up the side of the house.
Day eight, another hole was made, this time in the ceiling, and two men with seriously speedy carpentry skills built and fitted the new stairs. It was impressive how quickly a staircase can materialise, but with the door opening constantly and four people working on the house, it was busy and freezing.
Next, onto the crucial layout. We’d been given a basic floor plan and head honcho Aaron discussed this with us. Standing in the dark, wood-filled loft, I wished for some visuals to help understand what’d work best. I turned to Joel of Joel Larosa Design, who whipped up a beautiful en suite scheme using Sketchup, giving us ideas for finishes and spacial planning. As a result, we’re building the wall out to incorporate a long shelf plus an alcove in the shower – so I’d highly recommend investing in a designer’s help.
The day finally arrived where we could see the sky through a Velux window – and a new angle of the neighbour’s garden. Our biggest challenge has probably been the windows. It’s a minefield of options. We chose 10 square pivot opening ones early on, but it dawned on us that there was a better product for our four-window feature. Since no holes had been made for this, we reordered two fixed panes to go under two existing pivot windows. This felt safer for little ones – and any clumsy big ones, too.
This was not our only last-minute change. We’ve also tested the limits, both on various return policies and our relationship (my 11th hour epiphanies and apparent lack of focus have been generously pointed out to me by Michael). The first shower enclosure and screen had to be reordered after we realised it didn’t need to be so big – again discovering the importance of understanding the space prior to clicking ‘buy’.
But, all things considered, it’s been fine. The joiners will be here until mid-next week. They’re good guys and will be missed. The sawdust and Capital radio? Not so much.