About to convert my loft!!

Hi all! This is my first post but I`ve been reading all yours for months now. The info. is great.
I`m seriously considering converting the loft of my 3 bed semi. in to an all singin` and all dancin` Home Cinema. The thing I firstl need to be sure of before forking out the £17000 on it, is will I definetly be able to control sound leakage in to next doors upper ceilings and roof area. I can get a room that measures 12`x 26`x9` or thereabouts, so there is plenty of space to play with. But as its a new house (5 years old) there are struts and beams flying everywhere that I`ll obviously get tidied up. I know how bad these type of houses can be when it comes to sound leakage and I want to be positive that this whole situ. is viable before I get too excited (too late) about it. Yours droolingly.....

Eyerish

[gizlaroc]

I am in the process of doing my loft.
it has been a nightmare so far, but it is getting there.

3 sets of plans and i think this time it is ok

which wall is the party wall ???

the end that is 26ft?
because the soundproofing on the party wall will come out about 8" if done right.
is this the same wall that the stairs go up , as this can make it a little harder too.
search on here for info about soundproofing.

BTW who is doing it for £17k , that sounds bloody expensive.

I am having to have a dorma bulit, as i am in a terraced house, so there is enough head height at the top of the landing,another £1,700.
A paddle staircase hand made, which put the price of the stairs up from £300 to over a grand.
I have been given 3 quotes , one from a loft conversion specialist at £15k , another from a builder that specialises in loft conversions for £10K, and the final one from a builder who has been brilliant so far, pointed out that my plans were not possible and within regulation ( the other two failed to notice this ) and he has gone off in his own time and priced all materials including scaffolding hire etc. and come back with a price of £7-9K depending if it all goes according to plan or not.

get as many quotes as possible , i saved at least £6k by phoning builders rather than "loft conversion specialist"

and I would rather spend £6k on somthing with a plug than a few sheets of plasterboard

Hi gizlaroc....hows the stress??
It`s a little hard to explain about the party wall, but i`ll try. If you imagine my neighbours house is smaller than ours and there roof is not only slighltly lower, but also smaller and juts into the side of my roof, so this wall is triangular shaped and only takes up about a third of the length. Its on the 12` side, the rest is 26` from gable (@front of house) to gable @rear. 17k was what i have seen a few other conversions done for, but that is for everything.
I do think it`s probably better to just get a good builder in to do the strengthening, stairs, etc. as I `d mostly like to do the wiring and soundproofing myself. This would make it a hell of a lot cheaper. I have a feeling the loft conversion companies tend to get ahead of themselves. I won`t be getting a dormer on the side as the roof is steep pitched so I`ve plenty of headroom. Either way, I`m telling the other half that we need to put that much money aside and hopefully there will be plenty of change to go down the audiofile with.

By the way, if you have any numbers of builders that I could ring to have a look at the loft, I`d really apreciate it. All the best

Oh and....COME ON IRELANDDDD!!!!

[gizlaroc]

the stress is getting better

i picked up the yellow pages and rang loads, you can write most of them off within 30 seconds on the phone.

from what you are saying i wouldnt worry too much about the sound proofing with the neighbours, more about sound travelling down through the floor.
Imagine the first night in your new cinema and the missus shouting "you can turn that down right now, you're not having it that loud !!! "
gutted

let me now how you get on, i am going to keep a photo diary of mine i think.

I agree with doing the wiring etc. yourself , this is definitely the way I am going.

[ReTrO]

Sounds like you're gonna have fun!

Only one comapny that I can think of that does sound proofing and they are based in the same town I work in. I forget their name but if you email me I'll make sure I find out. They do products that use various forms of multi layer chipboardey stuff with air gaps etc. Meant to be quite good.

Good luck.

Don't forget that if you are having heavy furniture and equipment, plus a few people up there, the Ceiling joists will need to be upgraded to floor joists.