Indy Total Construction

In many small homes, the height of the rooms is scarcely used but could almost double both the storage and the living potential. For example, it might be possible to create a balcony area in a living room which could be used as workspace, play space or for visitors to stat overnight.

If there is not enough height for that, a built-up platform could provide storage underneath, at the same time giving the room an added dimension.

In a small bedroom, build the bed on top of a 1.2m (4ft) high cupboard. This is just the right height for being able to see out of the window from the bed, an enormous bonus if you have a pretty view. The cupboard underneath will provide useful storage space for quite large objects, anything from clothes to small pieces of furniture, pictures and pieces of equipment which you may not want to throw away but do not need at present It is also useful for duvets and pillows for guests. A more primitive version would be a bed base resting on two chests-of-drawers.

Make the bed base out of slats with a good 12mm between them; if you are using solid pieces of board, drill holes to allow the mattress to air. For a 1m (3ft) high bed you won’t need a stepladder but you will need a step of some kind. A box-step can hold lightweight objects so that you have no difficulty raising it when you want to get into the cupboard. A chest-of-drawers next to the bed, at about the same height, acts as a bedside table.

A tall bed can be curtained off with muslin or pretty cotton print fabric to give the enclosed and private feeling of a four-poster.

No amount of pre-planned storage is going to solve all your storage problems. There are always little items like drawing pins, elastic bands, corks, postage stamps, pens and pencils and computer disks, and medium-sized things like calculators, cameras, film and so on which don’t fall into any convenient storage category.

It is important to find places for all these, otherwise they become the very things you can’t find when you need them most. There are also bulky items—extra blankets, sleeping bags, duvets and pillows for visitors, and the inevitable stepladders, bicycles and pushchairs.

Let’s look at the bulky items first. Drawers that pull out from under beds are practical for extra bedclothes. If the bed is tall enough drawers from an old chest-of-drawers will do, but if you are buying a new bed or divan choose one with drawers specially designed to go under it. Large but comparatively narrow items such as bicycles can be hung on a wall.

In modern, minimalist homes they can be a decorative element in a living room, but they take up potential storage space which could be used for other items and this idea would not suit everybody’s taste. Items which fold up into narrow shapes take up less space when hung than when simply leaned against a wall.

When it comes to the medium-sized items such as calculators and cameras, you can allocate a drawer to a particular type of storage so that cameras, film and boxes of slides will all be found together.

For the little items which are so difficult to organize, mini chests-of-drawers intended for carpenters’ nails and screws are excellent for home office use and will take labels, paperclips and other small items which need to be separate and available. Other drawers can hold buttons, thimbles, hooks and eyes, and other sewing equipment.

Filing can be a problem. Paper never looks tidy and gets lost so easily. Specially designed chunky ‘household’ files with categorized compartments are theoretically the answer, but the pre-ordained categories seldom correspond to those one actually needs and the files usually end up being too small. It may be better to buy box files or even to use shoeboxes for filing.

A low filing cabinet may be the answer, where you can store writing paper, envelopes and other office paraphernalia as well as letters. In a room which has to double as an office and a guest room, files can act as low room-dividers and there’s a choice of colors to make them less industrial-looking.

Many bits and pieces can be organized into albums. Photographs take up far too much drawer space and are largely wasted because of the trouble of sorting through them. Albums can be lined up in a bookcase, where they look orderly, take up less space and are easy to find. If you keep Christmas cards, postcards, children’s paintings and letters, they will be better preserved by being kept in scrapbooks rather than scattered about in cupboards and chests.

You might find you need access to a particular part of a pipe. In that case you should cut out a section of the cladding and fit it with screws to create what is in effect a little trap door.

If you’re boxing in a length of pipe that has a stop-valve on it you should again make a little trap door, but this time fix it on with hinges so that access can be immediate. You can fix a small handle or touch latch on to it to facilitate opening.

If you find pipes exposed in a number of rooms in your home, one method of concealing them, which will provide you with extra storage space as well, is to install built-in furniture. An ideal location for this is that living room alcove. The pipes would be largely unnoticed if you fitted a waist-high cupboard with book shelves on top, for example. The construction of such a cupboard is straightforward (for further details see Ready Reference).

If the pipes are on the back wall. the shelves can be supported on an adjustable shelving system in which brackets lock into uprights. The uprights should be fitted to vertical battens; that way the shelves will be thrown well clear of the pipes. Alternatively, if you have the pipes running up the side of the chimney breast, you can carefully cut notches out of a corner of each shelf so you won’t disturb any of the pipes.

The bathroom is an obvious place where unsightly plumbing can be concealed behind built-in furniture. A built-in cupboard, beneath the washbasin, for instance, will provide extra storage space as well as acting as a neat disguise. If you live in a flat that has the upstairs neighbour’s soil pipe passing through your bathroom, you can disguise it neatly with shelves at the end of a built-in washbasin unit or with a built-in vanity unit.

Another way of concealing pipes is to construct a false wall. This is especially useful if your plaster is in very poor condition. You simply fix timber cladding, probably match-boarding or veneered plywood, to battens running down edges of the walls. Water pipes will go conveniently behind such cladding providing you never forget their location and try to drive nails into the timber!

A more sophisticated version of this that is especially suited to the kitchen or living room, is done with timber panelling. However, if the pipes are running up and outside the wall, it would be wise to allow for some air holes or a small gap at both the top and the bottom. This will ensure that warm air can circulate.

If you find that for some reason you cannot conceal your pipes then it’s worth thinking about going to the opposite extreme and making a feature out of them. Pipes that have been painted with bright colors, for example, can look extremely attractive in their own right. And copper pipework, polished and lacquered to stop it tarnishing, can be a really eye-catching feature.

You’ll have to make sure that the pipes are in good condition to warrant either painting or polishing up, and that their new color won’t clash with your existing decor. Ideally they should be lightly rubbed down to clean them before being given a coat of special enamel radiator paint. You should also take care not to apply too thick a coat of paint — especially on any vertical pipes, as you could end up with unsightly drips, which would be difficult to get rid of once the paint has dried.

All the work done to convert the attic into living space must comply with the requirements of the Zoning and Building Codes, and before work can begin plans must be drawn up and submitted to your local Building Department for approval. They will be able to advise you on any aspects of the work about which you are unsure, and will probably want to make several checks on the work as it progresses.

The Codes vary so greatly across the country that what may need approval on in one area does not need approval in another. If you feel unsure, check with your local Building Department or consult with a local professional Architect or Engineer before starting.

There are two routes you can take to getting professional help: you can either employ an architect to design the conversion and then get him to supervise the builder who does the work, or approach a specialist re-modeler, who will both design the conversion and carry out the work. In the first instance you will get something that suits your needs exactly, whereas in the latter you may get a variation on one of several standards. plans. However, there may be quite a difference in price, so do get quotes from different companies for comparison.

In many cases the architect or contractor will handle the Building Code side of the job for you, perhaps relieving you of a considerable headache. Both will also be able to tell you if the structure of the roof makes a conversion possible at all. Sometimes it is possible to remove major supporting members which are in the way and support the load they carried by making one of the internal partitions load-bearing or by inserting strong wooden beams in the framework of the walls or floor.

In other areas, essential supporting framing may be left in place and the internal partitions built off them — in some instances the resulting shapes being adapted for bookshelves or storage space, for example. you need more rooms and there is simply no other way you can get more room from the existing layout, the answer may be to build on an extra room or rooms at the side or rear of the house.

As with an attic conversion you will need a building permit for an extension, but it is as well to check with the local Building Department. In some areas the Building Code requires that any addition is built in the same style and in matching materials as the main part of the house. In this situation, even if the extension is within the permitted size and does not project above the roof line or beyond the front of the building, you would still need a building permit.

Regardless of the Zoning situation, all the work must comply with the Building Code, so early contact with your local Building Inspector is essential. He will want to see plans of the extension, being particularly interested in the foundations and will advise you on the requirements for your specific situation. He will also want to inspect the work as it progresses.

With a purpose built extension you should employ an architect to design it and take care of the Building Code matters. He will also supervise the building work. This should be done by a competent builder, but you may be able to reduce the cost if he will agree to you doing the less critical parts of the job.

A standard contract should be taken out with the builder that defines his responsibilities, specifies costs, starting and completion dates and gives details of how payment will be made.

Prefabricated extensions are often designed for assembly by the purchaser, although the manufacturer can send his own erection team to do it for you; he may even insist on this if the extension is above a certain size.

Obviously, any extension will be costly and you should give considerable thought as to how you will pay for it. In some cases you may qualify for a guaranteed loan through the federal government. You may be able to extend your mortgage, or get a loan from a bank or finance company. It is worth shopping around to get the best terms.

In addition to the Building Code your house may be part of a residential community or association which also places restrictions or limitations on the type of alterations that may be made to the property. Generally this extends only to the type and style of fences or a ban on blacktop drive ways, but in some areas — a neighborhood of Victorian gingerbread houses for example — it may restrict the architectural style of any new work.

Further restrictions to the type of alteration you may make to your home may be made by the mortgage holder or by the house insurer. Always check with your insurance agent to make sure that your home owner’s policy is not invalidated by the construction work. Some insurers will insist that at least part of the work — usually the electrics or plumbing and heating — is carried out by professionals.

Houses built before the Building Code took effect are not required to comply to the Code unless they are altered.