Yes. The builders need a completely clear loft before they can start, and anything left up there would be in the way, at risk of damage and covered in dust. The good news is that clearing it is a chance to sort it: decide what to keep, what to store and what to let go, and give the “keep” boxes a safe home until the new room is finished.
When to clear it
Ask your builder when they need the loft empty, and aim to have it done a week or so before. Loft clearing always takes longer than expected, because it’s full of things nobody has looked at for years, and you don’t want to be sorting boxes on the morning the scaffolding goes up.
Keep, store or go
Bring everything down in stages and sort it as you go:
- Go. Broken things, old paperwork you no longer need, and anything you’d forgotten you had and won’t miss. Charity shops, recycling centres and a skip cover most of it.
- Keep at home. Things you’ll need during the build, such as seasonal clothes or the Christmas decorations if the work runs into December.
- Store. Everything you want back but won’t need for a while: suitcases, keepsakes, spare bedding, children’s things you’re saving, and furniture from the rooms below if the work spreads downstairs.
Where storage helps
A loft conversion is messy, and the dust travels. Moving the “store” pile out of the house keeps it clean and out of the builders’ way, and frees space in the rooms below, which are often used to stage materials.
With us, the minimum stay is just two weeks, and after that your storage carries on until you give notice, normally 14 days, so you don’t need to know exactly when the build will finish. Once the new room is done, you bring back what you want, email us your end date, and we refund any days you’ve paid for but won’t use.
A few tips for the boxes:
- pack everything clean and completely dry, as lofts can be damp or dusty;
- use sturdy boxes of a similar size, labelled on the side;
- keep breakable and sentimental things together and clearly marked.
You can visit from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week, if you need something back mid-build. To find the right size, call us on 0800 2545585, or get a price online.
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