Hi 

 

can you advise if the above is doable when occupants are living in the house ?

 

how long will it take to convert to an attic ?

Of course it's doable but you must be prepared to live in this messy condition. 

what do you want to convert? do you have an existing attic storey already or you want to add on an attic?

either way, consult a professional engineer on whether you can or cannot do what you plan to do.

staying in a house during construction is not advisable due to safety concerns. not sure whether insurance will cover if anything does happens if there are occupants residing in the property during construction.

unless what you are planning to do is more of renovation like work, then staying in the house could be possible.

Do note that if the house last underwent any construction/revation BEFORE 1991 you will need to do an asbestos survey. Not sure what you mean by "Old house". If asbestos is discovered, no way you can stay during construction. The Asbestos will need to be completely and safety removed first.

4 hours ago, IceEyez said:

Do note that if the house last underwent any construction/revation BEFORE 1991 you will need to do an asbestos survey. Not sure what you mean by "Old house". If asbestos is discovered, no way you can stay during construction. The Asbestos will need to be completely and safety removed first.

This is interesting, so if a house was built post 1991, it should be ok?

6 hours ago, petetherock said:

This is interesting, so if a house was built post 1991, it should be ok?

Yup! Asbestos was banned for usage in construction since the late 1980s. Almost certainly if the house was built after 1991 there should not be any asbestos.

even though singapore banned the use of asbestos in construction, it is not mandatory to remove them in existing buildings. asbestos is generally fine unless it starts to break down due to damage and the dust that comes out can cause cancer. that's why SLA did not remove everything in the chip bee gardens estate several years ago.

nowadays, removal of asbestos can only be done by specialists and needs to be declared to authorities. long gone are the days where contractors may alibaba and just remove and dispose of asbestos. it cost me a 5 figure sum to have the asbestos in my house removed by specialist contractors before it could be torn down. basically the specialist contractor had to wrap up the areas with asbestos with plastic sheets to enclose the site and set up decontamination stations for personnel exiting the site. So basically everything was done in a proper manner and with a plan drawn up for the project as well.