Few of us are in the financial position we expected to be in at the start of 2020.  January seems like a very long time ago, and a lot has happened in the last eight months, with more changes to come.  Some people may have lost their jobs or their businesses due to the pandemic, while others who can work from home may have saved money by not commuting or buying lunch every day.  If you booked a holiday for 2020 you may have lost money if it was cancelled or you decided not to go, while those who didn't book anything, hoping for a last minute deal, will have found they've been priced out, or there is no space left.  You may have also scaled back holiday plans, staying in the UK rather than travelling abroad and risking having to quarantine for two weeks on your return,

If you're in the lucky position of having saved money by working from home and not booking a holiday then what should you do with the money?  While the housing market looks to be unstable for some time it doesn't make sense to invest heavily in home improvements or extensions, but it does make sense to make small improvements that will make your life easier and also give your home the edge when the time comes to sell.

Common small home improvement projects include installing a second toilet or shower room, insulating and boarding out the loft, upgrading your kitchen or bathroom and renovating hard floors (or replacing carpet).  These smaller projects make the home more usable, and are things which buyers might look for when they're looking at your property, especially if they're looking at several similar properties which don't have that extra bathroom or usable storage space.

Going for a full scale loft conversion is a large, costly project, but having the loft insulated and professionally boarded out with a proper loft ladder installed, helps to make a loft conversion a possibility in the eyes of buyers; this also gives you a lot of storage space you wouldn't have without the whole loft being boarded.  The loft ladder is a vital part of this project – if the loft is great for storage but can be tricky or dangerous to get anything up there without a decent loft ladder, then it's not going to be used to its full potential.

You may already have a purpose built loft ladder, but there's always a reason to upgrade to a better model.  Sometimes you can claw back much needed attic space by installing a smaller ladder, such as a concertina or telescopic loft ladder which is stores solely on the back of the hatch and does not take up any additional floor space in the loft.  You could also claw back a little bit of space by going from a two section loft ladder to a three section one, thereby reducing the amount of space it takes up inside the loft.

There are also electric loft ladders available now, and these are also a concertina style, so they use less loft space and save you the effort of extending and stowing the loft ladder yourself.  With no pole to lose, an electric loft ladder is ideal for people who regularly need to access the loft space to retieve and store items, and it is a unique selling point of your home which could give you the edge over the competition.  These electric loft ladders are ideally suited to older people for whom mobility and strength may be an issue.

Whether you're starting from a no-loft-ladder situation, or looking to upgrade to something smaller or more user friendly we have a wide range of loft ladders to choose from.  Most of these can be installed by anyone with a good working knowledge of DIY, but they can also be installed by your local carpenter or builder as full fixings are supplied.