Dormer loft conversion

[Russinating]

Going to have a dormer loft extension on the property we're purchasing. I've measured the loft space and also seen a conversion 5 doors down so got a pretty good idea about what's possible etc. However I'm interested to see other peoples plans and hear from their experiences about what to do, what not to do, what they'd change.

I love making the most of a space and a loft conversion seems like a really good opportunity for that, starting from scratch in effect.

This is what I've got so far which is pretty much a mirror of the house 5 doors down, bar knowing their exact dimensions etc. King size bed for scale, and I've allowed 110m on the party walls.

Height of eaves wall (floor to bottom of existing beam) is 150cm and current floor to apex height is 298cm.

TIA!

 

[Maccapacca]

Sit down toilet only? Do everything in mm not cm.

Check but I think you'll have to change every door off the stairs and landings below to fire doors.

 

[Regy53]

Sit down toilet only? Do everything in mm not cm.

Check but I think you'll have to change every door off the stairs and landings below to fire doors.

yes this, or fit wired / linked sensors in all joining rooms to the loft.

I had a full dorma in my last house, found it very good value for the space we gained.

 

[Russinating]

Sit down toilet only? Do everything in mm not cm.

Check but I think you'll have to change every door off the stairs and landings below to fire doors.

Yeah I will, it's just easier at the basic stage in SketchUp to drop the trailing zero since everything is only measured in cm atm anyway (literally had 45 minutes to measure the whole house).

What do you mean sit down toilet only?

 

[Maccapacca]

Yeah I will, it's just easier at the basic stage in SketchUp to drop the trailing zero since everything is only measured in cm atm anyway (literally had 45 minutes to measure the whole house).

What do you mean sit down toilet only?

Your loo looks like it's tucked into the skeiling. You won't have enough head room to stand in front of it?

 

[tom_nieto]

You’ve got plenty of space for an en suite. If you’re putting the plumbing in for a toilet it would seem like a good idea to at least put a shower in.

I’d have the whole of the wall where the current toilet is placed as an en suite/built in cupboard. You’ve got acres of space around the king bed.

Can you have skylight windows on the angled roof? If so I’d put a bath underneath one of them as this will not only look cool but also help to use some of the lower head height more efficiently.

 

[ash_scotland88]

What's your height at WC?

Read up on building regs as this is criteria needed to pass for a completion certificate to make it lawful.

 

[Russinating]

The height to the bottom of the existing beam and therefore what will be the eaves wall where the toilet is is 1500mm. Where the toilet ends (that model at least) the height to ceiling is 2050mm. I imagine there'll be a Velux there as well. And opposite the toilet is a shower (line is a glass screen) that's 1000x800mm. No sink in there simply because there wasn't a small one in Sketchup's components.

 

[a1ex2001]

Sit down toilet only? Do everything in mm not cm.

Check but I think you'll have to change every door off the stairs and landings below to fire doors.

It's a building regs requirement and I've watched builders round here fit the fire doors for the day of inspection then replace them with the old doors the next day.

 

[tamzzy]

i've viewed a few dormer conversions whilst house hunting, although some were done well, all of them felt quite claustrophobic (okay probably not the right work - maybe restrictive is a better term).
reason is that as you've said, ceiling height for the dormer is ~2m. an average room height is probably around 2.5m usually.

 

[Altaz]

Is it not possible to have the stairs coming up from the roof side instead of into the dormer? this would give you more space for the toilet/bathroom.

 

[tom_nieto]

i've viewed a few dormer conversions whilst house hunting, although some were done well, all of them felt quite claustrophobic (okay probably not the right work - maybe restrictive is a better term).
reason is that as you've said, ceiling height for the dormer is ~2m. an average room height is probably around 2.5m usually.

“Cosy” would be the estate agents’ term!

An extra bedroom is an extra bedroom. The extra space from ours is brilliant and having an en suite is a real bonus as we can let guests stay up there and have a bit of their own space.

 

[tamzzy]

“Cosy” would be the estate agents’ term!

haha indeed!

An extra bedroom is an extra bedroom. The extra space from ours is brilliant and having an en suite is a real bonus as we can let guests stay up there and have a bit of their own space.

personally i wouldn't want to live in a dormer long-term though. everyone is different, so ymmv
and as you say. it is an extra bedroom, so if done well, usually worth the investment

 

[Deleted member 66701]

personally i wouldn't want to live in a dormer long-term though. everyone is different, so ymmv

That's why you shove the kids into the loft bedrooms

Interesting this post should come up now as I just started converting our loft yesterday (hip to gable, two bedrooms, box room will become 2nd bathroom).

 

[Russinating]

My drawing and explanations are obviously rubbish because nobody is reading my dimensions correctly!

Where the toilet joins the wall (eaves wall) is 1512mm high. Where you'd stand in front of it is approximately 1980mm high, and the full height (current floor to apex) is 2980mm. Even excluding the sloped roof section of the room, en-suite and stairs the room is 3685mm x 3470mm (137 ft/sq). With a 2980mm ceiling and a juliet balcony I'm not sure what mansions you guys are living in but I wouldn't call that cosy!

 

[tamzzy]

With a 2980mm ceiling and a juliet balcony I'm not sure what mansions you guys are living in but I wouldn't call that cosy!

ah nice! 3m dormer! go for it!
(not seen a dormer with a >2m high ceiling here in brum hence my post)
as mention by other posters previously, why not consider adding a full en-suite? you are presumably already adding a soilpipe, so an ensuite is not out of the realms of possibility

 

[Russinating]

ah nice! 3m dormer! go for it!
(not seen a dormer with a >2m high ceiling here in brum hence my post)
as mention by other posters previously, why not consider adding a full en-suite? you are presumably already adding a soilpipe, so an ensuite is not out of the realms of possibility

Yeah the current height from boarded loft floor to apex is 2980mm. I'm guessing some of that will be lost for roof insulation etc but it'll still be over the 2.4m of all the rooms in our current house!

It is an en-suite, unless you mean something other than a toilet, shower and sink? The line opposite the toilet is a sliding shower door 1000mm wide with room for a 1000x800mm shower tray.

 

[ash_scotland88]

Don't know English regs but that won't pass Scottish building regs for clearance height at WC, they're very similar in spec.
And does your measurements allow for extra insulation etc? You'll love more when boarding onto the joist.
Up here the 1000x800mm shower wouldn't pass 900x900 minimum. As well as the "activity zone" zone Infront of the WC needs to be a standard, part h from memory?

 

[tamzzy]

Yeah the current height from boarded loft floor to apex is 2980mm. I'm guessing some of that will be lost for roof insulation etc but it'll still be over the 2.4m of all the rooms in our current house!

may also lose some headroom if you need separate floor joists for the proposed dormer

 

[eviled]

thats a nice big dormer

regrets - I wish I'd gone for more velux windows - bedroom has 1x1m - could have had 2

things I got right - free standing bath under the sloped roof - really good use of space
- soundproofing - soundboard instead of plaster board, foam between joists + floor, laminated glazing, sound reducing underlay
- insulating the floor - often missed and stops the loft becoming the hottest room by leaching all your houses heat