Loft conversion

Pickers · 14 Jun 2018 at 20:34

Hello guys!e Never really ventured this way before, but wondered if anyone could give some tips.
I have a 3 bedroom bungalow and am wanting to go up into the loft to add a master with ensuite and another bedroom/office. I would need to.sacrifice a bedroom downstairs to get the staircase in.

I would like to do as much as possible to keep costs down but need a specialist to see if there is enough vertical space, raise the roof if required (maybe only needs a foot if if anything) and reinforce the beams. Obviously plumber and electrician too for heating, shower, toilet etc.

What I could do with, is some advice on course of action... Do I need detailed plans for room dimensions, or can the entire space be semi converted and then me potter around working out sizes and locations of stud walls etc?

I've played with Google Sketchup to plan a rough idea...

DB_SamX · 14 Jun 2018 at 21:53

This is relevant: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...ion-but-no-building-reg-certificate.18817696/

In the first instance, you should get an architect on board to assess whether it's viable, especially as you want a bedroom in the loft, so you have to meet the legal requirements. That might dictate whether what you want is achievable and at what cost, after which you can take it from there.

Raising a roof can be very expensive btw, depending on the area.

Ricochet J · 14 Jun 2018 at 23:02

Surely you can't raise the roof if the bungalow is a semi-detached or terrace (which admittedly we don't know yet).

Hamzter · 15 Jun 2018 at 00:01

Pretty easy to get an idea of room dimensions, you'll lose about 200mm in the floor for the new structure, and about 150mm depth in the roof for the insulation, measure up the room and take off those amounts, any area below head height should be considered storage area. There's no actual minimum height for the room in the regs, however there is for the stairs (1.9m at the centre). Lifting the roof would be impractically expensive (it would literally be a new roof), however a dormer might be an option.

If you do decide you have sufficient head room, there's an excellent book called 'Loft Conversions' by John Coutts that covers all the main things you'll need to consider, give that a read then get a professional to draw up some plans (an architect is overkill, I got a structural engineer to do mine). Good luck if you go ahead!

Pickers · 15 Jun 2018 at 06:21

Great advice - thanks guys. I did look into this a while ago and think I've mis-remembered the roof raise! I'll get up in the loft later and check height and pitch angle.

Adam · 15 Jun 2018 at 11:19

I had mine done last year and I'm very pleased with it. Added 2 large bedrooms to the house with a small shower room.

Ours was done under permitted development with a large dormer on the rear of the house but only sky lights on the front.

Pickers · 15 Jun 2018 at 17:37

Can I ask a ball park figure Adam as this sounds similar. Pm me if you'd rather not broadcast?

Pitch of roof is 31 degrees, and top of joists to bottom of ridge board is 2.44m so all seem to fall within the "convertable" bracket...

Adam · 15 Jun 2018 at 22:03

Pickers said:
Can I ask a ball park figure Adam as this sounds similar. Pm me if you'd rather not broadcast?

Pitch of roof is 31 degrees, and top of joists to bottom of ridge board is 2.44m so all seem to fall within the "convertable" bracket...

I paid around £40k cash with the bathroom installed, doors hung and skirting boards etc fitted. It excluded tiling, carpets and any decorating which has probably cost me about £2k+ on top and lots and lots of time

Pickers · 15 Jun 2018 at 22:24

By permitted development do you mean no planning permission required?

LiE · 15 Jun 2018 at 22:53

Mine starts end of July. We've gone with a local company who handle everything. Quoted price was £37k. House is a 1950s 3 bed semi. Side of the roof will be changed from hipped to gabel and a dormer installed the entire back of the house. This leaves us with pretty much the front being sloped.

This will give us 2 rooms and an ensuite.

Adam · 16 Jun 2018 at 08:04

Pickers said:
By permitted development do you mean no planning permission required?

Yes although it still has to be inspected and signed off by the council.

Pickers · 3 Jul 2018 at 19:01

Adam said:
Yes although it still has to be inspected and signed off by the council.

Hi Adam,
thread resurrection - can you tell me more about getting a loft conversion signed off? At what point does it need to be inspected, to be able to classify it as official bedrooms etc?

a1ex2001 · 4 Jul 2018 at 06:56

Pickers said:
Hi Adam,
thread resurrection - can you tell me more about getting a loft conversion signed off? At what point does it need to be inspected, to be able to classify it as official bedrooms etc?

You need to notify building control before you start they will then agree a schedule of inspection visits at key points including completion.

Personally I'd use a third party company after a few bad experiences with the council!

Scrutinize · 4 Jul 2018 at 07:45

Pickers said:
Hi Adam,
thread resurrection - can you tell me more about getting a loft conversion signed off? At what point does it need to be inspected, to be able to classify it as official bedrooms etc?

a1ex2001 said:
You need to notify building control before you start they will then agree a schedule of inspection visits at key points including completion.

Personally I'd use a third party company after a few bad experiences with the council!

Definately use a third party approved building inspector rather than the council. These guys have good coverage.

http://www.jhai.co.uk

Semple · 4 Jul 2018 at 10:12

Pickers said:
Hi Adam,
thread resurrection - can you tell me more about getting a loft conversion signed off? At what point does it need to be inspected, to be able to classify it as official bedrooms etc?

Make sure you do get approval and the compliance certificates, otherwise you'll have an endless world of hassle when you come to sell.

We're just going through a house purchase now where the vendors didn't get everything signed off, now we're insisting that they get retrospective approval before we proceed with the purchase. This will likely mean a building inspector will insist on making inspection holes in the walls/ceiling/foundations in order to sign them off. I hear it's next to impossible to do retrospective approval on a loft conversion due to the main support structure being well hidden.

Pickers · 4 Jul 2018 at 21:50

Thanks guys - hopefully have a ball rolling and have heard this advice echoed a few times over! Thanks

Rroff · 4 Jul 2018 at 21:57

Wow those prices - I know it was nearly 20 years ago now but my parents converted their loft into two bedrooms and reduced the size of one first floor bedroom to accommodate access for more like 1/3rd of those amounts.