Loft conversions Adding a loft conversion to your home

Things to take into consideration when you are thinking about loft conversion:

FOUNDATIONS

A loft conversion puts more weight on the foundations of your home.  You must always check that your home can take the weight of a loft conversion.  This is one of the things that is required to be checked by your Building Control Officer.

I would not advise checking the foundations yourself…any mistakes made at this early stage could end up costing you a lot more.

HEAD HIGHT FOR CONVERSION

You should ask your structural engineer or architect to calculate precisely how much headroom you will have in your loft when it gets converted. Lot of people get pretty surprised with it.

STAIRCASE

You should ask your structural engineer or architect to calculate precisely how much headroom you will have in your loft when it gets converted.  It is not always as you would expect.

NATURAL LIGHT

Natural light is one of the most important things in our loft conversions. It has such a positive effect on us, helps us to concentrate more, according to medical studies it can even help to elevate our mood and also enables the body to produce Vitamin D. There really are so many benefits.

So good natural light is very important.  Always talk to your architect as he/she will have lots of experience.  Think about the aspect of your property,  do you need morning sun or evening light? What’s the differences in natural light  between summer and winter?  Take your time – everything needs to be taken into consideration so you get the very best from your new loft space.

HEATING, INSULATION AND VENTILATION

When it comes to heating, insulation and ventilation it is very important that you hire an architect with good experience in this area.  You will also need to make sure your current heating system can cope with the extra room and can warm your whole house.  You may need to upgrade your current heating system.  You could always consider installing renewable energy heaters  – this may increase your initial costs but will significantly reduce your costs in future.

Loft conversions must have sufficient insulation, you do not want all the heat from your home to be lost due to lack of insulation.

Ventilation is not always necessary, but it is generally a good idea. Helping prevent condensation and it can be used to circulate heat to other parts of the house.

Costs of moving versus costs of renovation

Should I stay or should I go now?

This is the dilemma for a lot of people. Depending on the area you live, sometimes it is a better choice to move rather than renovate. You need to work out what your house is worth in its current architectural state and whether or not the cost of the loft conversion will increase the value sufficiently as you don’t want to end up losing money when it comes to selling.  Although it’s not always about money and profit!  If you’re creating your dream forever home then go for it!  Our homes are one of the most important places in our lives.  This is where we make a lot of our memories.

Don’t forget that a good loft conversion has the potential to add 20% value to your home – provided, of course,  it is completed professionally and with good taste. Remember, a badly renovated loft could harm the overall value of your home.

With major works on your house, we advise you to be careful and “Measure twice, cut once.”

Do I need planning permission?

Not all loft conversions require planning permission. Some conversions fall within your permitted development rights. However, you’ll still need to satisfy building regulations.

Accordingly, you will need to obtain planning permission if your plans exceed certain limits and conditions such as extending or modifying the roof space. You will also need to follow stringent building regulations, which are put in place to ensure that construction work is safe.

To check if you need planning permission, you will need the help of an architect or builder. Here is a list of limits and conditions that allow you to NOT need planning permission:

• A volume allowance of 40 cubic meters additional roof space for terraced houses.
• A volume allowance of 50 cubic meters additional roof space for detached and semi-detached houses.
• No extension beyond the plane of the existing roof slope of the principal elevation that fronts the highway.
• Materials must be similar in appearance to the existing house.
• No extension to be higher than the highest part of the roof.
• No verandas, balconies or raised platforms.
• Side-facing windows to be obscure-glazed; any opening to be 1.7m above the floor.
• Roof extensions not to be permitted development in designated areas (national parks and the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, conservation areas and World Heritage Sites).
• Roof extensions, apart from hip to gable ones, to be set back, as far as practicable, at least 20cm from the original eaves.
• The roof enlargement cannot overhang the outer face of the wall of the original house.

These terms apply to homes, not to flats and maisonettes, converted homes or homes created through permitted development rights to change purpose, other non-dwelling buildings.

Think again about hiring an architect or builder.

Planning permission is just one of the things you need to think about when getting your loft converted. You should think twice about hiring an architect or builder who will confirm that you meet all of these requirements.
As for the duration of the process, your local planning authority is required to make a decision on your planning application as soon as possible. It does not take more than 8 weeks to decide on an immediate planning application, 13 weeks for a particularly large or complex application, and 16 weeks if an environmental impact assessment is required.

Building Regulations Approval

Whether or not you need to seek approval for loft conversion planning, building regulations approval is required to convert a loft into a liveable space. You will still need to follow the relevant building regulations listed on the Government website and seek approval of the building regulations through the planning portal.

Building regulations are extremely important because they ensure safety. They make sure that any loft remodelling is structurally strong and stable, that the stairs are properly positioned and that it is safe to escape during emergencies.

The type of building regulations depends on the type of conversion you are planning. If you want to turn your loft into a storage space, you may need to seek approval for building regulation. However, if you want to convert your loft into a living space then you will certainly need to seek approval for building regulation.

Of course, this isn’t the complete list – there are plenty more things to be taken into consideration when planning your conversion. When it comes to other permissions, you will need Party Wall Agreement. It’s an agreement between you and your neighbour that aims to ensure that work is done fair and won’t endanger your neighbour’s property.

Also, if you think you have special species, bats for example, living in your loft, you’ll need to have a bat survey. Bats are a protected species. If your loft is home to a roost of them, you may need to obtain a mitigation license to carry out the work.

Fire Safety

According to Building Regulations you’ll have to provide a minimum of fire safety.

Escape Routes

You’ll have to provide a safe route from your loft to the outside. Staircase must provide 30 minutes protection so they will need plastering or plaster boarding.

New Doors

Doors in your loft must be fire rated in the escape route. So, all doors in your loft and   escape route must be changed to fire rated doors. Your obligation according to building regulations is to provide a safe escape route from the lost and through to the outside.

Smoke alarms

You must have smoke alarms on every storey of your house. Alarms must be linked, meaning that if one of alarms triggered, all of them sound.

Also, battery backup must be provided for all alarms in the house.

Ceilings

Existing 1^st floor ceilings will need to achieve 30 minutes fire resistance.

Sprinklers

Many councils will now accept a small sprinkler system as an alternative to the protection requirements.