Loft conversions

Our team of talented designers can talk you through the options available for your specific property and some common approaches are:

Mansard loft conversion: A mansard roof is a type of roof with steeply sloping sides leading up to a shallow or flat top section. If your property has a mansard style roof you probably have a lot of available space which can lend very well to conversion. A mansard style roof can be created as a replacement to a more typical dual-pitched roof, though this would require planning approval and may not be suitable in all cases.

Hip to gable loft conversion: Hipped roofs are those with angled pitches on every side, where as a gabbled roof is one where the side wall continues straight up to the roof ridge. A hip to gable loft conversion seeks to transform one (or both) of the side hips into gable ends, which gives more useable floor space in your loft.

Dormer loft conversion: A dormer conversion is a very popular approach and involves a flat or shallow-pitched roofed extension to the roof to give more height and usable floor space. Some dormer loft conversions do not require planning permission so can give you a great deal of benefit with minimal fuss.

Most traditional houses in the UK were built with generous loft spaces which are often ideally suited to convert into extra habitable space. Traditional houses, such as Georgian and Victorian era houses often feature ‘rafter and purlin’ structures to the roofs which usually require only light alterations to convert to more useable space for your family.

Newer houses may have ‘trussed rafter’ style roofs, which can be less spacious and require a bit more work to convert, but our expert team can talk you though the possible solutions with a free home consultation.

Just send us an enquiry using the information box on this web page and one of our friendly staff will get in touch with you. We’ll arrange a convenient time for one of our design professionals to come over for a free home consultation, which helps us to provide you with an accurate and competitive quote.

This can depend on the specifics of your property and the type of work you are having done to convert your loft. Many domestic properties in England benefit from ‘Permitted Development Rights’ which include a number of provisions applicable to loft conversions meaning you don’t necessarily need planning permission for some types of loft conversions.

The planning system also has a process called a ‘Certificate of Lawfulness’ application which is used to formally confirm that, in the absence of a planning approval, your loft conversion works are lawful under your Permitted Development Rights. This can be especially useful if you plan to sell your property in the future.

We can help with planning applications and Certificate of Lawfulness applications, whichever is most appropriate to your project.

We usually have availability to start working on your loft conversion project right away. Send us an enquiry and we can kick off the process with a free home consultation.

In most cases you will not need to move out of your home while the loft conversion works are going on, though you should be prepared for builders being in your home for a few weeks as well as some dust and minor disruption while the building works are going on.

It is always a good idea to let your neighbours know when you are having any kind of building work done to your home so that they know to expect some noise in advance, as well as maintaining a good neighbourly relationship. If your loft conversion work is likely to involve any operations such as cutting into a shared wall or works to a shared roof you will have a legal duty to inform your neighbour(s) in writing via a ‘Party Wall Notice.’

We have a team of highly qualified Building Surveyors who can serve these notices on your behalf and help you to discharge your party wall duties.

In most cases our talented designers can find ways to fit loft access stairs into your home without compromising too much space. Drop us a line; this is one of the key items we’ll discuss with you during your free home consultation.

If your loft is spacious enough to include a bathroom or en-suite into the conversion plans, we can certainly help you to achieve this. We’ll plan out the space and aim to make your dreams a reality, and handle any consequential design considerations required – for bathrooms or en-suites this can include things like structural upgrades to the floor joists to carry the additional weight and where the drainage runs will go.

If your house currently has two or more floors, Building Control will require the doors to ‘habitable rooms’ such as bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, etc. to be upgraded to fire doors when you convert your loft. This is to ensure that everyone in your home can safely get out of the property in the event of a fire.

Bungalow loft conversions may not require fire door upgrades, but this depends on a few determining factors, which we can discuss with you during our free home consultation.

Typically, the simplest way to insulate a roof for a loft conversion is with an insulation board between the existing rafters. Depending on the depth of your existing rafters additional insulation underneath them may be required to achieve the insulation values that the current Building Regulations stipulate. We will design this for you as part of our loft conversion design service to make sure that all relevant Building Regulation requirements are met.

Yes. A loft conversion can be done at any time, though requires careful management in times of expected bad weather. Works to the roof covering such as inserting rooflight windows can be planned around the weather to make sure your house is watertight when you need it most. For more extensive roof works in the winter, such as building a large dormer, a ‘tent scaffolding’ can be utilised to keep the building dry throughout the build.

Getting a loft conversion in a leasehold house is certainly possible and will require clear and open communication with your freeholder. The first step would be for you to raise the question with the freeholder and get a general agreement (in writing) that they are open to idea of allowing you to convert your loft. There may also be clauses in your tenancy agreement that deal with property alterations, so have a look through that, too.

If your freeholder is open to the idea, our team can help you though the process and assist you in getting the right approvals for the work.

Yes. You should always inform your home insurers when you have any kind of building work done to your property.

The building works will be covered by your builder’s insurance, but it is important that you also inform your home insurer that you are having building works done.