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Thinking about a loft conversion?
Thinking about a loft conversion?
Loft conversions are a popular way to increase space in houses, but they are usually more complicated to build than extensions and have more limits put on them. This leaflet is a guide for homeowners thinking about a loft conversion. Your Building Control Surveyor can give you more detailed information.
Do I need permission to convert my loft into a room?
If the loft will become a room, such as a bedroom, study or playroom, the work must meet the building regulations. You must make a full plans or building notice application, and a Building Control Surveyor must inspect the work.
If you want to use the loft for storage, the building regulations will apply, but not as strictly. You can find out about how to make an application in our leaflet ‘Altering or extending your home?’
Many loft conversions don’t need planning permission because they fall inside your development rights. But planning permission is separate from building regulations approval. Please check with our Planning Section if:
- you want to add a dormer or alter the roof so it extends beyond the plane of any existing roof slope facing a highway, or will be higher than the existing roof;
- the building is in a conservation area; or
- the building is listed.
What regulations apply?
The building regulations maintain reasonable standards of health and safety for people in and around buildings. The main things to take into account in loft conversions are:
- structural stability;
- fire escapes;
- resistance of materials to fire;
- resistance of materials to damp;
- ventilation;
- stairways; and
- insulation.
Is the existing structure strong enough?
You will need to check the strength of:
- the load-bearing walls (and foundations in some cases);
- the existing first-floor lintels; and
- the ceiling joists (you will usually need to add larger floor joists).
You will probably have to change the roof structure as well to make a clear space for the room.
Do I need steel beams?
Most loft conversions need extra beams to support the new floor joists and roof. The structural design of a loft conversion is often more complicated than an extension. So you will probably need a professional (for example, a chartered structural engineer) to do the calculations for you.
Do I need fire doors?
Lofts are a long way above the ground, so you should consider fire escape routes. If you have a two-storey house, you will have to replace the existing doors around the whole staircase (except those to non-habitable rooms like bathrooms and cloakrooms) with fire- resisting doors, to make a fully-protected path to the ground-floor exit. The new room(s) in the loft also need to be provided with fire-resisting doors. Any glazing in the walls enclosing the stairs will also need to be replaced with fire-resisting glass.
If you have an open-plan layout, you must put in walls to separate your stairs from any rooms, and link them to an escape route to the outside.
Until April 2007, all doors to habitable rooms off the stairwell had to be provided with self-closers. You no longer need to do this, but everyone in the household will now have to be much more aware about the need to keep doors protecting your escape route closed, especially at night.
Do I need smoke detectors?
You must fit mains-powered interlinked smoke detectors at each level in the hall and on each landing. All smoke alarms must have a standby power supply (e.g. battery backup)
Do I need stairs?
You must put in fixed stairs to give safe access to and from the new room. The regulations cover things like staircase steepness, headroom, step sizes and rails.
Do I need to upgrade the ceiling under the new loft rooms?
The existing ceilings under the loft room floor need to contribute to fire and sound separation from the rooms below. A sound deadening material will always be needed and in some cases extra work will need to be done to improve the fire resistance of the floor. This will usually mean you need to support a fire barrier over the ceiling if the existing plaster is too thin or is in poor condition.
When do I need to ask you to inspect the work?
You should tell us when the work is starting as we may need to check parts of the existing building before you go too far. We should also be told when the new floor structure is in place before it is boarded over and when the roof structure (including any dormers) is finished before it is covered up on the inside. If you have any doubts about this, please contact us for further advice.
When the work is finished, it is very important that you tell us so we can check the work meets our standards and issue a Completion Certificate. Do not make the final payment to your builders until we have done this.