A loft room is a great way to add space and value to your home. In fact, loft conversions regularly top national surveys as being the most profitable home improvement homeowners can carry out.
Why create a loft room?
Creating a loft room is an incredibly efficient use of unused capacity within your house. Many lofts are dusty and cold voids, that far from adding value to your home, actually devalue it through being poorly insulated and thus effectively act as inefficient energy drains. Creating a well insulated, stylish loft room is highly cost-effective and can yield a significant return on investment.
What type of loft room can I create?
Your loft conversion is limited only by your imagination and budget. Typically, loft conversions involve the creation of new bedrooms, lounges, or home offices, but people all over the UK create loft rooms to meet their own specific tastes and lifestyles. Creative spaces, gyms, saunas, kitchens – you name it, and someone’s done it. Each individual loft room design is dictated by the existing shape of the property, but modifications can often be made to accommodate designs that are unsustainable within the current structure.
Do I need permission before I build my loft room?
If you’re not making any significant changes to the external roofline of your house, then chances are you don’t need Local Authority planning approval before starting work on your loft room. However, the rules on planning vary from area to area and also according to the type of property in question, so if you live in a recognised conservation area, or if your property is listed, then it’s possible that you’ll need to seek formal permission before carrying out the work. Talk to your Local Authority if you’re unsure – don’t just get on with building your loft room, because you may be asked to undo any changes, as well as receive a fine. A good loft conversion specialist will be well-versed in planning rules and will handle matters on your behalf.
What are building regulations?
Building regulations are rules that govern all types of building work. When creating a habitable loft room, your design will need to comply to building regulations. Building regulations are policed by Local Authority or nominated external Building Control Surveyors, and they’ll need to inspect your work. Again, a competent loft conversion specialist will be used to dealing with Building Control, and will handle this side of things on your behalf as part of their service.