When is a loft conversion a bedroom

These regulations include:. If you decide to do a loft conversion that complies with the necessary building regulations, it can definitely add value to your home. If your loft conversion also applies to the specific bedroom guidelines, you can safely upgrade your housing listing from a 3 bedroom property to a 4 bedroom property!

Here at Ladders UK Direct, we offer a wide range of loft staircases, designed to help you get your loft conversion underway. If you're unsure which loft staircase is right for you, why not drop us an email? Trade Account. Account Compare Basket Browse. Professional Platform Step Ladders with Handrails. If you are in any doubt about planning permission always contact an architect or builder for advice. For added peace of mind you can apply to your local council for a lawful development certificate — read more here.

Building regulations are the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. They ensure that any work carried out is safe, healthy and high performing. Whether or not your loft conversion requires planning permission, it will always need building regulations approval covering the range of alterations necessary to transform it into a liveable space.

This includes everything from structural integrity new floor joists, for example, to support the weight of the new room to fire safety mains-powered, interlinked smoke alarms and fire-resisting doors. A detailed explanation of building regulations approval is available here but consider the following:. The above provides a rough idea of cost. The overall price really depends on the vision you have for your project, both in terms of structural change and interior design and fittings.

Other relevant factors include:. Never underestimate the importance of finding the right tradespeople to carry out your loft conversion. Depending on the scale of your project, you might want an architect or designer to start by producing drawings. From there you can put the building work out to tender. Personal recommendations are a good starting point. Check online reviews and forums and ask to see examples of previous conversions.

As with all building projects, plan meticulously and think ahead. Summer is a good time to carry out building work, especially if you are making structural changes to the roof. If you want your project completed by autumn, you will need to start planning in the spring. According to recent research carried out by the Federation of Master Builders — the largest trade association in the UK construction industry — you should expect to wait at least four months for a quality builder to become available.

Add to this the length of time a loft conversion project is likely to take and it amounts to around six-and-a-half months in total. You could also opt for the full design-and-build service that many companies offer. There are eight steps to this. The early stages cover planning research, production of planning level drawings, submission of plans to the local authority and start of the party wall process with neighbours if required.

This results in the production of structural drawings. The next stage is production of Building Regulations drawings. At City Lofts London all customers are required to have working drawings completed, although these are usually an optional process.

In essence they are a construction manual for the builder on how to build the loft as specified by the client. This could include instructions on types of switch or finishes. These are details which help to avoid any confusion between different parties later on.

Once the party wall process is concluded and building control appointed, the homeowner is ready to start their loft. They should sign a contract with the company that they have instructed to carry out the work. The building phase then starts with the preliminaries, including all the essential materials needed to build. At the end of the project there is a final inspection. This is followed by final payment and issuing of a building control completion certificate.

Whichever conversion you choose, and build route you take, seeing your loft transformed into liveable space is the ultimate reward for all your hard work. Embrace the challenge of unusual angles and sloping ceilings with carefully chosen fixtures and fittings. Be sure to choose an interior design scheme that gives the impression of light and space. Once a bed is in the room, you must be able to open the door fully and walk the entire length of one side of the bed, and it must have planning consent and Building Regulations approval.

Your plans may have implications for the insurance that cover your home. Your extra room need to pass building regulations to be called a 'habitable' space. After that, what counts as a bedroom is more in the eye of the beholder, although estate agents may follow their own rules on what can be called a bedroom. From an insurance point of view, it's worth considering that adding an extra room can change the assessment of cost to rebuild your home for insurance purposes.

Converting a loft may not change the assumptions that you current building insurance is based on, but it might. The same applies to converted basements, which can be significantly more expensive to replace. You should talk to you buildings insurer about the changes you are making. Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use.

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I can't get planning permission for my loft conversion - but if a bed still fits in, can I call it a 'bedroom' anyway? Duration: years. But when it comes to being a bedroom, a converted loft room cannot be called a bedroom merely because it offers enough space to fit a bed in, or because one has been put in there: a loft needs to be converted for the purposes of being a sleeping area, and in accordance with building regulations, in order to be called a bedroom.

General building regulations for loft conversions mainly require attention to be paid to structure and safety elements which will create a new space which is fit for non-specific household use.

Such regulations will generally set out minimum requirements to ensure:. So far, so good but if your loft conversion is going to be used as a bedroom, additional regulations and requirements need to be adhered to, in respect of:. In most cases and areas of the UK, converting a loft room will almost certainly add value to your property — even if the space has only been converted in accordance with basic regulations and is used as a general storage space.

But when a two bedroomed property is converted into a three bedroomed with a fully signed off, regulation-compliant loft conversion providing the additional bedroom, the property can then be fully valued as a three bedroomed home. If you are looking to rent or purchase a home in the city, speak to our estate agent London today. We can help you find a home in the heart of London. Contact our Soho office on , fill in the form below or pop in to our office on Broadwick Street and we can point you in the right direction.

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