Lofts of London Ltd

Making a garage into a liveable space isn't just a case of moving your furniture into it. Here's the basic process you can expect of jobs required during a garage conversion.

To install drainage if you are adding a shower room if required
Level, insulate and damp-proof the floor.
Infill the garage door to create a solid wall if required & add a widow for extra light
Insulate the walls and the roof
1st fix electrical cables for lights, switches & sockets
1st fix pipework for additional heating or shower room if required
Plasterboard and plaster
Decorate
Install floor coverings
Install skirtings, architraves & door
2nd fix lights, switches & sockets
2nd fix heating/shower room

Will I Need Planning Permission?
The majority of loft conversions are successfully carried out under Permitted Development (PD) without the need for a formal planning application.

A typical PD-compliant design might have discreet rooflights fitted flush to the front roof slope with a large projecting dormer window added to the rear. This type of design effectively maintains the property’s appearance from the street, so it looks virtually unchanged.

For conversions with more prominent roof extensions, loft conversions or dormers added to the front or side, you will need to apply for planning permission

Planning consent will also be required for loft conversions to listed buildings, properties located in Conservation Areas and lease hold flats and in cases where PD Rights have been removed by the council.

Is My Loft Big Enough?
To be suitable for conversion to living accommodation, it helps if you’ve got a sizeable roof space to start with.

A simple way to calculate this is by measuring the gross internal floor area of all the existing top floor rooms under the loft you want to convert.

Most lofts can provide at least 20m2 of gross floor area which, on paper, should be more than enough for a double bedroom. However, not all of this space will be useable. A lot depends on the roof pitch – as a rule, the steeper the better.

The net amount of usable floor area for new loft room(s) can be calculated by deducting the space lost around the edges near the eaves where height is less than about 1.2m, and then making an allowance for the new loft stairwell, plus obstacles like chimney breasts.

Can I Convert My Loft if it Doesn’t Have Much Headroom?
Can I convert my loft?

The main ‘pinch-point’ with loft conversions can be summed up in a single word - headroom.

To see whether your loft makes the grade, simply stand under the highest point of the roof, usually in the centre of the loft, and check whether there is at least 2.8m clear vertical space.

This may sound overly ambitious, but the available space will shrink once the new floor structure is constructed and the rafters are lined with thick layers of insulation.

If your loft passes this test, you’re off to a flying start. Even if the amount of full height headroom is largely restricted to the centre part of the loft, it’s usually possible to add a large box dormer to dramatically extend the usable floor area.

Where there is insufficient headroom in a loft, things get a bit trickier.

However, there are still possible solutions:

First, there’s nothing to stop you from applying for planning permission to substantially enlarge the roof by raising its height. However, the chances of success are generally not great, particularly in semi-detached and terraced houses (even with the benefit of recently relaxed PD rights)

A more pragmatic solution that has the advantage of retaining the existing roof profile is simply to borrow some ‘spare’ headroom from the rooms directly below. Here the existing bedroom ceilings are taken out and rebuilt at a lower level as part of the new loft floor structure.
But for this to work, you need generous existing ceiling heights.

Where Will the Loft Stairs Go?
The next big test of suitability is how the loft stairs can be made to fit within the confines of your home.

If it turns out that you need to sacrifice an existing bedroom to accommodate the new staircase it might not make sense to proceed, particularly if you’re only gaining one relatively small new bedroom in the loft.

The most efficient place to locate new loft stairs is normally above the existing flight. If they can be designed to surface at the perimeter of the new loft room, it should help maximise available living space.

Unfortunately, this location often clashes with a roof slope, in which case the solution may be to construct a new dormer directly above to provide the necessary headroom.

Is my loft suitable for conversion - loft stairs

Moving the stairs to a more central position can sometimes work, but you normally want to avoid them ascending plum in the middle of new loft accommodation and spoiling the desired layout.

Keep in mind that loft stairs typically need to be constructed with a small enclosed fire-lobby either at the top or bottom, so this will need to be taken into account when designing the living space.

Ensure Your Loft Can Comply With Fire Regulations
One of the most challenging aspects of any loft conversion project is compliance with fire regulations.

Conventional two-storey houses are generally more straightforward to convert, primarily requiring an ‘escape corridor’ leading down to the main entrance door.

The main challenge here is in properties with open-plan ground floors, which are likely to need partitioning to create a new fire-resistant entrance and hallway.

Some properties are more challenging to convert than others. Detached houses have advantages, such as not worrying about party walls and generally benefiting from larger lofts.

Check for suitability
Obtain an estimate (At least 3)
Choose a company
Site survey
Plans drawn up
structural calculations supplied
Party wall agreements put in place
Apply for building regulations
Scaffold erected
Steels/rsj's Installed
Rear roof removed If you are having a dormer conversion
Hip of roof removed if having a hip to gable
Floor timbers Installed
Dormers constructed
Flat roof constructed
Felt, batten & tile the exterior
Facia's Installed
Flat roof coverings
Guttering Installed
Velux's Installed
1st fix electrics Installed
1st fix plumbing
Floor laid
Stairs Installed
Shower tray/shower valve Installed
Windows Installed
Plaster boarding
Plastering
Skirtings, architraves, fire doors Installed
Tiling shower room
Painting
2nd fix shower room
2nd fix electrics
2nd fix heating
lay floor coverings
Remove scaffold

Lofts of London who were established in 2019. With over 35 years’ experience, we provide professional, trustworthy building services to customers throughout South & West London and Surrey

We give a 10 year structural guarantee
All our work is signed off by local authority building control inspectors and a completion certificate is supplied and kept on file with the local authority, electrical and gas certificates are supplied.
All our suppliers guarantee all materials they supply to us.
We are always available should you have teething problems.

Meeting people and full filling there dreams
I love the flexibility that comes with my work
Work-life balance
I can make a positive impact on peoples way of living

I simply love what I do for a living
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