Loft Conversion Ideas

The walls

The new floor must be supported by load bearing walls adequate to carry the new loads and must have a suitable foundation.

A full structural appraisal by an appropriately qualified professional is therefore recommended.

Fire resistance of the walls, both new and existing, is again of major importance and expert advice will again be needed.

Depending on the layout, the new doors will have to be fire doors or in some cases existing doors ‘fitted with’ self-closing devices.

Generally any existing glazing contained in the walls of the stairway enclosure must be replaced by fire resistant glass.

In the case of the walls to a dormer window it will be necessary to ensure they are suitably weatherproofed and insulated.

If the dormer is close to an adjoining property it will be necessary to provide additional fire protection to this element from both inside and outside.

The preferred access to the new room should be via a traditional straight flight of stairs with landing top and bottom.

Spiral staircases, fixed ladders and alternating tread stairs are considered in special circumstances, however only where there is insufficient space to accommodate a standard stair.

Suitable guarding & handrails must be provided to the stairs and adequate headroom maintained, usually measured at two metres vertically above the flight.

If you have established that your loft can be converted, the other major design issue is access.

One of the largest areas of extra expense when considering loft living is the fitting of a staircase.

In three storey designs, because of fire regulations, you ideally want to position the top staircase close to the lower one and this can rather limit your room layouts.

When converting loft space in an existing house the normal staircase regulations are relaxed somewhat to allow for various space saving designs such as the alternate tread staircase.

However, where you have the space available, a traditional staircase is the preferred option - it is cheaper and far more practical. It is not always an easy matter to design a traditional staircase under a sloping roof - you may well find that the top of the staircase ends up in the centre of your loft living space which may make the subsequent room division tricky.

Each case needs to be examined on its merits but the more space you have at your disposal, the greater the number of workable solutions.

Occasionally, you will be faced with a situation where the disruption caused by fitting a second staircase is so great that it outweighs the benefits of converting the loft.

If you cannot see where you would fit a second staircase, it might be worth hiring a designer to look at the problem. It is surprising how many variations you can work into a floorplan.

Contact Attic Designs of Wellington, Somerset for all your attic and loft conversions and issues. Call 0500 275276 NOW.

Attic Designs offer a full loft & attic design, build & fitting service. Attic Designs have converted all types of lofts, in all kinds of homes.  

Attic Designs are also part of the Federation Of Master Builders which highlights their excellence in skilled work and reliability.

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