A loft conversion or an attic conversion is the process of transforming an empty

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a ''loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

space or

loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

into a functional room, typically used as a

bedroom A bedroom or bedchamber is a room situated within a residential or accommodation unit characterised by its usage for sleeping and sexual activity. A typical western bedroom contains as bedroom furniture one or two beds (ranging from a crib f ...

office An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific ...

space, a

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...

, or storage space. Loft conversions are one of the most popular forms of home improvement in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

as a result of their numerous perceived benefits. The installation of a loft conversion is a complicated process, and whilst it may be possible to attempt a '

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

' loft conversion, the large amount of work involved often results in many people choosing to contract a specialist loft conversion company to undertake the task. Another type of loft conversion is converting non-residential spaces (most commonly warehouses, docks, former factories or water towers) into habitable homes. This form of loft conversion has its origins in the USA. This form of loft first became popular in the

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was deve ...

section of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

during the 1960s. Artists created living spaces on the upper levels of obsolete industrial buildings, sometimes located in the heart of the city. In the pioneering period of lofts, most SoHo buildings were not zoned as residential and the lofts were being used illegally as living space. In 1971, New York City legalised the residential use of space in SoHo, and loft living became popular throughout the neighbourhood. Loft living spread to other previously industrial

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

neighbourhoods including

TriBeCa Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stree ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

Feasibility

The first stage of any loft conversion is a close inspection of the loft space to find out its exact dimensions and whether conversion is feasible. On entering the loft one needs to establish if there is adequate room under the ridge of the roof. A measurement of 2.3 metres is required to allow enough headroom, although you may find that you can still get a useful room from as little as 7 feet (2.1 metres), and there must be at least 2 metres clearance above the position of the access stairs. Due to the slope of the

roof A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of t ...

and the required access headroom, the feasibility of a loft conversion is dependent upon a minimum height of approximately 2.2 m (7 ft 6 in) measured from the joist to the apex. Providing that this requirement is met, most properties will likely possess the potential to have the loft space converted.

Types

2015 saw a surge in demand for loft conversions by homeowners in the UK as a result of the new and simplified planning regulations. There are different types of loft conversions chosen because of price, space available, aesthetic appeal, property style, the height of the roof, and the planning permission required. In London, there are many types of loft conversions, and the most popular of these is, Dormer conversion, Mansard conversion, Hip, to Gable conversion, Velux, or Roof window conversion. The least popular choices are Gambrel conversions and Hipped Roof conversion.

Roof window conversion

Roof

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent mat ...

s are often an attractive option for homeowners due to their ability to fit into the line of the roof; thus not necessitating any restructuring of the roof itself. The installation of such windows will provide the loft space with substantial

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 t ...

. In the UK, a roof window conversion can often be completed under permitted development rights and will not require planning permission, although they will always require building regulation approval.

Dormer conversion

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable spac ...

is a window-featured extension of the roof, usually installed to provide more space and headroom within the loft, in addition to improved staircase access. The dormer conversion is constructed in a way that it projects from the plane of a sloping roof. It is built with vertical walls and a horizontal ceiling, providing a more spacious room for your house. For a cohesive look, the dormer should match the existing roof. Dormers are also popular due to the aesthetic enhancement to a property that they provide. In the UK, the installation of a dormer is subject to planning permission requirements from the local authorities only when certain rules aren't met. Most dormer conversions come under permitted development. File:Front Dormer 8.jpg, Mobilisation to site, start of dormer extension File:Front Dormer 1.jpg, Start of dormer conversion. Tiles and felt stripped off File:Front Dormer 2.jpg, Tiles, felt and wood battens stripped off from inside File:Front Dormer 4.jpg, Dormer extension with tiles and felt stripped off and wood battens removed File:Front Dormer 3.jpg, Wood structure progress from inside File:Front Dormer 5.jpg, Window frame structure complete File:Front Dormer 6.jpg, Dormer extension almost complete from outside File:Front Dormer 7.jpg, Dormer extension plastered from inside

Mansard loft conversion

This loft conversion pays tribute to the famous

French Architect The following is a chronological list of French architects. Some of their major architectural works are listed after each name. Middle Ages Étienne de Bonneuil (late 13th century) * Uppsala Cathedral, Sweden Jean de Chelles (13th century ...

of the 17th century, Francois Mansard by picking his name. This type of conversion is constructed by raising roof’s sloping side to an almost vertical side. It is similar to the flat dormer since it has a flat roof, although the windows are housed in a smaller dormer. The mansard loft extension is a more appealing option to the dormer conversion as it gives the house a better look. The challenge to this type of loft conversion is that it requires planning permission due to the enormous changes to the shape and structure of the house. This loft conversion is a common choice as it maximizes space to create an additional room with the loft built at the rear end of the house with a flat roof and back wall sloping at a 72-degree angle, and windows housed in small dormers that extend from the roof.

Hip-to-gable loft conversion

With the

having the smallest room sizes when compared to Ireland and other European countries, and with space getting smaller with new builds, the hip-to-gable loft conversion has become a popular choice as the spaces have small internal volume. It is the most innovative way to maximize small spaces. This conversion requires planning permission as it means structural alterations to the roof. The size of the room is increased and allows for more headroom by extending the roof's ridgeline from its existing hips to the end of the vertical wall and altering the side of the house that’s into a flat end gable.

Hipped-roof conversion

This conversion type got its name from the hipped roof that is a result of changing the side hip into a vertical one because the building has a sloping roof. This conversion increases the size of functional space that was limited by the sloping roof of a house. However, depending on the extent of conversion to be done, this type of conversion falls under permitted development.

Gambrel conversion

The word gambrel is gotten from the Latin word "gamba", and it means horse legs. Initially, for designing domestic roofs and barns in America, this loft conversion design is now used because of its elegant aesthetic and the increased living and storage space. Very similar to a Mansard conversion, this conversion type has two-sided roofs that are symmetrical, and both sides have two slopes, and vertical gable ends. For the two slopes, one has a shallow angle while the other has a steep angle. For most conversion type of this nature, there is planning permission required.

Velux loft conversion

The design of Velux loft conversion is easily fitted as only one of the present rafters is clipped out for each window. Due to easy design, the existing roof is remained unbroken and results in a shorter build time with slight invasion. You can think of this type of loft conversion if your roof has plenty of available headroom and the cost of Velux loft conversion is very low and the build time period is also minimal.

Regulations

Building control regulations

Building control regulations will almost always be required if the loft space is being converted into any usable form of accommodation, subject to the local authority requirements. Planning permission may not be required as many conversions fall within the permitted development rights. In some areas of the United Kingdom, known generally as 'designated areas', permitted development rights are more restricted. For example, a Conservation Area, a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a World Heritage Site or the Norfolk or Suffolk Broads. These above will generally have restricted permitted development rights. The local planning authority may have removed some of the permitted development rights with an Article 4 direction, in these cases a planning application will be required. These requirements are in place to ensure that the necessary construction criteria are met and that all health and safety laws, amongst other things, have been satisfied. A professional loft conversion specialist will usually conduct all liaisons with the relevant local authority. Properties which have had change of use from commercial use into homes may not then be able to develop the property further under household permitted development legislation.

Structural strengthening

The existing ceiling joists in most houses are only designed to support the weight of a ceiling, therefore additional support will be required to transfer the loads from the new loft floor to the walls of the house, since the alignment of roof supports would generally need to be altered, causing a significant increase in pressure at specific points on the flooring of the property. A common method used is to install I-beams or

rolled steel joist An I-beam, also known as H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish, Bulgarian, Spanish, Italian and German), is a beam with an or -shaped ...

s (RSJs). These can either be installed in single lengths or in smaller sections which are bolted together. New timber joists are then installed between the RSJs onto which the new floor can be laid. A structural engineer will calculate the size of the RSJs and joists.

Benefits

Loft conversions yield numerous benefits for homeowners, which may be the reason for their increasing popularity. Often, up to 30% of a property’s potential space is located within the loft area. Converting the attic will therefore provide a significant amount of room that may be used for a wide variety of accommodation; often a bedroom, bathroom, office, or entertainment room. In 2016 it was reported that a loft conversion could increase the value of a home by 20% in the UK by Robert Gardner, Chief Economist at Nationwide. Many families also choose to convert their loft area as a means of obtaining more space without having to endure the costly and stressful process of moving property. Key features of former industrial space that makes for attractive use as a loft include high, unfinished ceilings, large windows, exposed brick or cinder block walls and exposed duct work. Many industrial lofts have only partial height walls separating rooms or areas within the space. Some lofts even preserve the industrial-era freight elevators that open into the living space.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loft Conversion Home improvement Real estate in the United Kingdom