Loft conversions on low pitched roofs

If a semi-detached or end of terrace house has a roof that isn't steep enough to have enough height, is it possible to get a loft conversion done in both planning permission and practical terms?

Is raising the height and/or pitch of the roof a very expensive proposition? What other options are there?

Reply to
Dan Green
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Are you saying that if you did the conversion, there wouldn't be enough floor area of the correct height to make it viable? Or that the pitch is so shallow, that *none* of the floor area would be of the correct height?

If the former, then an option might be to build big flat-roofed dormers into the roof, where the ceiling of the room would extend seamlessly into the dormers.

If the latter, I'd say you're pretty well screwed in practical terms: all I can think of is whipping off the whole roof and then either replacing it with a new one with a steeper pitch, or building up the house wall with several course of bricks and putting on a new roof of the same pitch as the old one. Both would be very expensive compared with a 'normal' conversion.

What ever you did you'd need planning permission; all the above options are possible in theory but would depend very much on your locality.

David

Reply to
Lobster

First - chat with neighbours. I'm quite sure that some would do everything they could to prevent you from messing up their roof - which seems to be inevitable in a terrace or semi.

(You could lower the floor! Sounds silly, but if your upstairs has high ceilings, dropping the ceiling/attic floor might be possible.)

Reply to
Rod

For example:

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count roughly 30 bricks for the height of the first floor (to ceiling) and about 30 bricks for the roof to its steepest point. Hard to say exactly though.

Any comments? How would one proceed with a loft conversion under the circumstances?

Reply to
Dan Green

Hi Dan,

If the final height ends up above the original height of the ridge then planning is always required. Some planning authorities won't even consider it.

Normally you need 2.4m between the top of the plasterboard below and the felt at the ridge to get a room in.

Options are: (1) raise the roof (expensive) (2) completely new roof shape (expensive) (3) drop ceiling below (expensive and disruptive) (4) move house (expensive)

Al Reynolds

Reply to
Al Reynolds

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