Mid two story, two bedroom terrace. What are the main requirements for converting attic to 3rd bedroom?

Hi

I have a couple of quotes from builders for converting my loft to a third bedroom. My mid-terrace house has a ground floor and first floor at the moment. Another flight of steps will be put in to lead to the attic bedroom.

One builder mentioned increasing the thickness of the ceiling below to meet building regulations. The other builder didnt mention changing anything outside of the attic space.

Are there basic regulations that have to be met when converting an attic to a third bedroom - fire resistance, ventilations, insulation, fire escape? Are there legal requirements? Will a planning officer come round and ask for it to be changed if it isnt done right?

THanks for any help

R.

Reply to
Tez
Loading thread data ...

Ceiling / Floor has to be made strong enough.

You must have a fire escape route.

All doors and internal walls need to be uprated to 30mins fireproof.

This can make to job expensive.

Rick

Reply to
Rick

The main requirements are as you've listed.

In terms of construction and safety, the Building Regulations apply and are handled by Building Control at your local authority.

You need to make an application to them and they will inspect it, normally at specific stages during the work. if it doesn't meet the requirements they can force it to be corrected.

Planning departments are separate and deal with predominantly aesthetic issues in this context. You may or may not need planning permission as well so should also talk to that department.

Reply to
Andy Hall

Have a look at this very good site by John Rumm, who's a regular here, and which probably answers your queries:

formatting link
also thought there was an FAQ on this topic at
formatting link
but I can't see it now - either it's gone now or I'm losing the plot?

David

Reply to
Lobster

50 sheets of plasterboard up into the loft springs to mind. The sums suggest that the total of 1.2 Tonnes.

So what else is going up the wooden stairs to Bedlington? There must be quite a weight all told.

Reply to
Weatherlawyer

Just as well the top set of stairs were not in at the time, otherwise there is no way we would have got them up there whole!

Hmm, good question... must admit I have never added it up in detail, beyond thiking a "few" of tonnes or so.

The plasterboard was less than half the story (although memorable because it all went up in the space of an hour or so!)...

The render on the outside also represents another tonne or so (although a good deal more when it was wet and wanted carrying up the ladder!). There were about 18 sheets of 18mm ply, so about 300kg at a guess, 500 -

600m of 4x2", and a kin big pile of larger timbers in the floor. 150kg of steel, about 250kg of multifinish plaster, probably over 100kg of tiles and adhesive in the bathroom, 100kg of sanitary ware. I forgot to count how many rolls of roofing felt the roofers used, (3 layers, 20m^2) plus the three or so I used elsewhere - so probably 250kg or more. Over 30kg of fixings I would guess. Even insulation foam adds a bit (some was cork backed). Even the stairs themselves must have been over 100kg.

On the debit side, we did take off 1,200 concrete 9x6" roof tiles - so perhaps 700kg there.

Reply to
John Rumm

What did you get quoted out of interest? What sort of conversion (i.e. how many dormers etc?)

For fire regulations the requirements get more stringent as you go above two storys. So normally they like to see 12mm PB and skim on the first floor ceiling. If you don't have that you can achieve the same result by adding a fire resistant insulating material under the new floor (rockwool etc).

Yup, see above. In addition you will probably need to fit self closers to any habitable rooms that open onto the exit path from the new room. The room itself will need a means of escape window of some sort to allow for the possibility of rescue via a ladder. You will need mains powered interlinked smoke alarms on all three floors. The door to the new room will need to be a FD20 or better fire door, and either have intumescent strips at its edge, or the door stops need to be 25mm thick.

Windows will need either trickle vents, or get the type that have a two position closer that lets them be locked while open a tiny bit.

Lots of. 100mm PIR foam in the walls. 75mm on the pitched roof areas and any flat dormer roof. (these figures may have been changed slightly - see the building regs approved document). Windows will need to be double glazed with suitable air gap and made with K glass.

Not explicitly - just means of escape through the house and the possibility of escape from a window.

All of the above are dictated in the building regs which are legally binding.

Planning officer - probably not. Many loft conversions do not require planning permission unless you plan to make visible changes to the front aspect of the roof line, or you are in a conservation area or it is a listed building. (oddly changing my hipped roof, to a gable end they did not consider as a change to the front aspect - go figure!)

You will need building regs approval. This will entail a full plans submission to the building control department plus payment of the appropriate fee (probably under £300). This will buy you a visit from a BCO before you start, where you can grill him on anything you are unclear about. You then get him back to inspect the floor structure, then the super structure, possibly the insulation, then the access (stairs), and at the end of the build to sign it off and get a completion certificate. They will advise at each stage what they want to see next, so you just give them a call as you complete that bit. You can also phone them any time you need information about regulations or advice on best practice etc.

Reply to
John Rumm

*All* doors and internal walls? I think not, and suggest you read the building regs before posting on the subject again.

MBQ

Reply to
manatbandq

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.