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?

Dan Green wrote:
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?

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

Dan Green wrote:
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?


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.)

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

Lobster wrote:

Dan Green wrote:
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?

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.

For example:

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6...ct2193soo1.jpg

I 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?

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

"Dan Green" wrote:
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?

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

Al Reynolds