Can my loft be converted?

Wondering if your house is suitable for a loft conversion? Whilst many lofts can be converted through our simple process, there are sometimes obstacles that make it more difficult, or costly, to do.

We cover the factors that make a loft conversion possible (or impossible) to help you work out if your loft can be converted.

Available Headroom

According to building regulations, your loft needs to have a head height of at least 2.2 metres (from the floor to the highest point) to be converted. However, it is best to have more (around 2.4 metres) to allow room for added floor coverings and ceiling finishes.

If you don’t have this much headroom, you still have the option to alter your roof height, but this can come at an extra cost and may require planning permission if it exceeds permitted development.

Room for a Staircase

When you convert your loft, you also need to install a staircase. There should be a minimum of 1.9 metres of headroom at the centre of a flight of loft stairs, and 1.8 metres at the edges, required by building regulations. Of course, you will also need floor space for the bottom of the stairs.

It can cause complications in your loft conversion project when you don’t have enough space to fit a staircase up to the loft. In some cases, you might need to sacrifice a small amount of space in one room to gain more in another.

Roof Pitch Angle

The pitch or angle of your roof affects how much floor space and headroom you have in the loft. Generally, the steeper the better; it is advisable to have a roof pitch of over 30 degrees for a loft conversion.

Changing the pitch of your roof requires major structural works and can therefore be very expensive. If poor head height is preventing you from undertaking a loft conversion, it would be a more cost-effective option to raise the roof.

Roof Type

If your house was built before the 1960s, it is likely to have a traditional cut roof, which has rafters in an ‘M’ shape. This is the easier type of roof to convert as there is already a usable space, compared to the modern trussed roof, in which the rafters form a ‘W’ shape and block off some of the space.

A trussed rafter roof is still able to be converted, it just requires a little more complex work to ensure the roof is fully supported whilst also opening up the space.

Existing Features

There may be various other features or obstacles unique to your home that make a loft conversion a little more complicated.

For example, if your house has a chimney stack, you may want to remove this to create more space within the loft. Or, if your water tank is in the loft, this will most likely need to be relocated or removed to allow for more usable space. These works should be done under expert guidance and will inevitably cost additional time and money.

Consult an Expert

At Crown Developments, we are loft conversion specialists. We have worked on a wide variety of properties and loft types, so we will be able to advise on whether your loft can be converted easily or if there are other factors at play. Get in touch to arrange a consultation and receive a free, no-obligation quote.

Back to blogs Back to blogs Back to blogs