LOFT CONVERSIONS
LOFT CONVERSION'S ,CELLAR CONVERSION'S, LOFT BOARDING'S
CELLAR CONVERSION
LOFT CONVERSION
GARAGE CONVERSION
LOFT BOARDING
Many owners wish that they had larger houses with more living space - but perhaps do not have the space for traditional a house extension.
A Loft Conversion or loft extension can provide an extra bedroom or perhaps a study or workroom for your house - adding pounds to the value of your home. (normally a loft conversion will add at least the building cost to the value of the house
Building regulations and plans needed.
First Fixing;
The first fix stage takes place after the roof is complete. It consists or windows, doorframes, flooring, window boards, studwork (timber walls), external doors. Stairs Fitted. Also includes locks to external doors.
Second Fixing;
This consists of internal doors, skirting, architraves, Dado rails, kitchens, boxing in, bathrooms, kitchens etc. and airing cupboard slats. Everything required after plastering is complete. Handrail and balustrade to stairs. Wardrobes can be constructed, also shelving, and book cases etc. Locks and latches are fitted to internal doors.
This guide is intended to give general guidance on the requirements relating to loft conversions. This guide assumes an attached, two-storey house, with a new second floor loft room. If your property differs from this example, you should seek further advice
Note: certain requirements will not be imposed on bungalows with a loft room. More onerous requirements will be applied to three storey buildings with loft rooms
Smoke detection
Detectors should be interlinked, mains powered with battery backup, wired to the lighting sub circuit and be installed on all three levels. Generally, detectors should be positioned over the head of the stair, on each landing Further details on smoke detection can be obtained from the Fire Safety Service.
Fire break walls and sound insulation
In the loft there should be walls separating a property from any adjacent property. This wall both prevents fire spreading between properties and also gives sound insulation. Even if an existing wall separates properties, it may need to be upgraded to give adequate sound insulation. Two possible methods are:
Two independent stud walls, with 100mm mineral fibre between and two layers of 12.5mm plasterboard each side. Dense concrete blocks laid as a cavity or solid wall. Even if the existing wall is solid masonry, it may need to be upgraded. Usually the heavier and denser the wall the better sound insulation provided. Sound insulation can be undermined if joints around bricks or blocks are not completely filled with mortar. Also, holes cut for electrical boxes etc. educe the thickness of the masonry and so reduce sound insulation
Air gap insulation
A minimum of a 50mm air gap is needed over any insulation. This is to prevent a build up of condensation. Condensation encourages rot and reduces the effectiveness of insulation. A 50mmair gap and a through flow of air should prevent this through flow of air must be provided by eaves ventilation the equivalent of a continuous 25mmstrip, and ridge ventilation the equivalent of a continuous 5mm strip. The ventilation strip must also have a screen to stop insects from entering the roof. Care should be taken with the type of ventilation strip used. Strips usually are slotted to hold the fly screen in place. This means that a 50mm wide slotted strip will need to be used to be equivalent of a continuous 25mm wide strip. When insulation is installed, care must be taken to make sure the free flow of air is not blocked. The eaves of the existing roof may already have some ventilation. This must be checked, as it may need to be increased to achieve the requirement
f 100mm of insulation is to be used in the ceiling (the sloping part of the roof) and the existing rafters are also 100mm, to maintain the required 50mm air gap it may be necessary to fix 50 x 50 mm battens to the back (underside) of each rafter. Alternatively, a more efficient (thinner) insulation could be used
To help reduce potential for condensation forming in the roof space, a 500 micron-vapor barrier should be used behind the plasterboard, especially over bathrooms
Room Ventilation
Room ventilation is required to all habitable rooms. This is to prevent and remove unpleasant living conditions. To this end, the following must be provided An open able window area equal to 1/20th of the floor area be provided as rapid ventilation Background ventilation equal to 8000mm² Bathrooms require mechanical extraction at least equal to 15 litres/second
Headroom
There is no requirement regarding headroom in loft rooms (except to stairs and landings). However, headroom should be carefully considered. Floor joist sizes, allowances for deflection, decking thickness, battening of rafters, plasterboard thickness all have an effect on the overall headroom within the loft room. This may make the new loft room unusable when complete
Stairs
Stairs must have the rise (r) and going (g) relationship (2r + g) which must be between 550mmand 700mm. The maximum pitch for a stair is 42 degrees Headroom on a stair and landings must be at least 2m, this can be reduced on stairs to 1.9m at the centre and 1.8m at the outside edge (but not landings). There is no minimum stair width, but a stair less than 600mm wide will be difficult to negotiate, particularly with furniture. Handrails on the stair should be between 900mm and 1100mm above the pitch line. Balusters should not allow a 100mm sphere to pass through and must not be readily climbable by children
Glass and glazing
Any glazing on the escape route (generally, not external windows, wc’s or bathrooms) must behalf hour fire resisting) normally Georgian wired glass is suitable) and must be installed with a beading system compatible with the glass used Any glazing (both internally and externally) including doors and windows in certain critic allocations (typically low level, adjacent or in doors), must be toughened and/or be of safety glazing
Safety Glazing
Safety glazing must be provided in doors, windows adjacent to doors and windows at low level.
Completion certificates
At the end of a satisfactory job, you will receive a Building Regulations completion certificate. Usually this is issued directly to the homeowner, or to the builder to present to the homeowner along with the final account. With either method, it is very important the completion certificate is issued. This certificate not only demonstrates that the work complies with all current Building Regulations, but also will be required in a future property sale.
GARDEN DECKING AND FENCING
