What makes a converted loft officially an extra bedroom?

Cheeselady

kk20 wrote: »

If there are no building regs then your mortgage provider may ask you for an insurance indemnity policy. Planning permission breaches also have a time limit with regard to enforcement. If it has been like that for years (and can be proved - possibly if you moved into the house with it already there) then you are fine.

Building regs are more important. If you put your foot through the floor and the roof falls in then your insurance might not pay out. Building regs prove that the work is safe and to standard, planning permission shows that you are allowed to do the work. Most modern loft conversions dont need planning permission but the building regs still stand - it needs to be both safe and up to standard (floor strength, emergency exits etc as has already been mentioned)

We won't be having a mortgage, we are cash buyers. Thanks, all this information is a great help, appreciate it.

JQ.

We're actually in the process of converting our loft. The previous owner had originally converted it into a recording studio - there was a pull down ladder, boarded floor and walls, lights, electricity and an actual soundproofed recording studio - essentially a box with very thick insulated walls, floor and celing. The studio was actually quite a heavy structure and had been professionally built, so we had always assumed the floor to the loft had already been strengthened - it had not.

No matter how good things look - don't forget that the reason people don't get building regs is to cut costs and one of the biggest is strengthening the floor. We have literally ripped everything out of the loft and started again.

We're now having a full loft conversion with 2 large dormas and it's costing around £26k. It would have been cheaper if we'd only had 1 dorma, but the second one massively increases the useable size of the room.

Hope that helps

poppysarah

Think fire.

In a smoke filled house can someone safely get down from there in the dark?

Think kids bouncing about on floors.
What would happen if they fell through?

Think too much weight in roof space and supporting beams chopped out thus pushing walls of house out.
House falls down, takes everyone with it.

Building regs are there to stop really obvious problems like these.

Cheeselady

JQ. wrote: »

We're actually in the process of converting our loft. The previous owner had originally converted it into a recording studio - there was a pull down ladder, boarded floor and walls, lights, electricity and an actual soundproofed recording studio - essentially a box with very thick insulated walls, floor and celing. The studio was actually quite a heavy structure and had been professionally built, so we had always assumed the floor to the loft had already been strengthened - it had not.

No matter how good things look - don't forget that the reason people don't get building regs is to cut costs and one of the biggest is strengthening the floor. We have literally ripped everything out of the loft and started again.

We're now having a full loft conversion with 2 large dormas and it's costing around £26k. It would have been cheaper if we'd only had 1 dorma, but the second one massively increases the useable size of the room.

Hope that helps

Amazing, isn't it, that they would go to all that trouble, and not even think about the fact they and their recording studio could end up falling into the bedroom below? :eek: We will definitely be checking it all out properly, thank God for MSE forums like this one, where we can find out info about these things!

poppysarah

Cheeselady wrote: »

Amazing, isn't it, that they would go to all that trouble, and not even think about the fact they and their recording studio could end up falling into the bedroom below? :eek: We will definitely be checking it all out properly, thank God for MSE forums like this one, where we can find out info about these things!

You can look up on the councils site if they have building regs for it usually.
If you ring and ask the council then the homeowner may get a visit from the council building control man who might inspect the work, and tell them to fix it.
Whilst this prevents you from getting an indemnity certificate it would mean the house was sorted out - although the owners might not be impressed.


A surveyor (structural) will tell you what they would want to look at to ensure it's safe - usually removing flooring and ceiling.

Also got to consider insulation in the room too - not enough and its freezing in winter and too hot on days like today.

Owain_Moneysaver

Cheeselady wrote: »

Thanks, lol, I actually got goosebumps reading that! My 'child' is actually nearly 18, but yep can see what you are saying, need to seriously think about this now, as the the loft was going to be his bedroom, so not sure what to do now.

Lying in bed after a few beers with headphones in his ears so he can't hear a smoke alarm isn't going to help him either. Cigarettes, anything else that might be smoked by him or his visitors, or candles, increase the fire risk too.

And he will be wearing headphones because with no proper doors and no acoustic insulation in your ceiling you will hear everything that goes on up there.

With no/poor insulation you might as well ask your son to sleep in a garden shed. It's be about as warm in winter (and cool in summer).

This summary may be useful.

This news may be slightly worrying. firefighters could not access the loft as the hatch space was too narrow.

So if your son's only unconscious with the toxic fumes and not yet dead, the brigade won't be able to pull him out anyway.

Owain_Moneysaver

Cheeselady wrote: »

as the the loft was going to be his bedroom, so not sure what to do now.

Walk away and find another house. There are plenty out there. Preferably find one that hasn't been bodged about and to which you can add your own, properly done and compliant, loft conversion, which will add value to the house, rather than paying for someone else's mistake.

Cheeselady

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Lying in bed after a few beers with headphones in his ears so he can't hear a smoke alarm isn't going to help him either. Cigarettes, anything else that might be smoked by him or his visitors, or candles, increase the fire risk too.

And he will be wearing headphones because with no proper doors and no acoustic insulation in your ceiling you will hear everything that goes on up there.

With no/poor insulation you might as well ask your son to sleep in a garden shed. It's be about as warm in winter (and cool in summer).

This summary may be useful.

This news may be slightly worrying. firefighters could not access the loft as the hatch space was too narrow.

So if your son's only unconscious with the toxic fumes and not yet dead, the brigade won't be able to pull him out anyway.

You pain a very good picture. :eek: Well, we will definitely be doing all the necessary checks/research on this, and if the loft isn't going to be safe for him to use them we won't be buying the house - simple as that!

poppysarah

Cheeselady wrote: »

You pain a very good picture. :eek: Well, we will definitely be doing all the necessary checks/research on this, and if the loft isn't going to be safe for him to use them we won't be buying the house - simple as that!

It isn't. You don't have to do more checks.

If you've said it's not got proper stairs it isn't.


Unless you want to go the whole route making it safe - in which case buy a similar un-done house and do it from scratch properly.

JimmyTheWig

I agree with poppysarah.
If what you want is a great loft for storage it sounds like you've found one.
If what you want is an extra bedroom then you haven't.