Loft conversion regulations

whirlyhead

I bought a house with a converted loft that could not be counted as a bedroom as it didn't meet building requirements - it didn't cause any issues with the survey.  Several years later I did want to make it a usable room (with a door) but in order to comply with building regulations I had to have the whole loft knocked down, the ceilings below lowered and then have it rebuilt.  This cost a small fortune but had to be done to be compliant. When it was knocked down we discovered how badly the original loft conversion had been done and that it was quite dangerous!

eddddy

perfect10 said:

Just wondering whether everything would need to be ripped up to check that everything complies with building regs e.g. reinforced floors, insulation etc. So would be almost like starting again depending what they find?

The biggest problem is likely to be providing a protected fire escape route from the loft to an exit door from the house.

The route needs to be enclosed by fire resistant walls, and all doors opening onto that escape route must be self-closing fire doors.

That could be very difficult to achieve - especially if the house is currently 'open-plan'. It might spoil the character of the house.

For example, it might mean enclosing both the staircases with fire resistant walls, building a fire-resistant corridor from the bottom of the staircase to the exit door etc.