Loft conversion survey results

e93

Hi everyone,

We're FTB and just had our building survey done on a Victorian mid terrace. It came up with the usual reds/3s around electrics, gas, damp in cellar that would be expected in an old house but there were a couple of things that we're not sure are bog-standard old-house things or something to be concerned about, especially around the old loft conversion.
1. There is 1 subfloor vent at the front of the house and none at the back "not up to modern standards"
2.  "The roof has been converted into a loft room. This space is classed as not fit for habitation, particularly because it does not comply with modern fire safety regulations; it has no proper means of escape, or a hardwired fire alarm. The floor is also unlikely to be strong enough for habitation, and levels of insulation may be inadequate. As it is not up to current Building Regulation standards, particularly for fire safety, the second floor should only be used for light storage, and it may not be able be marketed as a “bedroom” in any future sale, which may de-value the property." -
I know it doesn't have the fire doors and layout that a new loft conversion would have, it was done years ago (certainly more than 6 years, likely 10+). We would put a fire alarm in there. The comments about the floor are worrying me. It's currently used as a spare bedroom and we would like to use it as an office.
Should we be worried? I know these threads come up all the time, I tried to find answers on other threads but couldn't find quite the same question. Thanks for any help.

seradane

I mean, "not up to modern standards" generally is not something to worry about, as the standards change every couple of years and 99% of houses don't change with them.

As to whether you've got reason to worry, though, is a harder question.

Is the loft room accessed via ladder or an actual stair? 

Do you have any sort of building regs sign off from when the conversion was done?

917700

Q1: I have similar thing in my recent survey report. The air bricks are absent at the rear main walls. To install some air bricks doesn't cost too much. You can arrange a specialist surveyor to lift the floor board and see if there is any damp or joist decay. 

Q2: Is the loft a room? or is the loft currently being used as storage? 

e93

seradane said:

I mean, "not up to modern standards" generally is not something to worry about, as the standards change every couple of years and 99% of houses don't change with them.

As to whether you've got reason to worry, though, is a harder question.

Is the loft room accessed via ladder or an actual stair? 

Do you have any sort of building regs sign off from when the conversion was done?

It's a proper room, accessed by a staircase. Solicitors have asked for building regs but it was done before the current owners (and I believe before the owners before her) and I get the impression the current owners won't have the documents. They have indemnity insurance 

e93

917700 said:

Q1: I have similar thing in my recent survey report. The air bricks are absent at the rear main walls. To install some air bricks doesn't cost too much. You can arrange a specialist surveyor to lift the floor board and see if there is any damp or joist decay. 

Q2: Is the loft a room? or is the loft currently being used as storage? 

It's a room, currently used as a bedroom

seradane

e93 said:

seradane said:

I mean, "not up to modern standards" generally is not something to worry about, as the standards change every couple of years and 99% of houses don't change with them.

As to whether you've got reason to worry, though, is a harder question.

Is the loft room accessed via ladder or an actual stair? 

Do you have any sort of building regs sign off from when the conversion was done?

It's a proper room, accessed by a staircase. Solicitors have asked for building regs but it was done before the current owners (and I believe before the owners before her) and I get the impression the current owners won't have the documents. They have indemnity insurance 

So from what I can tell there are two concerns then:

1. Lack of modern standards classifies the bedroom as uninhabitable and therefore unable to be sold as a bedroom. This isn't currently the case, so I'm assuming this is a caveat that in future when you come to sell the situation may be different.

2. Floor structure. This has probably come from the fact that these loft "floors" were originally built with ceiling joists only, which are not really strong enough to walk on. Most loft conversions however will bulk these up to a sufficient standard before conversion, so it may be worth having a chat with the surveyor over the phone as to whether he has any evidence to believe this was not done - or whether he's just pointing out he has no way of knowing so can't guarantee it.

davidmcn

seradane said:

e93 said:

seradane said:

I mean, "not up to modern standards" generally is not something to worry about, as the standards change every couple of years and 99% of houses don't change with them.

As to whether you've got reason to worry, though, is a harder question.

Is the loft room accessed via ladder or an actual stair? 

Do you have any sort of building regs sign off from when the conversion was done?

It's a proper room, accessed by a staircase. Solicitors have asked for building regs but it was done before the current owners (and I believe before the owners before her) and I get the impression the current owners won't have the documents. They have indemnity insurance

1. Lack of modern standards classifies the bedroom as uninhabitable and therefore unable to be sold as a bedroom. This isn't currently the case, so I'm assuming this is a caveat that in future when you come to sell the situation may be different.

The rest of the house isn't up to modern standards either, doesn't mean you can't call it a house. You can call it (and use it as) a bedroom if you like, it is what it is.

It would be helpful to get more from the surveyor than a comment that the floor is "unlikely" to be strong enough - did they see any indication of problems? If it's been used as a bedroom for a long period then you'd expect any issues to have made themselves known by now.

917700

It's better to arrange a structural engineer survey to inspect attic floor and roof structures. If the floor joists are not strong enough, the roof structures may have issues too.