UKH

We’re getting a loft conversion and had plans drawn up by an architect and all the structural calculations done by an engineer.

The architect said the next step is to put the plans through building regulations.

We are aiming to make the room meet all building regulations an additional bedroom would need, except the height above the centre of the staircase. It needs to be off-centre so we don’t get the required height (can’t change roof profile either).

Given we’re 99% sure we can’t class it as a bedroom, I’m wondering if it is worth paying the extra £600 for building regs approval.

Are there benefits that we would miss if we didn’t do them given we’re essential going to have a liveable “storage” room?

If/when you come to sell it, you might put off a few potential buyers if you don't have the required approvals and the conversion isn't compliant. I had a very similar situation when I bought my current house which had recently had an attic conversion done, but I knew the new stair to it (and several other alterations) weren't compliant, didn't have permissions etc. Add to that a 'non-standard construction' meant I could present a fairly decent, informed offer to the sellers. There was allegedly only one other party interested despite many viewings but it's hard to know how many others were put off by the lack of a building warrant.

How compromised is the headroom on your stair? I've not submitted warrant applications on domestic buildings for decades (I'm an architect btw) but you used to be able to put in for a 'relaxation' with mitigations for why the design couldn't comply. This is in Scotland so your procedures might be different, depending on where you're located.

As the previous poster said compliance  will be useful / essential when selling. So go with it. Any buyers solicitor / buyers mortgage company will no doubt want it. 

Thanks for the replies. We are in England.

So i assume it isnt just a pass/fail then? We will be able to get confirmation that insulation, load ratings etc are all up to scratch? Just maybe not as everything to confirm it can be a bedroom.

On the ceiling height, the apex is 2.05m and we will be off centre with a normal pitched roof. I cant remember the exact height, but i think the clearance in the centre of the stairs when it enters the room would be approx 1.7-1.75m.

We could maybe alter designs to bring it into the middle but it would be a bit harder with the landing as it is currently set out.

But, i think, that would then mean we also need fire doors throughout and a wired fire alarm system which would be a lot more work to add on.

I know someone who had to take a chainsaw to a loft conversion, before he could sell it, because it had never had building regs approval. 

I'd strongly recommend whatever do you get BC approval for.  It will likely cause havoc if you ever do come to sell as a surveyor will notice the alteration, so the buyer's solicitor will ask for BC approval which you will then have to try and obtain retrospectively in a rush or see your sale fall through.  Also, your insurance might be affected

So i assume it isnt just a pass/fail then? We will be able to get confirmation that insulation, load ratings etc are all up to scratch? Just maybe not as everything to confirm it can be a bedroom.

Yes that is correct, the response to your application should identify any non-compliant items.

You are also correct in thinking that if your property becomes 3 storey then fire doors will be required to all doors on to the stairs and a wired smoke detection system should be installed.

Rather than using your local authority for the building regulations submission you could consider using an Approved Inspector. They can sometimes, in my experience, be a little more “pragmatic” in their approach. Any final approval notice they issue has the same status as one from a local authority.

is there no way to put a small dormer over the staircase to give you the required headroom?

1750 is pretty low.  You can get away with 1900 for stairs to a loft extension.  Are the stairs designed as part of the architects drawings.  There are loads of online stair builders (stairbox etc) who will design and supply stairs pretty cheaply.  You can play around with the design and might be able to find something to fit (legally)  that doesn’t compromise the rest of the design.  
 

Fire doors and wired smoke detector would probably be miles less expensive that the loss in value a non-compliant extension if you come to sell it.  My building inspector has also said I can just paint my doors with enviroglide (or something like that) rather than replace them.

Thanks for the confirmation, we will definitely go ahead in that case 🙂

Unfortunately we are in a conservation area so can’t change the pitch of the roof at all. Only some velux on the rear of the house.

For the stairs we decided to use the landing cupboard to fit in the staircase so we don’t need to alter the shape of other bedrooms. So we are a little constrained on the position of the staircase. We might be able to move it a bit to have it more above the existing staircase but it would depend on its impact on the head height for that one.

That could potentially mean we bring the staircase out in the apex of the roof to get the height. Our neighbour has the same setup and it doesn’t feel bad once you’re in the room. Height at the apex is 2.05m.

With regards to wired alarms, is that hugely disruptive in terms of having to take up carpets and floorboards?

I don't know about England but in Scotland you can use inter-connected, wireless detectors. They're much easier and less disruptive to install and are good for 10 years before you need to replace them. I think I paid about £200-250 for 3x smoke and 1x heat detector a couple of years ago and mounted them myself.

Probably Envirograf, if it's intumescent paint you're thinking of. 

That’s the one.  I don’t know what the finish is like because I haven’t done it yet.  But it’s cheaper than replacing 4 doors with fire doors!

We already had wired alarms so wasn’t an issue.  Given that you’ll be having electricity up in the loft though the first and second floor won’t be an issue.

I think you have to have a separate circuit on your fuse board for the smoke alarm so probably a bit more electrical work than you’d hoped.  Obviously it will depend on your existing set up but I would have thought it will be a drop in the ocean compared to the disruption the rest of the build will cause.

I've done two loft conversions (built them myself with full building regs compliance) so a few thoughts on your situation.

Is the lack of headroom because a purlin is in the way? These could possibly be moved or replaced with thinner steel beams.

If you have particularly deep rafters could you put a velux window over the part where headroom is too low?

There's no blanket ban on dormers in conservation areas, so that is an option. It will depend on its location on the roof, its design and to some extent, the whim of your planning department but could be worth investigating.

I only had to fit fire doors to the loft rooms in my conversions because I fitted mains wired/battery backup interlinked smoke alarms. I think inspectors interpret the rules in different ways to achieve compliance so it depends if you get a stickler for the rules or not, but the regs aren't always as black and white as you might think. My inspector's view was that if you insist on automatic door closers people just take them off once they've got the cert (because they're a pain in the arse) and if you insist on fire doors throughout people leave them open anyway and some put the old doors back on once they've got the cert! Maybe the rules have tightened up in the last 10 years?

A building regs certificate helps when selling but isn't essential. Plenty of houses are sold with a "useful loft room" which doesn't fully comply, though some buyers will be put off.

I'd definitely go for the Approved Inspector route rather than the local authority, they will almost certainly be cheaper and given how ridiculously lax the inspection regime is (inc local authority) you'll wonder what exactly you're paying for anyway. They will also have more incentive to find a way for your conversion to "squeeze through" the regs, if it doesn't, they don't get paid. But be upfront about the issue with them at the start and see if they can find a way to help you pass.

I used their intumescent paint and varnish on a small domestic job about 20 years ago and the finish was terrible,  the varnish was like treacle and the paint like artex.

But fast forward to 2018-19 and I had to use it again on a major heritage project. The newer stuff is better by a country mile, very smooth and consistent and easier to apply. You don't notice any difference from regular varnish and paint, so I can definitely recommend it. 

Thanks - that’s good to know.  The doors could do with a new coat of paint anyway

I bought a house with a loft conversion without building reg approval. It never bothered me in the slightest. Its extraordinarily common, I wouldn't be overly concerned personally. Obviously some might be concerned but terraces in the north almost all have loft conversions and I'd bet less than 10% have been fully signed off. 

Might not be of use but last time I checked, and things have changed a bit, the regs for mezzanines are significantly relaxed compared to a whole new floor. If it's office/storage type space you want that might be worth a thought.

That said, if you can fit genuinely livable space up there I'd look at putting a compliant stair in and jumping through the hoops. Put off the decorating and it could always quietly get bumped to one side a year down the road...

There's probably a clever legit solution. The regs for spirals allow for very compact stairs vs a normal winder.

Jk

We bought a terrace in Sheffield in 2005 with an attic conversion with no building regs approval. Our solicitor didn't mention anything. When we sold it in 2008, the buyer's solicitor brought it up and asked us to pay an indemnity insurance. We effed and jeffed for a couple of hours then asked how much that insurance would be. It was only £70 so we just paid it and laughed at how wound up we'd got about it. But I bet things have changed since then.

Indemnity insurance against these things is dirt cheap and still is. Last year friend sold his house with 2 velux roof windows I'd helped him install some years ago. He didn't bother with building regs because the cost seemeed excessive and at the time he didn't plan to sell, but then things changed and he did sell it. He had to pay £25 indemnity insurance, considerably cheaper than getting a building regs certificate.