aAsk a Tradesman

Hello,
I wonder if someone could advise me. My roof is fairly low in height inside, however I would like to utilise the space either for storage or if by a miracle this could be made into a room space it would be great. I know nothing about this apart from the fact it has to be a certain height to meet regs for a full loft conversion. Any advice on this would be great thanks.

I am in the process of buying a mid terraced house that was advertised as follows:

Terraced home with three double bedrooms

Study Area 10' 6" x 6' 8" ( 3.20m x 2.03m )
uPVC double glazed window to the front aspect. Staircase to access Bedroom 1.

Bedroom 1 13' 6" x 9' 9" ( 4.11m x 2.97m )
Velux window to the front aspect. Fitted wardrobes and additional storage to the eaves. Some restricted head space to this room. Radiator.

etc etc etc (there are 2 other double bedrooms on the first floor and what was a 3rd box room now the study/entrance to loft)

The property is owned by a builder and looks to be in immaculate condition.
However this week when I emailed the estate agent (after the valuation was done) and asked for the Building Regulation Certificate I was informed the owner does not have one.
The estate agent then tried to tell me over the phone that the box/study where the stairs come out of for the loft room is classed as the 3rd bedroom and it is therefore still a 3 bedroom house. However my valuator stated it was a 2 bedroom with loft room.
I feel bit let down and a bit misled by the estate agent and seller.
I have asked to visit this weekend again with my friend who is a building surveyor - but would appreciate any advice/opinions anyone might have on this issue!

I want to use the loft room as my sewing workshop - but I am now worried that if the floor has not been correctly done to standard it would not be suitable.

Any thoughts anyone?!
Emma James

In the rooms just going to have a tv on bracket bed and wardrobe that's it but we was told we Could use wood and do it that way as we are council and can't afford pp and for joists we need that so would that work and be safe please

I bought 4 bedroom house 5 years ago and two of the bedrooms are conversions upstairs in the loft. I have building regs document for a new roof and dormer that were installed by the previous owner, but during recent structural survey (to assess cracks that are appearing above door frames and ceiling) it became evident that the floor joist were not according to the current standard, no floating floor was installed.
And this is now causing problem with the downstairs as well as the floor upstairs is looping and bouncing. The new roof and dormer were installed about 6 years ago.
Can I request Council to take responsibility for not pointing this out during their inspection? I have asked them to send me the I section documents but despite three requests they have not yet done so. I live in North London.

Not sure what I should do, as common sense says that the floor should have been inspected to meet the current building regs standards at the time the new floor and dormer were installed as clearly the space was used to house two bedrooms.

Thank you for any advice you can give.

Hi,

I have looked for answers for this but can't find a definitive one for my circumstances. I'm looking to install tongue and groove boards in my loft to create extra storage space in our flat and am looking for some advice. The storage will be for everything from books to bags and even a couple of bits of small furniture.

We live in a St James new build flat which is on the second floor of a timber framed block of nine flats. The flat is on one end of the building, however the area I will be flooring only touches one edge of the building as there are beams (trusses?) in the way for me to be able to floor the whole area.

Being a new build the loft has extra insulation and I need to keep this. I intend on purchasing loft flooring legs and placing these on the joists, then laying the tongue and groove length ways across the joists (although obviously raised up by the legs).

Is this an acceptable way of flooring the loft in my case? Will the trusses be able to support the weight of tongue and groove as well as the things being put in storage?

An alternative I was considering was pulling up the second layer of insulation, then laying joists at right angles to the current joists, filling the gaps with the insulation, then laying the tongue and groove on top of this. Would this be a better or worse idea?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Rob

We bought a 1950s house which has newly laid loose rockwool insulation to a 27cm depth over the joists in the loft. In order to make this a usable storage area, I wanted to board with loft legs so i can keep the insulation depth and 18 mm tongue and groove chipboard. However, having exposed a section beneath the insulation, it appears that the joists are 330mm apart and I can only seem to find boards at 320 or 325 width. I can swivel the boards in the other direction but this will mean I have to cut 22cm off each board as well. Does anyone have an alternative boarding suggestion or ideas where I can source a board at this width?

im planning on converting my loft into a single bedroom what is the right way to lay the floor boards

Thanks for answering my questions in particular the last one as I could not find an answer for it anywere. I do not know how the new floor level is raised but at least I now know that it is possible.
Thanks again for the your replies.
Brian.

Hi there.. I am looking at beginning a loft conversion in our mid terrace house with the intention of using it as an extra bedroom. I intend to keep it below the 40 cubic meter allowance and will hopefully do some of the labourous work myself. However before I start I would just appreciate some advice on the roof insulation. It is an old terrace house with no felt under the tiles. I have been told by a friend that ive got to have the roof stripped, felted and re tiled which to be honest, gutted me... as that would send my budget spiralling. I have read on here about torching, Will torching be acceptable under building regs and then the insulation fitted inbetween the rafters with a 50mm gap between surface of tile and surface of insulation..?? Thankyou to everyone in advance and anyones advise on this matter would be gratefully received..

hi can i have a Spiral Staircase in a loft conversion as i have a very small space to put the stairs in thanks