England. . 1906, semi-detached property with purlin and rafter, up and over roof design.
In 2011, a Full Plans Application Dormer with Ensuite were submitted by the architect and approved by the Local Authority. The plan expired due to not starting work within the three-year time scale and through the initial first Building Control Inspection not being completed.
The loft work stopped due to a change in our financial circumstances. We did not understand the importance of the three-year rule as we knew people who had not completed a loft conversion twelve years later. Harsh! However, we still have the plan which might be desirable to future prospective purchasers should we ever sell in the future.
Some of the floor structure was already completed, achieved by carrying lengths of joists up the stairs then lifting them vertically with the tops poking through the roof light and the bottom of them pushed into the loft, and later we replaced the skylight with a Velux.
We asked a time served joiner to recalculate the floor as there was no need for the beams on plates due to not having a heavy dormer with an ensuite. We completed the floor with the help of the time served joiner but strayed from the plan and placed the joists vertically at the side of the original ceiling joists from the front wall to the central wall then to the back wall. We have no certificate.
Following the plan, we added the required amount of fireproof/soundproof mineral insulation between the joists and followed the building regulation guidance due to the heat generated from the ceiling lights below. Then we laid nailed down MDF boards right up to the eaves. We should have screwed it instead, Duh! We took the risk and know this would need to be open in the future should it become a habitable room. We also added a loft hatch with a ladder sourced from B&Q. We are now left with a solid warm, strong floor used for storage and completed to building regulated standards and with the possibility of a future habitable room.
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Years later, We had a reroof with a Velux and breathable membrane. Due to an afterthought, we took the opportunity to add three extra Velux windows as the scaffolding was still in place, to the anger of the roofer as many of the slates were removed, and more timber added to support the additional windows. The roof with 4 Velux windows has been completed to regulation standards by a very patient, professional and sought after roofer. We have no certificate.
Our change for the better in our financial circumstances allowed us to consider if the roofer could help further. He read the submitted plan, and to our regret, he noticed that insulation should have been added to the outer side of the roof due to the finished floor to ceiling height. He was not to know as we never mentioned the plan.
He gathered a team and completed the inner roof area. The rafters upgraded, the foam sheeted insulation recycled and placed back between the rafters, and a quilt of insulation added with rows of batten on the top of it. Also, a timber frame built on the gable end and opposite the party wall. These were left to fill with fibre and soundproof insulation. Then we boarded the room for a plasterer to skim it.
Our son is an electrician, he updated the electrics, and now we have the existing light centred in the room with an additional one where the stairs could go plus two more sockets to make five in total. Now we have a clean room for storage and the possibility of a future bedroom.
The room has no heating. There is a boiler cupboard below with a pipe waiting to be connected that leads from the eaves.
2020, we took the risk of plaster-boarding the whole room, knowing that it would need undoing again to check the quality of the work. A plasterer will finish the room if we decide to have it as a habitable room.
We now have a clean, bright loft for storage with a solid floor, new roof, roof-lights, power and accessed by a loft hatch with ladder and the possibility of adding stairs and heating to make a bedroom built to building regulations.
The question is, will work completed class as meeting current building regulation standards?
Does this matter as building regulations appear to change often, including since when we insulated the loft?
No depth can be added to the floor or roof, as there is 2 metres floor to ceiling height exactly, at the party wall above the hallway (semi-detached with adjoined hallways).
We no longer want to lose the hall rooflight due to fitting the stairs as planned. Instead, we will have to stray from the plan to add a spiral staircase but still in the same room and area of the room. I will use the architect and ensure I get a certificate for this.
Question is, should I invite someone to pass the works, if yes, then who? I believe I should never involve the local authority again due to submitting the plan to them and not following it up. I have never heard anything. We do not understand the loopholes.
Will we have problems selling as a three-bed with glorified storage room with hatch and ladder for access?
Should we complete it as a bedroom with stairs?
We completed a kitchen extension by submitting plans to the local authority and gained a completion certificate, and that was a pleasant experience. It's just the 3-year rule that caused the problem and redundancy. We’ve completed our mortgage now. We would sell for no gain to people like ourselves that need a bit of luck!
In 2011, a Full Plans Application Dormer with Ensuite were submitted by the architect and approved by the Local Authority. The plan expired due to not starting work within the three-year time scale and through the initial first Building Control Inspection not being completed.
The loft work stopped due to a change in our financial circumstances. We did not understand the importance of the three-year rule as we knew people who had not completed a loft conversion twelve years later. Harsh! However, we still have the plan which might be desirable to future prospective purchasers should we ever sell in the future.
Some of the floor structure was already completed, achieved by carrying lengths of joists up the stairs then lifting them vertically with the tops poking through the roof light and the bottom of them pushed into the loft, and later we replaced the skylight with a Velux.
We asked a time served joiner to recalculate the floor as there was no need for the beams on plates due to not having a heavy dormer with an ensuite. We completed the floor with the help of the time served joiner but strayed from the plan and placed the joists vertically at the side of the original ceiling joists from the front wall to the central wall then to the back wall. We have no certificate.
Following the plan, we added the required amount of fireproof/soundproof mineral insulation between the joists and followed the building regulation guidance due to the heat generated from the ceiling lights below. Then we laid nailed down MDF boards right up to the eaves. We should have screwed it instead, Duh! We took the risk and know this would need to be open in the future should it become a habitable room. We also added a loft hatch with a ladder sourced from B&Q. We are now left with a solid warm, strong floor used for storage and completed to building regulated standards and with the possibility of a future habitable room.
.
Years later, We had a reroof with a Velux and breathable membrane. Due to an afterthought, we took the opportunity to add three extra Velux windows as the scaffolding was still in place, to the anger of the roofer as many of the slates were removed, and more timber added to support the additional windows. The roof with 4 Velux windows has been completed to regulation standards by a very patient, professional and sought after roofer. We have no certificate.
Our change for the better in our financial circumstances allowed us to consider if the roofer could help further. He read the submitted plan, and to our regret, he noticed that insulation should have been added to the outer side of the roof due to the finished floor to ceiling height. He was not to know as we never mentioned the plan.
He gathered a team and completed the inner roof area. The rafters upgraded, the foam sheeted insulation recycled and placed back between the rafters, and a quilt of insulation added with rows of batten on the top of it. Also, a timber frame built on the gable end and opposite the party wall. These were left to fill with fibre and soundproof insulation. Then we boarded the room for a plasterer to skim it.
Our son is an electrician, he updated the electrics, and now we have the existing light centred in the room with an additional one where the stairs could go plus two more sockets to make five in total. Now we have a clean room for storage and the possibility of a future bedroom.
The room has no heating. There is a boiler cupboard below with a pipe waiting to be connected that leads from the eaves.
2020, we took the risk of plaster-boarding the whole room, knowing that it would need undoing again to check the quality of the work. A plasterer will finish the room if we decide to have it as a habitable room.
We now have a clean, bright loft for storage with a solid floor, new roof, roof-lights, power and accessed by a loft hatch with ladder and the possibility of adding stairs and heating to make a bedroom built to building regulations.
The question is, will work completed class as meeting current building regulation standards?
Does this matter as building regulations appear to change often, including since when we insulated the loft?
No depth can be added to the floor or roof, as there is 2 metres floor to ceiling height exactly, at the party wall above the hallway (semi-detached with adjoined hallways).
We no longer want to lose the hall rooflight due to fitting the stairs as planned. Instead, we will have to stray from the plan to add a spiral staircase but still in the same room and area of the room. I will use the architect and ensure I get a certificate for this.
Question is, should I invite someone to pass the works, if yes, then who? I believe I should never involve the local authority again due to submitting the plan to them and not following it up. I have never heard anything. We do not understand the loopholes.
Will we have problems selling as a three-bed with glorified storage room with hatch and ladder for access?
Should we complete it as a bedroom with stairs?
We completed a kitchen extension by submitting plans to the local authority and gained a completion certificate, and that was a pleasant experience. It's just the 3-year rule that caused the problem and redundancy. We’ve completed our mortgage now. We would sell for no gain to people like ourselves that need a bit of luck!