Exposed, painted brickwork wall in loft conversion

[Rubyblueshoes]

Hello,

Just planning a dormer loft conversion and wondered if it would be possible to paint the wall where the two chimneys meet instead of plastering it all over?
I think it would make for a nice design feature. The bricks are in a good condition and are dry and the chimneys are not used.
I tried to research whether there'd be any issues with this in terms of insulation or other considerations but most information seems to be regarding painting exterior brickwork.

Can anyone give me some advice please?

 

[stuartturbo]

i doubt it, they will probably insist on insulating etc

 

[tony1851]

Mr Turbo is correct because you would end up with a habitable room next to a (presumably) unheated space and Part L of the regs comes into play.
However, if everything else in your loft is up to standard, and if you are prepared not to have a certificate of completion, why not just paint it and see what happens vis-a-vis building control. Although inspectors have the powers, they don't often jump in and enforce; usually they just sit back and assume the lack of a certificate will eventually cause you problems. There is no time limit on completing works, though if you sell the house, you would probably have to insulate, and have it inspected, to get the certificate.

 

[Rubyblueshoes]

Thanks, seems sensible I guess. We haven't moved in yet and I doubt we'd sell for the next 5 years or more so we may well do that.

Do you think a room with a painted brick wall instead of an insulated one would be SIGNIFICANTLY colder in the winter? I would be comfortable with increasing the amount of heating in the loft a little if necessary but obviously not if it meant a really huge difference in the heating bill...

Thanks again!

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Mr Turbo is correct because you would end up with a habitable room next to a (presumably) unheated space and Part L of the regs comes into play.
However, if everything else in your loft is up to standard, and if you are prepared not to have a certificate of completion, why not just paint it and see what happens vis-a-vis building control. Although inspectors have the powers, they don't often jump in and enforce; usually they just sit back and assume the lack of a certificate will eventually cause you problems. There is no time limit on completing works, though if you sell the house, you would probably have to insulate, and have it inspected, to get the certificate.

Why would you go to all of the effort required in order to meet Building Regs and then not bother getting the certificate until you come to sell is plain daft to me.

It may be possible to get SAP calcs done and increase the insulation elsewhere to compensate. Though why you would to leave the existing chimney brick is another mystery to me from a heating point of view, it will be a massive cold bridge to the outside and will likely collect condensation on the surface. At least the bricks will look nice when they are damp.