Loft Conversion and height above existing staircase

[adamjth]

I am in the process of considering a loft conversion for our house so I have had two loft conversion companies in to quote. Both of them have looked around and given the thumbs up to do the job and duly quoted proposing a double winder staircase to go over the top of the existing staircase into the loft. Since this time I have had an independent builder in to also quote for the job but he baulked at the idea of installing the staircase in the way the loft companies proposed. I have since looked online and see that there is some regulations about having two metres clearance above the stairs pitch line and I am not totally sure we meet this criteria (depends how you measure it and where). So can someone clarify this for me please - please point me to a official relevant link or explanation. I have another Loft company coming around this week and I want to be clear before I get the sales pitch

thanks

Adam

 

[tony1851]

Yes, you need 2m vertical clearance above the pitch line. But if the stairs are coming up under a sloping roof, you are allowed a reduced headroom of 1.8m at the side of the stairs, as long as there is 1.9m above the centre of the stairs. Google 'Approved Document K', which has the diagrams.

 

[adamjth]

Thanks - that exactly what I needed.