thinking about doing a semi DIY loft conversion

[paulwaugh]

Hi everyone, this is my first post so be gentle!

Im considering doing a part DIY loft conversion mainly to add some much needed space to my upstairs flat,

The current roof is in need of quite a large amount of work which is the main reason i decided a loft conversion would be a good idea, its probably the origional roof so is about 110 years old, and has no felt in place and aquite alot of sag!

At the moment the current roof is an old fashioned rafter style roof with no central supports, however the maximum height in the center of the roof is about 6ft 3, so im going to have to either lower the downstairs ceilings or increase the pitch of the roof (current pitch is about 35 degrees) or do both!

So now that some of the backround is out the way, my ideas go along the lines of... compleatly remove the old roof and fit some room in roof trusses, these will probably be 40 or 45 degrees to increase the usable space as much as possible, now my first question is do the RIR trusses still require me to fit a large amount of steel to the roof or are they all timber constructed with adequete sized and strength for a flooring to be laid?

I have no real building experience at this level but i would consider my self ver good with my hands and have friends with building experience i can rope in to help, i also understand that if it is to be a habitable space i will need to meet all the building regs which i tintend to do, and obvioulsy changing the pitch and overalll height of the roof i will need to seek planning premission,

So any advice and help would be greatly appriciated
Paul.

 

[DevilDamo]

First things first... have some plans/elevations drawn up and enquire as to the necessary planning and building control requirements.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Planning aside, apart from the horrendous logistics of works to the roofspace for a top floor flat involving permissions from the other occupants, changes to deeds etc etc etc I'd be amazed if it wasn't just more economical to move.

 

[chappers]

as said above plus also permission from the freeholder and probably taking over responsibility for future maintenance of the roof

 

[paulwaugh]

the lease on the building is fairly simple, bassicaly i am responsible for everything above my floor boards including the roof, and the downstairs (also the free holder) is responsible for everthing below including foundations, the free holder is a top guy and iv already spoken to him about the posibility of a loft conversion while repairing/replacing the roof and he is fine with that, also my neighbor is fine with me altering the party wall, so as far as permissions there go i should be fine,

i know its going to be an expensive undertaking but i quite simply dont have the money to move (or the want tbh as the house is in i prime location somewhere i definatley could not afford to move back into.)

at the moment i am just at the consideration stage planning what needs to be dont in my head, what the costs are going to be etc etc, so obviously if i need steel to hold up the new trusses this is going to be quite an extra cost to take into account, but as the roof is in such a sorry state at the moment (and also my responsibility) a little extra money for full loft conversion is not a terrible idea

Paul.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Well when you say the roof is in such a sorry state what do you mean exactly? Are you saying the timbers need replacing or just the slates/tiles? It will probably be cheaper to lower the ceilings (nightmare in itself) than replace the rafters etc and you won't need to worry about planning permission to raise the roof. You will still need planning permission anyway as it is a flat rather than a house BTW. Planners are not generally too impressed with raising roofs although if it is detached you may be ok. If the roof timbers definitely need replacing you can get attic trusses which won't need any additional structure although if the buildings old and skewed in shape this could be problematic. Don't forget A typical loft conversion is typically around £15-20K so add on lowering all the ceilings or replacing the existing timbers/raising the walls its not gonna be cheap.

 

[Robert9999]

You say that you have the freeholder's and neighbour's agreement to what you propose. If you decide to go ahead, it would be best to get these agreements in writing before you do anything else. How many people later say, "You misunderstood me, I didn't really agree to all of that", or something similar.

 

[paulwaugh]

thanks freddy,
when i say the roof is in a state there is a big sag in the ridge and (excuse my lack of terminology) the north facing "face" of the roof is sagging quite alot directly over the perlin?? (the massive horisontal timber in the loft) which is infact bowing also, there is a large abount of missing or damaged tiles and the slats they attach to many of these are broken. and most of the timbers in the loft have been exposed to a fair amount of water.

You also raised a good point about the square-ness of the house, this is not somthing i had considdered but i will have a good measure up tonight and see how things are

Robert,
Yes i was planning on getting the neighbors consent in writing

Im planning on fitting all the trusses and the roof myslef saving quite a substantial amount of monnet, i have re-tiled my garage roof in the past which wasnt to difficult at all, the only work where im planning on getting a pro in is the brick work to the gable ends to accept the new pitch,

What it the rough cost of the roofing trusses spanning 6m and a 45 degree pitch?

Paul.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Assuming the roof is pretty standard, any truss supplier will be happy to sort you out. This is bread and butter work!
http://www.etstrusses.co.uk/Roof-Trusses
http://www.shiretimber.co.uk/rooftruss.html
http://www.holdentimber.co.uk/
http://www.specifinder.com/search_r...403&searchBox=Timber Beams and Timber Trusses

Frankly I have little idea of the exact cost of a set of trusses, a few grand I guess for a fair size roof. Try anyone, local firms will be worth trying too as delivery distance may come in to play, they may want to know about access too, chat with them how you go about trussing a house that's on the p*ss if yours is on the p*ss. Or ask the question in the Building Section a few proper builders on there! I'm a technician, as in I do the techy drawings stuff so never really get me hands dirty!

 

[paulwaugh]

thanks for the replys, there is a truss company about 8 miles from me called howarth timber engineering who im going to go and speak to this week, and il also speak with the planning department at the town hall about the likly hood of planning permission being granted,

Also i meassured up the loft last week and the house seems square to 40mm between the two gable walls and all 4 corners are at almlost exact 90 degree angles which is good (though i did notice shome pointing work that needs done on one one of the gable walls!!)

il post up what they both say later in the week
Paul.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Please do, you won't go far wrong with Howarth, good luck with the planners.