Converting loft in a bungalow

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I'm doing a second viewing on a bungalow today. It is very big on the groundfloor but we are wondering about putting a couple of bedrooms upstairs in a dormer loft conversion. Is there an easy way to tell from a viewing that this might be possible. It's an Elderly lady selling it but she has said we can go into the loft on this viewing. So are we just looking at being able to stand up in it?

I think the things to look for are the height, obviously! And remember that insulation and all that will take up space.

and the roof trusses.....if they are W shaped then I think you are going to have to re roof, because you cannot cut that type. If they are A shaped, it's easier. But I am no expert and may have imagined that from watching too many botched DIY programs.

Are there lots of dormers in the surrounding area, if it's mainly bungalows? Or are the houses all different? Dormers are not always easy to get planning permission for, if there aren't any in the surrounding area. Depends on how you design them.

Internally, head height is key. If you can't stand up easily you will need to raise the ridge which can also be difficult to get planning permission for. Actually have a look around and if other houses of the same type have done it then this indicates it is possible.

Also, as a general rule 60s and 70s bungalows are easier to convert as the design with a relatively steep pitch gives the internal height.

Others have had it done in the street but they seem to have a steeper pitch than this one. If we can't stand up in the loft with a bit of a gap does that rule it out or are there other (I'm sure pricier!)options?

It wouldn't rule it out, but it would probably mean either raising the ridge (tricky, expensive and often hard to get planning permission for), or lowering the ceiling on the ground floor (cheaper than raising the ridge (surprisingly), but more mess overall as every room is affected, but no planning permission required for that part of the works (only for dormers)). Either of those will be more expensive than a dormer only conversion.

From what I recall, the stairs is your main pinch point for head height - I think you need at least 2.1m. This can be in a dormer though, giving you a bit more leeway. I'm not a building control officer though I'm a planner and we just consider impacts of the development, not structural stuff.

Sorry about over use of parentheses!

This is a useful starting point: Government's Loft Conversion Basics

The previous contributor's point about traditional roofs (rafters and purlins) being far easier to convert that trussed rafters is also very valid.

If the roof is full of timbers - gererally I advise clients not to bother (but each case is different obviously).

than

Thank u all for your input. Went into loft today and there is at best 6 ft of headroom but the trusses are A shaped. So we are not sure really - probably need to get a builder in there to have a look. The loft space is HUGE though so loads of potential if it can be done.

Have done this but needed to put whole new roof on.
Due to having the wrong type of trusses
Worked out really well but expensive

When you say expensive, could you reveal a rough figure ? Or an exact one

if there is 6ft headroom at max, the sloping roof will mean about half the space has a headroom of 3ft or less.

you will have a very narrow room up there...

Bungalows are usually good candidates for loft conversions as they normally have a very generous roof pitch.

It is very hard to see yourself what is possible. You really need a builder or architect have a look at it. In our house, we didn't think we could manage a loft conversion because all we saw were the roof trusses. However, the builder saw potential and now we have an 18' x 18' room and ensuite.

You should be able to put a dormer window in the back of the property and this will give you loads of extra useable floor-space.

The other major consideration is where will you put the stairs. This can be really tricky in some houses and cause you to loose some space in the downstairs rooms. We were lucky enough to have a large hallway and the new stairs look as if they were always meant to be there.

Cost us 60000 seven years ago but that included new central heating boiler- due to the extra rooms and external rerendering/brickwork as we didn't want patching.

Obviously a bit of that was VAT

North of England- and we didn't lift a finger it was all done by firm.

You may need to re-roof but this depends on various factors. If there is a truss roof it won't be suitable to convert - so a new roof will be required.

Headroom on stairs and landings is 2m - in room itself there is no minimum.

the other question is: is it really worth it..

the price difference between a house with loft and one without on my road is +10k - it may be easier and cheaper to buy a pre-converted one if there are ones available!