Please help - loft being converted with v low head height

[cunningplan101]

I need your help as I am having a bit of a panic. Does anyone here have a loft conversion with a top head height of only 6 feet?

I'm in the process of having our loft converted. On the plans, it does make clear that the height at the apex will be 6 feet. I guess I had just never really taken on board what this meant. This morning I climbed up into the loft via the scaffolding and could see it for the first time with the new beams in and the builders indicated where the new floor height will be. I'm now rather in a panic that this room will be totally un-usable.

One thing that has been giving me confidence all this while is that I visited a property with a loft conversion on the same terrace as mine when it was up for sale. That conversion didn't have a dormer and somehow its ceiling didn't feel oppressively low. It felt like a decent height for a bedroom to me. And we will be having a dormer, so in theory our room will feel bigger. But that was quite some time ago. I'm now panicking that maybe their end of the terraced street somehow has higher loft heights than our end!!

Can anyone reassure me that you can have a usable loft bedroom with a ceiling height of 6 feet? Or do you think this is a v bad idea?

Re the lights. We have inset spot lights, 5 in total, yes they get hot. However they are easy to avoid, and due to their positions (e.g. Two are over the bed) they aren't an issue for us.

Cunning - I would find out how much it would cost to get another set of builders out to board it out and make it good as cheapl
Then you've got a very useful storage space rather than a quite unusable bedroom.

We've recently had an original Victorian attic extended a bit (to lower purlins, with cupboard space beyond) & after plasterboarding it was skimmed for £280, though that was cash-in-hand & I think the guy underestimated the size of the job

It's a big area though - floor space is around 17' by 20'

We also had spotlights put in but they're LEDs & only about 6w each so not hot

So all this time I've been very confused about how this situation has happened and why the ceiling height was never occurred. I think I've now figured it out.

There were two architects on my project. The first submitted plans to the council and I've just checked them and they had a ceiling height of 2.15m!

Later, the company drew up new plans, and these are the ones that mention a ceiling height of 1.9m ... or they perhaps do, it's not at all clear from the plans. I emailed the company afterwards to say the drawings weren't clear on measurements and ask if they meant the dimensions had changed. I never received a reply to that. I followed up twice. The loft company guy did later come around to my flat and have a conversation with me, but only to say they meant I wouldn't be able to have an en-suite bathroom. He never said - the ceiling height has changed and this will make a significant difference, shall we consider lowering the ceilings?

So I think actually this cannot be blamed on my oversight. Original plans showed me having a ceiling height of 2.15m. This later seems to have been changed to 1.9m, but without having been clearly explained to me. I requested clarification in writing and never received it. I am not going to get angry or blame them, but I do feel vindicated and I am not going to accept liability for these mistakes.

Thanks very much for your support with this. It's only because people on here have been so helpful that I have felt confident enough to resist just going ahead with the 1.9m, and now that I've found these details I'm v glad I did.

Most loft companies go for the highest pitch they can so if they could get another 25cm then can you ring and ask how? Its a huge difference!

It is a huge difference. Go for it!

So what you going to do now Cunning? Pay the extra for floors to be lowered or get more quotes?

I'm meeting with the builders on Monday to come to a final decision on how to proceed. Their explanation of the two different heights is that the two figures on the two different plans refer to two different things. Anyway, the project manager is saying he really wants to come to an agreement that I'm happy with. The company have an excellent reputation locally so I'm really hoping I've just been unlucky and things will get better from here. At least on Monday, it should all be decided, one way or another.

I paid £125 to get my living room ceiling skimmed. Fife, about 5 years ago.

Our loft conversion height is just just under 236m and we couldn't fit in the tall pax wardrobes, which was very irritating as we already owned them. We have thick carpet and underlay and the ceiling doesn't feel low. We are short though, I am 5.3 and DH is 5.10. We have a small pendant light and then wall lights.

Just an update on this for those who kindly commented or followed this thread. We're getting the ceilings lowered by 15cm which means we gain at least 20cm in the loft (the extra is from not having to double up on joists or something like that). It means we will now have a minimum head height of 2.1m in the loft at the apex and in the dormer area. So that's 6 foot 11 - still a fairly low ceiling, but I think ok for a loft and quite an improvement on 6 foot 3! We'll have 2.5m in the rooms below, so hopefully that'll still feel reasonably Edwardian and spacious.

After some negotiations, the total cost of the build has gone up by £7k, so in total it'll be £37k plus VAT now. Which is a lot, but I am in zone 2 SE London so everything is more expensive here.

My advice to anyone doing a loft conversion in future is make sure you have every planned measurement down in writing before you start, and make sure you fully understand them!

Sounds like a good solution. Hope the rest of the build is pain & stress free

Brilliant,does seem to be a good solution. You will notice the difference and I think it will be worthwhile.

The ceilings coming down will be messy and you will have to clear rooms but it does all get done in the end. You will be pleased at the end.

It will be worth it. I cant imagine having such low ceilings in a loft conversion, DH wouldnt be able to stand up (6'3"!) - ours is the same height ceilings as downstairs (dormers in the 2 bedrooms) - the store room has a sloping ceiling and DH can just about make it in. Well done on sorting it out! X

Hi I,ve been in the same position, ours is just over 6ft. Its fine the builder sprayed walls and ceiling all one colour and its not a problem. I did worry especially as I dont like heights and couldn't go up ladders to look, just had dh calling down to tell me its low. Only problem is Ikea pax wardrobe is 1 cm too big.

Hi cunningplan101

I have a limited height in my loft too (213cm from top of floor joist to apex of roof) and if we do not take at least 10cm from the ceiling below we would end up with a nice big room and bathroom 190cm low.
I am so scared of the whole mess it will entail.
Plus the floor beneath is 240cm high, nice, hope it won't be penalised by taking 10 cm away.

Are you happy now with your loft?

Thanks for any news you'll send.

Enjoy

Simona

Simona, did you lower your ceiling height by 10cm and how did the new rooms below feel at 2.3m?

We are toying with doing exactly the same thing in our house but people online seem to warn against lowering a 2.4m ceiling?

Anyone else have thoughts on this please?

Thanks

Hey! Did you go ahead with the loft conversion? We’re in a similar position and just wondering how you got on? Thank you :)

A 6-foot apex is too low for a usable bedroom without changes. Once flooring and insulation go in, you’ll have less than 1.8m headroom. That won’t meet building regs for a habitable space.

A rear dormer will help. It creates full-height space at the back wall, even if the centre stays tight. This may be enough for a bed, storage, and clear walkway.

Check if the neighbour’s loft had the ceiling below lowered. That’s common in terraces and might explain the difference.

Ask your builder to confirm the finished height in the dormer. If it’s under 2m, you’ll need to rethink the layout or look at structural options.

This helped me our on our low ceiling height for our loft.