Viewing 2 Victorian houses - what do I need to ask about loft conversion possibilities?

[scarvesandsocks]

I'm going to view 2 Victorian houses this week. They are both 3-bed semis, and nothing much between them.

I would like to be able to convert the loft into 2 small bedrooms, so all our children can have their own room.

Is there anything I need to be asking on the viewings to know more about the possibilities for this?

From the outside it looks like one of the houses has a higher roof, and the other roof looks pretty shallow.

I'm just not sure how to know any more about this to put an offer in.

Things are moving really quickly so I want to put an offer on one of them so I don't miss my chance.

Any advice gratefully received

In my experience estate agents will say any old rubbish they think is what you want to hear, especially at the moment. You might be lucky and get an agent who is knowledgeable and thoughtful and will give you reasoned answers, so with asking about the potential for loft conversion and see what they say.

You would need to have a suitable ‘fire safe’ corridor to get from the converted loft to the outside so would need to have fireproof doors along the route or sprinklers, so you could ask about the doors currently in the property? Are they original? If newish are they fireproof?

Since they are semis, try looking on zoopla for floor plans and photos of the other semi and the close neighbours to see if others have already converted. If they have, call some local architects/surveyors to discuss having a survey done and mention your interest in converting the loft. You may well find one who has done the neighbours and will chat to you about possibilities.

You can ask the estate agent about possibilities but I wouldn't rely on what they say. Instead I'd research what neighbours with similar houses have done. Look from the garden/google maps to see how many have an extension then on rightmove/local planning portal as to what the design is.

The type of roof as well as the height will determine the type and cost of converting. Also consider where the stairs will go - normally the new set go above the current ones.

Looking at other neighbouring properties is a great idea.

Having done a loft conversion in a Victorian house I’d say steeper pitch roof is better. Look at whether the roofs are hipped or gable. We have hipped (ie slopes in on 3 sides - we are also a semi) and it has limited the headroom inside. Look at where stairs up might go - would you need to lose a room?

We have gained one bedroom in the loft space above an area which is roughly 6m x 8m. Allowing for space for the stairs.

If you are looking at a loft conversion in a mirror house (ie a pair of identical houses) you may not be able to put a window in the front (we weren’t). However, we and our neighbours have been permitted to do different things at the back.

Re fire proof doors we had a fire proof door put on the new loft bedroom and building control had a good look at the existing (original) other doors and were happy that they were good solid well fitting doors so we did not need to do anything extra to protect the exit.

Have a look at the local planning office and type in the postcode. This will show you of any major work previous owners or nearby neighbours have done, or have go planning permission for. You might find someone has already done exactly what you're looking for.

See if anyone else has done it. If not, there’s probably a reason for that - you need a certain head height. If it’s not got enough head height, you might be able to drop the height of the ceilings in the rooms below but that is a major (and messy) job. Honestly, if this is a dealbreaker, you need to see if anyone else has done it!

Don’t worry too much about access as this will be built in if you convert - you may need to install sprinklers and/or fire doors but that would all be part and parcel of a conversion. As far as I know, the only blocker, if you’re not in a conservation area and the house hasn’t already been extended, is whether the loft has sufficient head height.

Yep agree best thing would be stand in the back garden and look along the terrace. Even better if there’s one with a conversion being done! Then also look up the postcode on local council planning website.

And second don’t trust the agent - ours told us a loft conversion was possible on our 1920s end of terrace hipped roof 3 bed house (we hadn’t asked) but it wasn’t because was a conservation area so could only do roof thingy (what’s it called?) out the back not visible from the side. So wasn’t possible at all.

Neither the estate agent or the vendor is likely to know or even if they do know obligated to tell you the truth.

I would suggest you go in the planning portal of the lock authority you are buying in and do your own research. Look at all the applications on the road. What has and hasn't been approved and the reasons for refusal. Also make sure you have a look at the actual properties you are viewing in case they have had applications rejected in the past.

Also consider the cost of the conversion in relation to how much houses with converted lofts are fetching in the market to ensure you don't overspend.

Dormer! That was the word I was looking for

That's all great advice- many thanks. I didn't know about the planning portal, so will have a good look through all of that. Thanks

Just to say not all loft conversions need planning permission, ours didn’t (double dormer).

I’d look for similar houses on the same road on Rightmove and their floor plans, and look at the rooves on Google earth.

Our loft conversion people said we needed either fire doors, OR a wired in smoke alarm system with alarms in each too (except bathrooms). So we went for the alarm system, and didn’t need to replace all the doors.

Start with Google maps satellite view. If nobody else in the road has done it there's probably a reason for that. If there are loads of conversions then you're on safer ground.

@Talipesmum

Our loft conversion people said we needed either fire doors, OR a wired in smoke alarm system with alarms in each too (except bathrooms). So we went for the alarm system, and didn’t need to replace all the doors.

Same.

No mention of sprinklers or 'fire safe' corridor either.