Create space in a compact city — Dormer loft conversions in London

If you live in a big city like London, you’ll likely know that expanding your home to gain space is not an easy task. From the already compact nature of the streets to the ever-growing list of planning and regulation restrictions, extending, renovating, and modifying your home seems to get tougher every year.

But what if there was a way you could create entirely new rooms, with little to no planning restrictions, and without tearing up your garden? With a dormer loft conversion in London, there is.

The basics of dormer loft conversions

While a lot of thought and preparation goes into transforming your loft space, you’ll first need to know what a dormer loft conversion is, and if it’s right for you and your home.

When it comes to loft conversions, there are three main types – roof light, dormer, and hip-to-gable – with the dormer often providing the most space for your money, especially in a city setting.

When building a dormer loft, we take a box-shaped structure and add it onto a pitched roof, creating walls that sit at a 90-degree angle to the floor. While it might sound complicated and messy, it’s one of the most common loft conversion types in London, and for a good reason.

4 things to know about dormer loft conversions

1. They’re the goto option for space
   A dormer’s vertical wall and roof extension makes them the clear winner when it comes to creating the most space in your loft. In fact, with a dormer conversion, you could build a whole new bedroom, add a beautiful en-suite, and still have a comfortable amount of space for the stairs.
2. They have a hassle-free construction
   When we build a dormer loft conversion, we nearly always install external scaffolding to aid with the construction process. Not only will the scaffolding help us, but it’ll mean you experience minimum noise and disruption to your everyday life.
3. There’s more than one design
   While they inherently require an addition of space to your existing structure, they don’t necessarily need to be square in shape. There’s a whole range of architectural designs when it comes to dormer loft conversions, including the Shed Dormer, Dog House Dormer, and L-shaped Dormer.
4. You may not need planning permission to build one
   Unless your house or flat is in a conservation area, dormer loft conversions in London often won’t require planning permission. They will, however, need to meet the permissible development conditions of the area and building type. You can find out more about planning permission here.

How long will a dormer conversion take?

It can be challenging to provide an accurate estimate of how long the project will take before we have a full understanding of your loft conversion requirements. We usually split the process down into three phases — planning, construction, and send off. Typically, all three steps combined can take around nine months to complete, with planning and preparation taking up the majority of that time.

We’ll be able to give you a more accurate completion date once we understand the scale of your project.

Want to learn more about the construction process? You can see a typical timeline here.

Dormer loft conversions London costs

Much like timescales, costs are difficult to estimate before we understand the scope of your conversion. But, in London, Dormer conversions tend to cost somewhere in the region of £30,000 – £50,000. This price can vary greatly depending on planning and construction restrictions, the size and number of rooms you’ll be adding, and the additional fixings like electrics and plumbing.

But don’t panic. Our first consultations are free, and we’ll provide you with a full breakdown of our estimated costs based on your initial plans, and we’ll keep you updated every step of the way, so there’s no surprise charges waiting for you.

If you’d like to compare the costs of different types of loft conversion, you can find out more in our blog.

Your loft, guaranteed.

When you undertake a loft conversion with us, you’ll enjoy the peace of mind knowing not only are you covered by our 10-year warranty, but a 10-year, industry-leading, HomePro Insurance Backed Guarantee, too. That means no matter what happens to our business, our work on your home is protected from the moment of your deposit and for years after we leave.

Contact a member of our team today, and turn your dreams of more space in the city into a reality.