Building An Additional Room In Your Roof

Assuming you need more living or bedroom space and are considering an attic conversion, the first thing you need to do is to check your local council's regulations.

Presuming there will be no such concerns, take a torch, a ladder and a tape measure, squeeze through the manhole and look for the roof space.

If you can't stand up in the middle of the space, you'll have problems. An ideal roof pitch for an attic is from 32 to 38 degrees. If your roof isn't steep enough you can add headroom and therefore increase the expense by raising the roof, or you may perhaps consider the alternative of adding another storey.

A top-storey addition may well give you about a third more room than an attic conversion but might cost a great deal more.

If you're able to stand up in the roof space, so far so good. Measure for height, after that, taking care to step only on the joists to avoid crashing through the ceiling, measure the floor area. If half the area has headroom of 2.3 metres or even more, it likely meets most councils' guidelines for an attic living room or bedroom.visit roofing in Manchester for more info .

If blinking the torch around reveals a forest of trusses, don't give up hope. Modern trussed roofs, with rows of triangular frames, are usually challenging to convert than older roof styles, however, it is still doable.

Some trusses will need to be removed to make space for a room, and other timbers strengthened. Just keep in mind the old chippies' saying, ``It's the roof that holds the house up", and get expert advice.

Similar applies to the ceiling timbers. They weren't designed to carry a floor and will have to be reinforced.

In case you intend doing it yourself and not hiring a builder or attic conversion specialist, be cautious and first find a building inspection by an architect or engineer.

The work involved including structural changes is based on the purpose of the room.

If you need an unpartitioned living area or bedroom, complications needs to be minimal. If you need to turn a large attic into two separate rooms, you will need to consider where to place dividing walls and doors in order to provide separate access. In case you must add a bathroom or toilet, linking into existing plumbing limits your layout options but tend to save a packet.

Whatever the planned use to your attic, light and air are prime factors to consider. Attics are famously cosy but there's such a thing for being too cosy dark, stuffy and claustrophobic. To make the most of natural light and ventilation and views, if you're lucky factor in standard windows, dormer windows, skylights or etc.

Standing in the roof space, you'll be reminded that heat rises. It is usually 20 degrees hotter up there than below, so successful insulation is essential.And to reduced noise, plan to insulate the floor, too.

The space in between your ceiling as well as the new attic floor can also be handy for concealing pipes and wiring.

Lastly, come up with best places to put the staircase. Typical staircases take up a surprising amount of room so the ideal site for any attic stair is definitely an existing dead space such as a a part of corridor or a cupboard. For houses with small or no space to spare, you may find options to the conventional staircase. A spiral staircase occupies far less room, or, if even that would be too cramped, you could choose for a fold-down ladder.

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