Loft Conversions in South Birmingham

Loft conversions on Birmingham housing

Kings Heath, Moseley, Stirchley, Selly Oak and the streets around them are full of terraces with steep slate roofs and good ridge height, and a rear dormer on one of these gives a big room with a bathroom and a view over the rooftops. The roof is usually cut-and-pitch on purlins rather than trussed, which is the easier structure to work with, but the purlins bear on the party walls, so the structural design and the party wall agreement with the neighbours are part of the job from the start, not something to raise later. We tell you at the survey whether a notice is needed, and on a mid-terrace it nearly always is.

Fire regulations decide the layout on a terrace conversion: a protected stair to the front door, fire doors, and an escape window. That is what turns a loft into a legal bedroom rather than a boarded attic, and Birmingham City Council building control signs it off. Rear dormers within the limits are usually permitted development, but Moseley and other conservation areas can change that, and where spray foam has been sprayed into the roof, removing it and inspecting the timbers is the first job before anything is designed. Access on a terrace is by hand, and we price that honestly.

What we are asked for here

• Rear dormer conversions on Victorian and Edwardian terraces
• Party wall notices and structural design onto shared walls
• Protected stair, fire door and escape window compliance
• Spray foam removal and timber inspection before conversion