Loft Conversions in Kidderminster

Loft conversions on Kidderminster housing

The carpet-era terraces around Blakebrook, Foley Park and the streets off the Stourport road have steep slate roofs with good head height and a cut-and-pitch structure on purlins, which is the easier roof to convert. A rear dormer gives a full bedroom, often with a bathroom, and within the volume limits it is usually permitted development. The purlins bear on the party walls, so the structural design and the party wall notice with the neighbours are part of the job from the start, and the fire regulations, a protected stair to the front door, fire doors and an escape window, decide the layout.

On the postwar estates at Comberton, Habberley and Franche the roofs are trussed, and the conversion is a structural job first: the trusses are replaced with a designed steel and joist structure, with a rear dormer where the pitch is shallow. Every conversion needs building regulations approval through Wyre Forest District Council for the structure, fire safety and the stair, and our quote includes the inspections so the room is signed off as a bedroom rather than a boarded loft. The staircase position is agreed at the survey, because it is the decision that affects the floor below.

What we are asked for here

• Rear dormer conversions on Victorian terraces with party wall notices
• Trussed roof conversions with new steel and joist structure on the estates
• Protected stair, fire door and escape window compliance
• Rooflight conversions where the pitch already gives the height