If you love living in your bungalow but changed circumstances mean you really need a larger home, moving is not your only option. How much space is there in your roof? Enough to provide one extra room – or more?What would you like? Children’s bedrooms and a quiet study area? A welcoming guest suite? A spacious home office? A luxurious master bedroom that will enable you to turn your ground floor bedroom into a dining room or playroom? It’s your bungalow, so the choice is yours!
A loft conversion is often the most practical and cost effective way of increasing the living space in a bungalow, especially in the older types that have steeply pitched roofs providing plenty of headroom. In most cases, planning permission is not required as long as the plans conform to certain conditions. For example, the conversion must not include any structure that is higher than the highest part of the original roof. But as some Local Authorities have different planning rules you should always check this before any work begins.
Careful planning is essential for any successful conversion project, and you should be aware that there are some important differences between converting the loft of a bungalow and that of a two-storey house.
Structural strength
The foundations of a bungalow are not always the same as those of a house and it might not have been built with the load bearing inner walls necessary to safely support the extra weight of a loft conversion. You will need to have a structural survey carried out and take expert advice on how to remedy the problem if any weakness is found.
Position of staircase
In a conventional house, the extra flight of stairs needed to access the loft can usually be fitted into the existing stairwell. In a bungalow, unless you have a large entrance hall, the staircase will have to rise from one of the ground floor rooms, making that room a little smaller. Depending on the layout of your bungalow, there could be several suitable places for the stairs so it’s advisable to look carefully at all the possibilities before making the final decision. If you are using a specialist loft conversion company their designers might well come up with some clever space saving ideas.
Fire regulations
Fire safety must be considered in any home, but a bungalow loft conversion is not subject to the same strict fire regulations that apply to house loft conversions. There is no need to install expensive fire doors for example.
If you’re not sure if your bungalow loft is suitable for conversion, or exactly how much extra floor space it might give you, ask the advice of a specialist loft conversion company that is happy to give you a free consultation and a detailed, no obligation quotation. Once you’ve investigated all the options, weighed up the pros and cons, and done your sums, the benefits will be obvious. If you loved your bungalow before, just imagine how you’ll feel about your new, bigger one!
Marc Loppas owns Bespoke Lofts Ltd; an Essex based, family run company with over 20 years experience offering all types of expert quality loft conversions, house extensions and garage conversions. For more information call 0800 783 9456 or visit: http://www.bespokelofts.co.uk/
I planned converting my loft into a typical room to be a guest room.
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