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"Premium" vs "standard" loft conversions


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We'll shortly be doing our loft conversion and my architect is encouraging me towards what he calls a "premium" look, rather than a "bog standard" one. I attach photos of both.

I really prefer the look of the "premium" one, but my builder is saying that having concealed guttering will make it more complicated to clean - architect disagrees, the guttering will just be hidden from view by a small parapet wall around the perimeter of the loft, and then taking the water out to the side of the house, but it will be perfectly accessible. He also doesn't have much experience of building that type of loft, whereas he's done "hundreds" of standard ones. We have gone with a pretty contemporary look for everything else we've done to the house, including the ground and first floor extensions. I'm just a bit torn. My heart is saying go for the "premium" one, whereas my head is telling me that it's easier to just stick to what the builder knows and not to try and prepare plans for something non-standard at short notice, which will be stressful and could delay the builder. Really, it's annoying the architect didn't raise this me when he was preparing the construction drawings, but that's life. Do people think one look vs the other is likely to affect re-sale values? The picture of the "standard" one isn't really a fair comparison as we are going to have much larger (and nicer) windows, akin to what is shown in the "premium", but with a crittall look, so really the main difference is the lack of soffit and the concealed guttering and drainpipe.

 

 

 

835983298_premiumloft.jpg.7980777109c94bfc8715b0567baa92aa.jpgnon-premium.jpg.cffb40ac9b6ef211cd94ff993e959e2e.jpg

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Concealed gutters can work fine, however they do require good design and construction. If not then leaks tend to be into the house/roof rather than just down onto the ground as with conventional gutters. Snow and ice can also be more problematic.

 

What's the headroom like and is this being built under PDR or a Planning Application?  I ask because in many cases headroom in a loft conversion is at a premium. I suspect concealed gutters and parapet walls are more wasteful of available headroom than conventional gutters but perhaps discuss with the architect.

 

One thing to watch with the dormer is the level of insulation in the roof and walls. The designs you show are good because the windows aren't full width. Many people want a full width window which doesn't leave much room in the side walls for insulation.

 

I think Planning Permission is required if the dormer extends down to the gutter of the existing roof. To come under PDR I think you have to retain a strip of the existing roof.

 

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I  detest internal gutters. The purpose of the building is almost entirely to keep the weather out. All gutters will leak or overflow at some stage, and into the garden is a better idea than into the house.

 

Where is the rwp going? Through the building is not only an added risk and intrusion, but can be noisy.

 

And the other points above are also valid.

 

Have you asked the builder what the extra cost will be?  It may surprise you for such a short length.

 

Perhaps the architect will subsidise the extra cost, and do the first cleaning for his own experience.

 

Agreed re Lindab guttering and pipes. They are a different class and a feature, and worth the extra cost, which will be a fraction of the internal gutter..

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4 hours ago, Temp said:

Concealed gutters can work fine, however they do require good design and construction. If not then leaks tend to be into the house/roof rather than just down onto the ground as with conventional gutters. Snow and ice can also be more problematic.

 

What's the headroom like and is this being built under PDR or a Planning Application?  I ask because in many cases headroom in a loft conversion is at a premium. I suspect concealed gutters and parapet walls are more wasteful of available headroom than conventional gutters but perhaps discuss with the architect.

 

One thing to watch with the dormer is the level of insulation in the roof and walls. The designs you show are good because the windows aren't full width. Many people want a full width window which doesn't leave much room in the side walls for insulation.

 

I think Planning Permission is required if the dormer extends down to the gutter of the existing roof. To come under PDR I think you have to retain a strip of the existing roof.

 

It’s under PD and you are correct about leaving a strip of roof. We’re have factored that in, there will be about a 25cm wide strip of roof.  We are insulating with wood fibre and PIR, mostly between the rafters and additional insulation under the rafters. This leaves internal height of 254cm. That is if we match my attached neighbour’s dormer in height. We could go higher than my neighbour by another 10cm, but not sure it’s worth it. My reasoning was that it might look a bit odd (although that’s not so relevant, because his is so bloody ugly that matching any aspect of it seems nonsensical) and structurally it might be easier to finish the join between the two if we don’t have different height flat roofs too our respective dormers.

 

Is it necessary to insulate a wall with wood fibre (for increased decrement delay) if that wall is mostly not in the sun?

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3 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

I think you could put some Lindab aluzinc gutters on and lose the soffit overhang and it will be fine.

Not sure I understand this. If there is no soffit what is Lindab gutter attached to? I notice that Lindab’s aly zinc range is excluded from their 15 year warranty:

http://www.lindab.com/uk/pro/products/Pages/Campaign/Rainline.aspx

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8 hours ago, Adsibob said:

If there is no soffit what is Lindab gutter attached to?

Just a small fascia board.  Choose any gutter you like the look of.  You could have stainless or copper.

 

We have black powder coated ali with small fascia.

 

image.png.4e1cfc9e9045e2b7ee1bd2dffe601934.png

 

 

Edited by Mr Punter
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4 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

Just a small fascia board.  Choose any gutter you like the look of.  You could have stainless or copper.

 

We have black powder coated ali with small fascia.

 

image.png.4e1cfc9e9045e2b7ee1bd2dffe601934.png

 

 

Is that a cold or warm roof?

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I wouldn't choose aluminium anyway, as it starts off looking industrial, then fades and gets blotchy with air and pollution.

 

Also consider that the copper effect is often stolen by thieves of little brain. Then it needs a sign saying 'not copper'.

 

If you start off with the intention of using Lindab, or similar, then they and your designer can make it work, just don't leave the detail as an afterthought.

 

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