Loft height / drop ceiling

[Jammy]

Hi all,

I need a bit of help or advice regarding my predicament with our loft please. It is a terraced property that we would like to have a dormer loft conversion done. 

The issue we have is that currently there isn’t a lot of room in the loft space. We had an architect come round and take some measurements. The architect has informed us that if we were to proceed with a loft conversion, the first floor ceiling will have to be lowered. 

Currently the ceiling in the first floor measures at 2600mm. To achieve a finished ceiling height of 2000mm in the loft, the ceiling will have to be lowered by 300mm. This will lower the ceiling in the downstairs bedrooms (2 double, 1 single) and bathroom to 2300mm. The single bedroom is currently a study. Our children share one of the double room. They are getting to the age where they'll need their own rooms soon hence the loft plan. 

 

The plan would be to have a master bedroom with an ensuite in the loft. My partner and I aren’t very tall. I am 165cm and he is 175cm. 

 

Would it be an unwise decision to go ahead with that level of work? 
Not that we have any plans to but would it be difficult to sell in the future if we made those changes to the property?
Has anyone lowered the ceiling to 2300mm or similar, is it something you’d recommend or avoid?

 

We would be grateful for any help and guidance on this please. 

Thanks in advance!

[Mike]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

 

17 minutes ago, Jammy said:

Has anyone lowered the ceiling to 2300mm or similar, is it something you’d recommend or avoid?

I've seen 2,300mm in new builds and it was fine, so I'd not worry about that, but wouldn't go lower.

 

I'd be more concerned by having only 2,000m in the loft rooms. Once you get below 2,100 it does start to feel oppressive. And if your struggling for that much space I wonder what it's going to do to the external appearance. I'd probably take a look at options for a regular extension first.

[kandgmitchell]

2.3m was the old minimum before the re-casting of the 1985 regs so most new builds used that as a standard. 2.0m is tight and is the minimum over a stair under the current regs. It could be done at a pinch considering most of one's time in a bedroom is spent horizontal!

[Jammy]

2 hours ago, Mike said:

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

 

I've seen 2,300mm in new builds and it was fine, so I'd not worry about that, but wouldn't go lower.

 

I'd be more concerned by having only 2,000m in the loft rooms. Once you get below 2,100 it does start to feel oppressive. And if your struggling for that much space I wonder what it's going to do to the external appearance. I'd probably take a look at options for a regular extension first.

Thanks for your reply. 

Unfortunately there is a downstairs extension in the property already so can't extend further there. Applications for first floor extensions have been declined on that road so won't be able to go for that either. 

 

I don't know anyone with a property with a loft height of 2 meters so finding it difficult to picture.

[Jammy]

1 hour ago, kandgmitchell said:

2.3m was the old minimum before the re-casting of the 1985 regs so most new builds used that as a standard. 2.0m is tight and is the minimum over a stair under the current regs. It could be done at a pinch considering most of one's time in a bedroom is spent horizontal!

Thanks for your reply. 

The architect was pretty confident we'd achieve the required 2m head height on the stairs. 

[kandgmitchell]

Well a door head is about 2.0m so use that as an idea of the headroom you'll get. I recall seeing such a loft conversion years ago. It was for the owners children so they offset leack of headroom for much needed floorspace.

[torre]

Try to give yourself a realistic feeling of what 2m headroom will feel like. You could get a double bed sheet or something larger like a tarpaulin and pin it off the top of a door stretched tightly to something similar height like other doors across the room. Or stand on your bed, but that may feel more spacious cos you'll tend to look down to space that won't be there.

 

Only you can really weigh up if it's worth it. Things I'd consider are: 

• 2m will be usable but may not feel comfortable; you could spend a lot for a conversion that doesn't scream 'luxury master suite' to future buyers
• How much first floor space will you lose? Do you need to make an existing room smaller to fit the stairs?
• Maybe a children's bedroom plus a study in the loft works better?
• Lowering the ceiling at least makes the job a bit less disruptive - the new one can go in before the old is ripped out
• It may well not add as much value as it'll cost, but if you're there a long time it's giving value every day

Is raising the roof an option? Permitted development rights were extended to include this subject to some conditions

[Jammy]

22 hours ago, torre said:

Try to give yourself a realistic feeling of what 2m headroom will feel like. You could get a double bed sheet or something larger like a tarpaulin and pin it off the top of a door stretched tightly to something similar height like other doors across the room. Or stand on your bed, but that may feel more spacious cos you'll tend to look down to space that won't be there.

 

Only you can really weigh up if it's worth it. Things I'd consider are: 

• 2m will be usable but may not feel comfortable; you could spend a lot for a conversion that doesn't scream 'luxury master suite' to future buyers
• How much first floor space will you lose? Do you need to make an existing room smaller to fit the stairs?
• Maybe a children's bedroom plus a study in the loft works better?
• Lowering the ceiling at least makes the job a bit less disruptive - the new one can go in before the old is ripped out
• It may well not add as much value as it'll cost, but if you're there a long time it's giving value every day

Is raising the roof an option? Permitted development rights were extended to include this subject to some conditions

 

Thanks for your input. 

 

No space will be lost on the first floor, just celing height will be lowered from 2600mm to 2300mm on the first floor. 2000mm head height for us wouldn't be too bad, but that was at best case scenario. It would be a lot to spend if it came in under 2000mm. 

 

Due to the property being in the middle of a terrace, I wouldn't think so. The architect has advised that it won't be permissable.