Loft conversion and load bearing walls

[Leroy]

Hi all

 

We have recently had an offer accepted on a bungalow/chalet. I believe originally a bungalow but half the loft has been converted and a dormer installed to create a 3.8x4 meter room.
 

We are looking at converting the remainder of the loft, I’m just trying to figure out if load bearing internal walls on the ground floor make a difference for structural calcs for the conversion. As in would we get away with not using steels and use the load bearing walls instead. The load bearing walls run pretty much the whole length of the bungalow and would sit almost in the middle of any new floor joists. In my head say it’s 8 meters from front to back and the structural wall is at 4.2 meters from the back wall. Then the calcs for the floor joist would only be 4.2m and 3.8m rather than the whole 8m as it would be supported in the middle on the wall.

 

Could be completely wrong but that’s what makes sense to me. 
 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

[Temp]

 

24 minutes ago, Leroy said:

In my head say it’s 8 meters from front to back and the structural wall is at 4.2 meters from the back wall. Then the calcs for the floor joist would only be 4.2m and 3.8m rather than the whole 8m as it would be supported in the middle on the wall.

 

That sounds fine. There are span tables that tell you what size joists you would need for a 4.2m span. I'm away from my computer or I would look them up for you.

 

Just check if there are any openings in the wall that might need reinforcing to carry the load of a joist above.

[Leroy]

Many thanks for your reply. One other issue has just popped up which I didn’t realise was a thing and saw it as a positive. It has spray foam insulation on the roof. Our current lenders are supposedly on the list that will consider lending and treats them on a case by case basis. Anyone have any experience with this??

[Mr Punter]

Spray foam insulation in lofts is considered very unfavourably by many lenders.  Perhaps consider the cost of removal in your purchase price.  Also, ensure that the loft conversion has building regs as a habitable space, otherwise you may end up starting again.

[Leroy]

Yeah I’ve just asked the question to see if there is any paperwork for the foam. I highly doubt the loft conversion has up to date building regs. I would imagine it was done some time in the 70-80’s will that cause me issues going forward if it doesn’t comply with current building regs even though it was probably converted prior to building regs. I’m wondering if I can use this to negotiate offer price as it was being sold as a 3 bed. Although as we were hoping to do a double hip to gable loft conversion with a rear dormer if budgets allow we would probably start again with it anyway. 

[Conor]

1 hour ago, Leroy said:

Yeah I’ve just asked the question to see if there is any paperwork for the foam. I highly doubt the loft conversion has up to date building regs. I would imagine it was done some time in the 70-80’s will that cause me issues going forward if it doesn’t comply with current building regs even though it was probably converted prior to building regs. I’m wondering if I can use this to negotiate offer price as it was being sold as a 3 bed. Although as we were hoping to do a double hip to gable loft conversion with a rear dormer if budgets allow we would probably start again with it anyway. 

If you are altering the existing conversion, then the whole lot would have to meet current regs. That would include everything from the internal doors  in hhe house (fire safety), stairs (access /egress) insulation, structure, ventilation etc. for pricing, assume the whole lot would need to be brought up to modern standards.

[Temp]

1 hour ago, Conor said:

If you are altering the existing conversion, then the whole lot would have to meet current regs. That would include everything from the internal doors  in hhe house (fire safety), stairs (access /egress) insulation, structure, ventilation etc. for pricing, assume the whole lot would need to be brought up to modern standards.

 

If its a bungalow with loft conversion presumably it's a two storey house which is usually easier than a three storey. 

[Leroy]

Yeah it’s like a 1.5 storey house. Unsure if it was built with a loft conversion and dormer or if this was done later. Any one have any experiences recently on prices for loft conversions. I’ve seen some wild prices online. I’m struggling to find a proper breakdown I understand there are a lot of variables But all I need is the roof and floor structural work done and windows. So it’s watertight. All the prices I see says depends on finish. 

[Leroy]

Thanks for your responses as well guys very much appreciated. Love this forum!