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Do I Need Planning Permission For A Loft Room?

The answer to this question is maybe. Generally, loft rooms are covered under “Permitted Development which means you won’t need to apply for a planning permission to build a loft room. This is like an advance planning permission provided by local authorities to allow some particular building works to be done such as loft conversions, rear extensions and more. When you’re covered by a “Permitted Development, you’re given the free range to oversee your home’s development without much interference from the regulations or the council. However, for permitted development to apply, there are some specific criteria that must be met. Therefore, if your loft room does not meet the following requirements given below, then you must complete a planning application before proceeding.

• In a terraced house, the converted loft space must not be more than 40 cubic metres.

• In a detached building or semi detached house, the converted loft space must not be more than 50 cubic metres.

• The existing roof slope at the front of the house must cover the extension made.

• The extension should not increase the height of the roof in any way.

• Verandas, balconies and any other structures of this nature must not be included in the extension’s plan.

• The side facing window openings should be at a minimum of 1.7 metres above the ground. The windows must be obscured as well.

• The roof extension should be set back as far as practically possible. It should be at a minimum of 20cm from the current eaves.

• The roof extension should not overhang the house’s roof or it’s wall.

• The materials to be incorporated must be the same or at least similar to what you already have on the house’s exterior.

The short and simple answer is yes, fitted wardrobes add value to any home or property. Owning a home is mostly the single most expensive asset that a person can possess. And as a result, your home is a very special asset that you’d want to make conducive and maintain to the best of your ability. To retain the value of your home or even add to it, you have to learn how to maximize its potentials using different means. In the UK, a big issue for most households is usually the lack of storage space and most especially, the quickly shaped bedrooms which is really affected with storage problems. It almost always seems like there isn’t enough space to keep our clothes as well as the never-ending portfolio of accessories, devices and gadgets. Therefore, an extra or excess usable room inside a home is always a premium.

In other words maximizing the space you have, especially the unused ones, is a great way to add value to your property. Custom made fitted wardrobes are a great means to making the most out of the space within your home and are also designed to last for several years. Unlike the freestanding wardrobes, modern and fitted wardrobes are not only visually appealing, but they’re also customizable to fully maximize every inch of space within the room. As a result, they’re the ideal solution especially for loft rooms where the bedroom may be slope or oddly shaped to make the best out of the space available.

Potential investors are always eager to invest in homes with enough space that are well maximized. Therefore, a fitted wardrobe will not only help you create a better demand for your home at the point of selling, but it’ll also go a long to increase its value in so many ways.

No matter how big or small a building is, it can only be as good as it’s foundation - and that’s a fact! It all starts from the footing and when it isn’t deep enough, unlike badly installed gutters or gapped hardwood flooring, can make the whole building collapse to the ground. Just like any code recommendations, the depth of the footings of your porch is a parameter that must be complied with and adjusted to suit your local code requirements.

As a rule of thumb, you should always dig below the frost line when excavating your footings. At this depth level, the moisture present in the soil will be frozen. Ultimately, this will help the ground to act as a barrier to insulate the soil below the footing from freezing during the cold months. As a result, in regions where the weather is almost always very cold the depth of your footings is expected to be at least 48 inches. But in areas featuring a warm climate, you may be allowed to install your footings on grade.

In addition, it’s compulsory that your footings must be installed at a minimum depth of 12 inches below unsettled soil. However, if you’re constructing the structure into a steep hill’s side or by the side of a retaining wall, it’s required that you maintain the least distance to grade both vertically and laterally. In the event whereby you need to achieve a good lateral barrier, you’ll need to have your foundation dug a lot deeper compared to if it’s on a flat surface. For a more accurate and updated information, you can consult your local building inspection department to get familiar with the requirements in your area.

Due to the fact that we live in a country (the UK) with so much history as well as architectural beauty, there’s a need to have what’s commonly called “Conservation Area. A Conservation Area is basically an area which is designated by the local authority and is established in order to protect and enhance areas of historical and architectural interest which includes both rural and urban areas. Therefore, when it comes to refurbishment project in a conservation area, there’s usually a lot of things that needs to be put into consideration as well as hurdles to scale in order to make alterations to your property without any interruptions from the law.

In general, all properties in a conservation area have strict regulations governing the outlook of the houses, as this plays a major role in the appearance of the area as a whole. As a result, if you wish to bring down a building, fence, wall or even railing and the likes, you’ll need to obtain prior consent before you proceed. An easy way to go about any refurbishment plan is to to ensure the usage of exactly the same materials that exists in the current house. When you abide by the rules, you’ll be in a more favourable position to acquire the needed prior consent.

The short and simple answer to the question is yes, you can refurbish a house in a conservation area but subject to the approval of the local authority through a planning permission. And when it comes to submitting a planning application for approval, some are aspects will usually be subjected to more intense examinations than the others. Hence, the need to make sure that your refurbishment plans are all friendly in a similar way to the neighbouring buildings and environment.

If you’re considering adding a two storey house extension, then setting a budget for this project would be a great way to get started. Similar to a rear extension, a two storey extension usually leaves the rest of the building needing some work and, due to its size, this may imply the re-development of the entire house - which is why they can be very costly. Some of the other influencing factors that can have big impact on a two storey house extension cost includes: your location, the size of the build, complexity of the design ( anything beyond the standard build will normally require more expertise and time), the glazing to be incorporated ( the more the glass used in the project, the more the material cost), as well as the team used.

Generally, when it comes to extensions, the major part of the expenses will be made on the build of the project. This is because it doesn’t only cover the material cost but also the contractor’s overhead as well as the daily rates. At this stage, the extension prices can be determined by the standard of the work that’s being done.

For a fairly average room size of about 18 square metre, the two storey extension should cost within the range of £2,500 to £3,000 per square metre - with the range being determined by the finishes incorporated. Therefore, a two storey extension of about 18 square metre should cost within the range of £45,000 to £55,000. However, this is with the assumption that there are standard window sizes, bathroom suits are modest, and without any need for any purpose joinery or glazing. If you wish to include all these extra features you’ll also have to pay more to make the total cost between £70,000 to £80,000.

How Much Do Roof Rooms Cost?

The price of your roof room may vary depending on your location within the country. Other factors that can also play a key role in determining the price of a roof room includes the conversion’s type as well as the legal and technical issues it’s currently facing. Usually, the cost of roof rooms will range between £1,200 to £2,000 per square metre. The differences in the price per square metre is influenced by the size of the alterations to the roof, the type of roof room to be constructed, the access, location as well as the finishing type.

• DORMER LOFT CONVERSION.

Here, one of the slopes of a pitched roof is substituted for a box-shaped structure. The outcome is a flat roof space which enables the fitting of full sized windows as well as the incorporation of several appliances. This is quite expensive as it involves a total rebuilding of one roof pitch alongside the complete internal works that are associated. The average cost of a standard dormer loft project will range between £25,000 to £50,000.

• HIP TO GABLE LOFT CONVERSION

Here a vertical brick wall is used to substitute the roof’s slope at the ending part of the terrace on detached buildings. The average cost of this type of roof room will range between £32,000 to £60,000.

• ROOFLIGHT LOFT CONVERSION

This basically involves fitting rooflight windows in the roof. Other improvements include flooring, plasterboarding, strengthening of the existing floor, as well as installation of rooflights. The average cost of this type of roof room will range between £15,000 to £25,000.

• MANSARD LOFT EXTENSION

This roof room can create an extra storey on top of an existing building as it makes a space featuring two or four external walls that are a bit sloped. The average cost of this type of roof room will range between £40,000 to £70,000.

If you’re planning to add a kitchen extension to your property or perhaps you’re simply looking for ways to increase the value of your property, this is one of the common questions that usually pops up. A simple answer to this question is yes, a kitchen extension will add value to your house. With a kitchen being one of the most frequently used room in a house, adding an extra space to the commonly used room can only increase the value of the entire property. However, to determine the value added by such an extension, there’s a need to calculate the cost of setting one up first.

Kitchen extension costs are greatly influenced by a wide range of variables such as the size, type of the extension and specifications, your location, professional fees, materials used and more. Overall, the type of the extension you opt for will play the most significant role in the determination of your kitchen extension cost. Here, we’ll be looking at a single storey kitchen extension.

For a single storey kitchen extension, you can expect your home’s market value to increase within the range of 5 percent to about 10 percent. When trying to calculate the cost of kitchen extension, it’s crucial to take into account how much value it’ll add to your home so as to make sure that the amount expended will not outweigh the expected value to be added by the project.

For a more accurate idea, there’s the need to consult local estate agents. However, for a much needed guideline, single storey kitchen extensions are usually able to add about 5 to 10 percent to a home’s value, while double storey extension should be up to 20 percent. But as stated earlier, this will depend on several variables.

Well, just like many other team work, a bricklayer is only as good as his supporting cast. And a hard-working labourer should be able to keep three bricklayer gangs happy. But even when he gets to serve just one bricklayer, the site conditions and nature of the wall can also play a huge role in determining the number of bricks that can be laid within 24 hours.

With the best possible site condition, hard-working labourer and best scenario with no pillars, no face brick, long straight wall and no wall ties, a well trained bricklayer should be able to lay within a range of 800 to 1100 bricks all day long. However, you rarely get walls like this as there is always going to be some corner or curve somewhere which usually takes some time to get right. Furthermore, once the bricklayer has laid up to 5 feet, there’ll be a need to get some lift. From that point onwards, the job understandably gets slower and tougher - meaning there’ll most definitely be a face brick.

In addition, there are multiple other factors that can affect the number of bricks that can be laid in a day. Sometimes its the complex designs or weather that’ll determine the daily rate.

With the aforementioned factors and more realistically, on a good day and great site, an expert bricklayer should be able to lay about 500 to 800 bricks in a day. This is generally a very good target, but of course you never can tell with the reasons above and other factors that are simply beyond the control of the bricklayer. If you have a project and want it completed as soon as possible, you can pay the bricklayers based on the number of bricks laid to increase their efficiency.