Do I Need An Architect For My Attic Conversion
If you have been wanting to get on the attic conversion bandwagon, you would know that there are so many things to consider in the planning stages of the process. Similar to any major projects that you’ve ever been a part of, executing a loft conversion will require the owner of the project to make some key decisions. These decisions are important or key because they can very well determine whether the project turns out successful or not.
As a homeowner interested in getting the attic converting into a more meaningful space, one of the key questions that are probably on your mind is: do I need to get an architect involved in the project?
Well, the short answer to that question is: No, you don’t NEED to hire the services of an architect to plan your loft conversion however in some more complex situations you definitely will require an architect. Certainly, people have done it without requiring professional help, to varying degrees of success and complexities though.
However, as with anything related to building projects and all the baggage that naturally comes with it – converting an attic is NOT that simple and straightforward. A simple YES or NO answer may help you see the big picture.
Hence, the remaining sections of this article put everything in context so you can make a more informed decision as to whether having an architect on board your attic conversion project would prove more beneficial than not.
How An Attic Conversion Benefits
Just in case you don't know, there are is a lot of benefits you can enjoy by simply having your attic converted for a meaningful purpose. Depending on the family's needs or wants you're aiming to address, a attic conversion can be a pretty big and involved endeavour to take on. The good side is, a attic conversion can be an amazing investment – in so many ways.
You can gain from a attic conversion in the following ways:
· Create more space
· Increase the value of your home in the real estate market
· Increases the energy efficiency of your home
· Beautify and improves the building aesthetics
· More storage space
· Gain more natural light
· You don’t have to move houses
Planning For An Attic Conversion
More space is probably the commonest wish of every Irish homeowner, but not everyone has the resources to move house or incorporate an extension to their existing structure. But a atticconversion is an excellent alternative and one that is within the ability of most persons to pursue.
A smart solution to the 'more space' problem no doubt but the process can feel daunting. Perhaps, the biggest issue about the whole process is knowing exactly where to start!
Well, let’s start at the beginning... If there’s on indeed.
Ascertain Whether Your Attic Is Convertible
Unfortunately, very few houses are designed with a future loft conversion in mind. Hence, before going too far into the project, we would recommend that you ascertain whether your attic can be converted or not.
To begin, carry out the following assessment on your roof space:
· Available Head Height: when you measure from the top of the ceiling joists to the bottom of the ridge timber, you need to have at least 2.2m head height for the conversion to be suitable.
· Pitch Angle: the higher the angle of the roof pitch, the higher the head height you measured above is likely to be. Dormers or a roof redesign can increase the floor room and potentially the head height.
· Usable Space: is the space large or wide enough? The pitch angle does determine the amount of useful space that you’re naturally going to get from the type of roof structure roof you have.
· Roof Structure: the roof structure can also play an important part in how feasible the whole project is at first glance. Traditional frame type roof is the most suitable for attic conversions. Apart from having the rafters strengthen, they can be very easy to cut and open up.
Trussed roofs would require more structural modifications, like the insertion of steel beams between load bearing walls for any new floor joists to hang on and to support the rafter sections.
· Chimneys, Water Tanks and Plumbing and Other Services: all of these don’t pass through the loft space so you would need to evacuate them. Without the roof space for plumbing and water tanks, you’ll probably have to replace the heating and hot water systems with a sealed one.
· Felt is Present: check that your roof has felt under the tiles and is completely weather tight. If you don’t have felt, you’ll most likely be able to see the back of the roof tiles and the battens they are fastened to. Chances are you will have felt if yours is a modern house.
If you've checked the roof properly and you’re sure that your house has all of these things in place already, then congratulations! Your attic just passed the preliminary checks. Your house may be very much suitable for a loft conversion and you can proceed to assess what kind of loft conversion you could have.
So, what happens if one of these points highlight the presence of a problem? Do not fret over it. Remember when we said a loft conversion is not always simple and straightforward? Good. This doesn’t necessarily mean your plan is impractical and so you have to throw it out the window. At most, it just means that some of the customary complexities associated with a loft conversion are present at the very beginning of the project and you will have to overcome them before you can move forward with it.
Effectively, you will need the expertise of a professional architect to be able to come up with good solutions to the challenges exposed by the assessment of the roof you carried out.
Why An Architect Is Vital For Your Conversion
After you assess the state of your attic, it will become clearer where help or advice would be vital to your conversion efforts. As with the majority of loft conversion projects, the success or failure of it often lies in the accuracy, thoroughness and expertise involved in the planning process. When we talk of the process, we mean the conversion in its entirety – from drawing up the architectural blueprints to factoring in the type of materials to be used for the execution. From that perspective alone, we can say an architect plays a more prominent role than you’d first imagine.
Architectural Drawings For Your Loft Conversion
A thorough architect will visit your home to see things for themselves. Don't be surprised if they can spot potential hiccups (or springboard too) that you may have overlooked when you did an earlier assessment of the attic. After gaining a thorough understanding of your extension plans, only then will the architect go on and create a full-scale plan of the required works. These plans are what we called architectural designs or drawings.
Architectural Drawings are collections of technical details that are put together by an architect to layout possible designs and procedures for achieving those designs for your attic space. They help you visualised the process to be taken as well as how the finished work would look like.
They may be fancy words and fancy documents used by fancy professionals, but they are an essential part of achieving quality and successful planning permission conversion of your attic. And they can serve even more purposes than you expect.
Are There Other Purposes For An Architectural Drawing?
· Perfect For Setting Out Your Intentions For The Conversion:
Contrary to what you may think, the architectural drawing is for you as much as it is for the building contractor that will execute the plans. You’re encouraged to discuss your plans, intentions, wishes, needs, and even budget with the architect before they begin drawing up the designs.
With the keen eyes and ears of an architect on board, you have every chance of maximising the available space, achieve any goals you might have – such as an ensuite – while staying well within your budget for the entire project.
· Draw Up Project Estimates
Not only will this present the finer technical details of the project, but it also delves into territories like the type of materials and finishes that should be used to complete the project. One aspect such details becomes helpful is when you ask for the potential costs of the project and the time frame for the works to be carried out.
· Blueprints For The Building Contractor
After all the planning is completed, these drawings are handed over to the construction teams saddled with carrying out the conversion of the loft. As long as they follow the laid out plans, the finished attic room should be accurate and complete per the architect's detail designs.
· Can be Invaluable When Applying For Planning Permission
In addition to all the above, one area where an architectural drawing makes a difference is in the application for planning permission. It doesn’t matter whether you are applying for full permission, a detailed and accurate architectural drawing is the only way you can properly avail the local planning planners of your development plans. These drawings are essentially a crucial determiner as to whether you will be given planning permission at the first time of asking or not. Your architect will be able to guide you with a design that will be acceptable to the planning authority.
Do I need An Architectural Drawing For my Loft Conversion?
The answer is no. You don’t need an architectural drawing for all type of loft conversions – whether you decide to work with an architect or not.
However, for some type of loft conversions, such technical documents will be key. Especially when converting your attic will alter the external appearance of the house.
Consider the following type of loft conversions:
· Dormer Attic Conversions
· Hip to Gable Attic Conversions
· Mansard Conversions
They are not the most basic options you can choose from but are becoming increasingly popular by the minute. They are that popular because they promise the most space and head height. To make it happen, these loft conversions require some varying degrees of additions to your existing roof structure. Since there are likely to change the original exterior appearance of your building, they come under stricter planning scrutiny.
Even though you may or may not need planning permission, there are building regulations resulting loft rooms must satisfy to avoid you paying heavy penalties. For that reason, it’s highly recommended that you employ someone who has the experience and knowledge of both planning and building regulations designing your attic space from the get-go.
It’s important to state here that these three loft conversion types are some of the most expensive. To get a spacious loft room that is habitable would require a significant cash input. In all the three cases mentioned above, you would require planning permission.
Habitable Status
For an attic to be classed as a habitable space it will need both full planning permission and full building regulations compliance so in that instance your architect will be a must.But for it to be a good future investment, the designs have to be accurate and structurally faultless. Only then can you secure habitable status for the rooms and recoup the best price should you decide to sell.
4 Benefits of Hiring An Architect For Your Attic Conversion
There are numerous benefits of using an architect or design company when converting your attic into a liveable space. Architects are not only used for grand designs projects costing millions of Euros, are they?
As attic conversions specialists who have been at it long enough, we see many homeowners who decided against using an architect only to pay dearly for it either by having their planning application denied, falling foul of building regulations, or carrying out expensive corrective maintenance.
Here are 5 ways an architect ensures your loft room is converted in line with your vision while keeping the authorities happy with your developments:
1. Understand You And What You Need:
The very first benefit you realize from having a chat with an experienced architect is that you don’t have to explain your vision in excruciating details before they can understand your needs and desires.
A seasoned architect would have handled hundreds of loft conversions. So, when you tell them exactly what you hope to achieve in terms of space, purpose, and access, they will leverage that experience when and advise you on the best routes to take to achieve your objectives.
2. Lateral Thinking:
Unlike a regular person planning an attic conversion, an architect knows that each decision always has costs (as well as benefits) associated with them. The costs related to every design decisions concerning your attic may affect planning permission, structural implications, party walls issues, building regulations requirements, gain and loss of natural light, and so on.
An architect drawing up your attic conversion plans will bring all those issues to the fore, even before the development begins proper. From the architectural designs, you can test and formulate your ideas without any thoughts or fear of paying a costly price should they prove impractical.
Also, as the development begins, having an architect on board will ensure any readjustments that have to be entertained for the sake of the project doesn’t have an irreparable knock-on effect down the line. Any changes that have to be made will be managed and controlled by the architect's initial master plan and invaluable insights gathered from experiences over the years.
3. Ensure Everything is Done Within Scope
Next to buying your home, a conversion of the loft can be one of the most significant projects you are ever going to undertake on the property. A faultless design plan drawn up by an architect is going to be the main point of reference for the most important development constraints: time, quality, and cost.
An architect will be help guide you and help to insure the construction teams prioritize these important criteria and stay within acceptable limits as they execute the project.
4. Oversee The Construction Process
Some design or loft conversion companies have a builder arm that handles the execution of the project itself. Even when they may not offer a building contractor in their package, they usually have contacts of other professionals that can help you take the project to completion.
Not all architect have the resources or contact to offer this, in reality. However, if they do offer it, it’s something that you should take advantage of. It will mean that only the right professionals with proper training get to work on your project. From your working with an architect alone, you can source and assemble a team of structural engineers, builders, etc. to work on the project to completion. Also, following your architect’s recommendations will provide you with the best chance of realising your loft conversion without relegating quality and within estimated costs.
Risks Involved in Not Using an Architect To Plan Your Attic Conversion
The only way to mitigate again the risks below is by paying the fee that you’d undoubtedly incur from using the expertise of an architect.
But if you opt against bringing an architect on board, you run the risk of:
· Planning Application Rejection
· Fines or worse, if permitted development rights have not been followed
· Fines or worse, if building regulations were not adhered to
· Poorly designed and executed loft conversion
· Paying for corrective measures to mitigate issues caused by poor design and quality
Best Value For Your Investment
Want to get even more value from your attic conversion? Reach out to us and discover how we can turn your lofty wishes into reality! At www.atticplanning.ie we offer specialist knowledge and assistance with planning permission for your attic conversion and more. Atticplanning.ie is a website owned and run by JEArchitecture which is a Registered Architects practice.
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