Loft Room and building regs

[deanoc]

Hi Guys,

Hopefully a nice quick one for you experts out there!

Looking at buying houses and a few houses in my area are being advertised with a loft room/Bonus Room.... the lofts has been converted to what seems to be quite good standards, however have no staircase.

Can anyone let me know if it's possible to gain buiding regs for a loft conversion without a staircase in place?

My concern is that these places haven't been converted properly i.e floor & roof not supported correctly! probably other bits missing to. meaning despite the fact it looks like a living space it's not fit for purpose and if we wanted to use it realisitically we would have to have it certified (which could cost alot of money especially if work needs putting right)

Any help on this matter would be very much appreciated!

Thanks

 

[RonnyRaygun]

If you can prove (or get someone to do it for you) that the room complies with the building regulations in place at the time of the conversion, then your local authority will give you a regularisation certificate.

There will however almost certainly be some disruption to the finishes etc in order to prove what the structure is, what insulation has been provided etc.

You will of course have to install a compliant staircase as well.

 

[mikeey84]

I am not an expert, but i reckon that you will never get building regs approval for a loft room without a staircase, unless there is another clear fire escape route.

So unless you want to build a staircase outside, inside is the way to go.

 

[HullDoItYourself]

Stairs

Fire & general safety

To ensure adequate fire safety for the dwelling a new stair serving the new room(s) will be needed. Where there is not enough room for a full traditional stair, it may be possible to use a "space saving" stair. Retractable ladders or stairs are not normally acceptable.

For general safety reasons, there are specific criteria that a stair should be designed to.

Opening for new stairs

This would normally be formed by cutting away some of the existing ceiling joists between the existing habitable areas of the home and the loft-space. As these joists support the existing ceiling and restrain the pitched roof from spreading, replacement support should be provided. This would normally take the form of timber "trimmers" around the opening, most likely to be at least two timbers fixed together (double trimmer) to ensure the load is transferred to remaining timbers.

Taken from: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/loftconversion/
This confirms you will need some sort of stair access to your loft!
Sorry if not allowed to post links, new here!