Shell Loft Conversions

Our shell package covers the structural and weathertight work:

• Structural steelwork: Steel beams designed by a structural engineer, including replacing trusses on a trussed roof loft conversion.
• New floor structure: Floor joists strong enough for a habitable room.
• Roof work: The dormer, gable or mansard structure, roof covering and external cladding, or the roof window openings on a Velux conversion.
• Windows: New dormer windows and roof windows, fitted and weathertight.
• Staircase opening: The opening formed and trimmed in the floor below, ready for the staircase.

You can add any of these to the shell, so you only take on the parts you are comfortable with:

• The staircase: Supplied and fitted.
• Insulation: To the roof slopes, walls and floor.
• First fix electrics: Cables and back boxes through our domestic electrical installation service.
• First fix plumbing and heating: Pipework for an en-suite through our bathroom plumbing service, and for radiators.
• Plasterboard and plastering.

We agree the exact scope in writing before work starts, so it is clear what we are building and what you are finishing.

A loft conversion must be signed off under the building regulations as a complete, habitable room, not as a shell. That means the work you finish yourself is inspected too. Before starting, it is important to agree:

• Who holds the building control application: It can be in your name or ours, and it must cover the finished work.
• Which items you are responsible for: Typically fire-resisting doors onto the stairway, mains-powered interlinked smoke alarms, insulation, ventilation and the staircase if it is not in our scope.
• Electrical work: New circuits in a loft are notifiable. They must be installed by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, or notified to building control before work starts.
• Gas work: Any gas work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

The completion certificate is issued only once everything is finished and inspected. You will need it when you sell the house. We explain each item at the start and leave you a clear list of what remains for sign-off.

Yes, many homeowners finish the interior themselves or with their own trades. The work that can usually be done yourself includes:

• fitting insulation and plasterboard
• second fix carpentry
• flooring
• decorating

Some items need qualified trades by law, or need inspecting:

• notifiable electrical work
• gas work
• fire safety items that building control will check

If any part turns out to be more than you want to take on, we can quote to finish it, including painting and kitchen and bathroom tiling.

The planning position is the same as for any loft conversion and depends on the loft type. Roof windows and rear dormers on houses are often permitted development, while mansards usually need permission. Where steel beams bear into a party wall, notices are needed under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. We handle these for the structural stage.