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Didn't want to hijack the other thread so I've started this one. I'm thinking we may need a loft conversion to free up some space. I've read that if the loft conversion is used as a bedroom then the whole, house would need to meet 3 storey building fire regulations replacing internal doors with fire doors etc.
What I'm not sure about is if the space was just used as a storage room would the same regulations apply? I would not be wanting a fixed staircase, just a fairly solid pull down set of steps leading to a floored / walled loft space with a dormer extrension etc to provide extra head height and space.
Have I found a question even STW can't answer?
I think the key is if you are creating a liveable space. IMHO it would be hard to argue that wasn't the case if you were wanting to put a dormer in. I'm not a surveyor/architect/building officer though.
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/36/loft_conversion/3
Dormer part would just be to increase the amount of useable space. Would not having a fixed permanent staircase make the difference between storage area and liveable space?
Dunno, I guess the development control guys will need to be convinced what the intended use of the space is, but if I was one of them, I'd be suspicious.
Fair point. I'll have to find out though submitting the plans, just wondered if there was some sort of threshold between a "liveable space" and what counted as an extra storage room based on something in the design.
I'd not go to the expense of putting a dormer in if I couldn't count that as a bedroom or habitable room when I came to sell.
There is that, spend a bit more now to make sure the room could be used for other purposes later.
The other thing I've read though is that folding steps aren't generally allowed for a bedroom (or even for a liveable space????) and that's a showstopper - don't have the room for a full staircase.