Rooflight Loft Conversions London

Loft conversions are a practical and popular way to enlarge your home without encroaching on garden space. It can be a good way to avoid moving if interior space is the main consideration. And as well as creating an extra room or rooms, a loft conversion adds value to the house when you do eventually come to move. 

There are numerous ways to alter a loft, including dormer loft conversions, L-shaped loft conversions,  hip to gable loft conversions and Mansard Loft conversions.  In this article, however, we explore another option, the rooflight loft conversion, sometimes also a called skylight loft conversion and popularised by Velux windows.

Why choose rooflight windows for your loft conversion?

Fitting rooflights is usually less intrusive and simpler in construction terms than building full dormer windows. This will often make a rooflight loft conversion more economical. Other advantages include the facts that they are 

• less intrusive and occupy less space, so they are suitable where a dormer window might not fit easily
• quicker to install than dormer windows
• suitable where Planning restrictions forbid changing the shape or volume of the roof, as can be the case in conservation areas or if your house is a listed property.

An extra benefit is that rooflights let in up to three times more light that the equivalently sized vertical window, so they are a good way of flooding your new loft with daylight and a real sense of space.

Rooflight windows are ideal where space might be limited or views are a bonus rather than essential.

Will a skylight or rooflight loft conversion need Planning Permission?

In most cases a loft conversion using rooflight windows or skylights will not require Planning Permission. Usually it will come within your Permitted Development Rights. 

However, this does not mean you can always do as you wish. Other criteria may apply, and the following are worth noting:

• some locations (a conservation area, for example) may not automatically permit rooflight windows on the front your home without Planning Permission, and sometimes not even then.
• if your new windows overlook a neighbouring property (for example, if they are at the side of your house), you may be required to use frosted glass.
• New windows should not protrude more than 150mm beyond the roof plane – for most rooflight windows this is not a problem, because of their low profile design

If you do need Planning Permission it is best to use the services of a specialist professional firm, one which can support you with architectural design work and the Planning Application. They will help you navigate local Planning Policies and they will understand how local Planning Officers implement those policies in practice.

Expertise all the way

At Divi Design, we have wide and detailed experience of all aspects of loft conversions of all types, with many satisfied clients. We love the tremendous potential that skylight and rooflight loft conversions bring to “that” space in your roof and we’d love to help you set if free! 

We’re proud of our elegant designs, practical problem solving skills and our project management services. We combine Architectural Design with Planning as an extra specialism.

We do rooflight loft conversion all over London. Areas include (but are not limited to): Barking & Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Enfield, Greenwich, Hammersmith & Fulham, Havering, Romford, Thurrock, Twickenham, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Walthamstow, Richmond, Bromley, High Wycombe, Harrow, and Ealing.