Fantastic Services breaks down the different types of loft conversions

The cleaning and handyman services franchise recently posted a blog to the Fantastic Services website all about loft conversions, helping customers find the right option for them.

In the words of Fantastic Services, “Whether you want to add value to your home, expand your living space by building upwards, save your outside green space, or battle the shortfall in UK homes, a loft conversion can be a very smart idea.” In this blog, the cleaning franchise explained that loft conversions were the most cost-effective way to add value to a home, particularly if they’re eco-friendly and green in nature. Fantastic Services then detailed the following five types of conversion that might be chosen:

• Dormer loft conversion - The most common type and suitable for most UK homes, dormers look like an extra room that “has been added extending vertically from the slope of the roof”. A single dormer adds new height, space and light to roof space and likely features skylights, while a double dormer often has a flat roof and reaches across the whole width of the building, creating a lot more space even in a small home.
• L-shaped loft conversion - Technically a type of dormer and sometimes also called a “dog-leg dormer”, this is “two dormer conversions at right angles to each other”. This kind of conversion creates a lot of extra space and often falls within permitted development rights.
• Hip to gable loft conversion - This type of conversion converts the sloping side of a roof (the hip) into a vertical wall (the gable). It’s a great choice for a property with a hipped/sloping roof, adding a lot of value to a property, but might require planning permission.
• Mansard loft conversion - Also called a “French roof”, this alters a roof so the sloping parts are “flattened up towards the horizontal” and the flattened roof then becomes a “steep pitch almost at the vertical, with new windows often housed in small dormers”. A Mansard conversion suits most homes, but usually requires planning permission.
• Velux loft conversion - A Velux conversion “relies mainly on skylights to turn attic space into new living space”. Windows are fitted between roof rafters without a change in the roof structure, meaning planning permission won’t be required (and the conversion will likely be cheaper than other options).

Fantastic Services concluded the blog article with a reminder about planning permission, saying, “There are certain criteria that govern whether planning permission is required for a loft conversion. In general, the simpler the conversion you’re planning - a Velux conversion, for example - the less likely you are to significantly alter the building and the less likely you are to need planning permission.” Find out more about this informed, customer-focused franchise via its profile page, which you’ll discover linked above.