I am about to move in to my new house and would like to extend the loft extension to its full capacity. Basically on one side the ceiling only goes down to a certain point so there is a large amount of storage space behind it.

I want to move the plasterboard wall back so as to extend the area of the room out further. Is it just a case of knocking down the old plaster board and putting some up further back? I dont really understand why they didn't design it like that in the first place.

Has anyone done anything similar and could tell me the costs and difficulties involved?

Maybe some of you have recommendations for handymen I could contact.

Thank you

If you are going from a hipped roof to gable end you need planning permission and the loft would have to be reinspected to comply with current building regs!!

Your neighbours may object too as changing the style of roof can often restrict daylight to a neighbouring property!

Discuss it with them first...you don't wanna spend money on planning if your neighbours are not going to agree to it! You don't want to fall out with them either if you just moving in!


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If it isn't changing the roof shape/size I would imagine you could do as you please internally!!

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I suppose one of the main concerns has to be is that present wall also providing uprights to support the roof. I've seen similar in older style houses and it does look as though the loft or attic could of been made twice as bigin many cases till you realise the pitched roof is going to mean that even if you did move a wall back a few feet you'd have no headroom in that section of the room.
Most builders are happy to give free quotes and so by all means get a few quotes in but the process if feasible will be messy and may include reinforcing or rreplacing joists amongst other things.

These walls not only support the roof but also help support / hold up the floor to the attic as the joists are often inadequate in older Sheff houses, and moving these walls can cause the roof to sag as they are usually placed in the middle of each side of the roof. So be careful it is not as simple as it might appear!

we had a similar issue, the solution for me was to put access hatches through the plaster walls and floor the space behind, it's all used for storage now, and also means that the underside of the roof can be inspected.

I had the walls moved back in the attic in my previous house and in most cases the walls are just plaster and not load bearing. Get a few builders in to do you a quote but bear in mind they might have to knock a few holes in the walls to see if there are any supporting beams behind them. In many cases you can make attic rooms much larger and have either storage hatches put in or cupboards built in. I had the walls moved and cupboards built in for about £800.

Hope that helps!

if its "under the eaves" i.e in the slope of the roof you can easily move the plasterboard back. if it is plasterboard it won't be load bearing in any event.
designers of these things often have different ideas on aesthetics, hence a taller flat wall than a 2 foot wide band.

my plasterboard walls are under the slope of the roof, and as far as I can tell (which is quite far, as I can get behind them and look) they are both loadbearing.
Or rather the original pieces of wood that run from the roof beams to the joists are, and the plasterboard is fastened to those.

yeah in that case i think the builder has probably opted for that option to support the plasterboard as opposed to a newly constructed stud wall.

Originally posted by willman
yeah in that case i think the builder has probably opted for that option to support the plasterboard as opposed to a newly constructed stud wall.

yep - and mine is probably a typical example of a sheffield terrace with a conversion done 10 or 20 years ago.

Thanks for all the info, I guess now I need to get hold of a builder to do the job and investigations. Hopefully it shouldn't be too expensive.