Staircase into loft

Anyone know how much roughly it would cost to put a staircase up to the loft . And do you need planning permission ?

Anyone know how much roughly it would cost to put a staircase up to the loft . And do you need planning permission ?

It would most certainly need building regs approval.

If you want the staircase for access to a habitable room then yes, you will need plans drawing up for a loft conversion and planning permission to proceed. It would be a waste of money if you did not do this correctly because if/when you come to sell your house the work would not add value and may even be detrimental to the sale. If you just want to access the loft for storage or whatever then a wooden loft ladder attached to the loft hatch would be a lot cheaper and perfectly adequate. Any good joiner should be able to do this.

There is already a room up there done as a spare bedroom by the previous owners with strengthened floors velux Windows, lights and radiator . The access is via drop down loft ladders in the hall. But I was wanting more permanent access .

The lack of proper access would seem to point to the fact that the previous occupants did not get planning permission. If this the case you need to decide if you want to do the job properly or just carry on using the room as it is. There are few things that add value to a house in the way that a correctly constructed loft conversion does so if you have the resources it would be sensible to do the job properly. Just adding a staircase might not be too expensive but would not add value to your home unless you have planning permission and the job is signed off by the local authority. It could add thousands to the value of your home.

The lack of proper access would seem to point to the fact that the previous occupants did not get planning permission. If this the case you need to decide if you want to do the job properly or just carry on using the room as it is. There are few things that add value to a house in the way that a correctly constructed loft conversion does so if you have the resources it would be sensible to do the job properly. Just adding a staircase might not be too expensive but would not add value to your home unless you have planning permission and the job is signed off by the local authority. It could add thousands to the value of your home.

Ok, thank you. Don't think they had permission. But it was checked when we purchased the house and was found to be done to building regs standard . But thanks for the info I'll have to look into getting planning permission .

Do you know why the previous occupants did not install a staircase themselves? Just wondering if it might be due to the fact that this would reduce space on the floor from which the staircase arises and perhaps necessitate the loss of a bedroom. This is often the case with loft conversions so if this is the case with your house you would need to consider whether the sacifice of a bedroom would be worth it in terms of amenity and value. For instance, if a loft is big enough to take one large, en suite bedroom then that is going to be better than a small boxroom. You would need to cost the loft conversion and also find out how much value it is likely to put on the house because if there is a ceiling price for properties in your area, it is possible that the project would not be cost effective. If you are staying put then it doesn't really matter.

Do you know why the previous occupants did not install a staircase themselves? Just wondering if it might be due to the fact that this would reduce space on the floor from which the staircase arises and perhaps necessitate the loss of a bedroom. This is often the case with loft conversions so if this is the case with your house you would need to consider whether the sacifice of a bedroom would be worth it in terms of amenity and value. For instance, if a loft is big enough to take one large, en suite bedroom then that is going to be better than a small boxroom. You would need to cost the loft conversion and also find out how much value it is likely to put on the house because if there is a ceiling price for properties in your area, it is possible that the project would not be cost effective. If you are staying put then it doesn't really matter.

Yeah I think you have hit the nail on the head. They made a bedroom for the grand kids . Ceiling height is not great, although it's fine for me but I'm short .

I think maybe the cost of full conversion would not put that much value on the house. It's just I'd like to use the space more but im not sure if it's worth a full conversion.

A number of years ago we bought a wooden hatch door ladder to get into our loft safely. Think we bought it from the local DIY shop and got a joiner to fit it. Can't remember how much it cost but it's been a really good buy. The rise is not too steep and there are hand rails on it. We had another one fitted to access the loft over the garage. Would something like this do the job?

I've already got one like that up to the room but the are quite steep was looking at the spiral space saver ones.

Our house originally had a staircase up to the loft when it was built but the building inspector made the owner take it out and replace it with a pull-down loft ladder in one of the bedrooms.

It contravened fire regs because the travel distance for escape was too long. It would have been ok if the staircase was enclosed within a protected shaft but the design of the house made it impossible to provide one.

You need to take professional advice.

Our house originally had a staircase up to the loft when it was built but the building inspector made the owner take it out and replace it with a pull-down loft ladder in one of the bedrooms.

It contravened fire regs because the travel distance for escape was too long. It would have been ok if the staircase was enclosed within a protected shaft but the design of the house made it impossible to provide one.

You need to take professional advice.

That last line is a bit strong Jim. (oops !)