North West loft conversions: add a bedroom upstairs without losing the garden.

It depends entirely on which conversion type your loft suits. A rooflight (Velux-only) conversion starts at £14k and typically runs up to £35k. A standard rear dormer is £20k–£55k. Hip-to-gable conversions £45k–£60k. Full mansards £55k–£75k. Every Wolsten quote is fixed in writing after a free on-site survey — the price you see is the price you pay.

A rooflight conversion typically takes 3–6 weeks on site. A standard dormer: 6–9 weeks. Hip-to-gable: 8–11 weeks. Full mansard: 10–12 weeks. Building Regs sign-off happens at the end and is usually within a week of completion. Planning permission (where required) adds 8–10 weeks before any work starts on site.

The rule of thumb: you need at least 2.2m head height at the ridge (peak) for a rooflight conversion to work without modification. Below that, you're looking at a dormer (which adds head height in a portion of the loft), or a full hip-to-gable / mansard which rebuilds the roof structure. We measure at the free survey and give you a straight answer on which conversion type fits before quoting.

Rooflight: Velux skylights cut into the existing roof slope. No external roof changes. Cheapest, fastest — works where head height is already good.

Dormer: a "box" structure built out from the rear roof slope, with vertical walls and a flat roof. Adds substantial floor area and gives proper head height throughout the loft. The most popular conversion type by far.

Hip-to-gable: the side "hipped" portion of the roof is rebuilt into a vertical gable wall, adding floor area at the side. Often paired with a rear dormer for a master suite.

Mansard: the entire roof structure is rebuilt with near-vertical sides, effectively adding a new top storey. Maximum floor area and head height. Premium spec, planning required.

Rooflight conversions and most standard rear dormers are permitted development — no planning needed. Hip-to-gable and mansards almost always require full planning permission. Conservation areas, listed buildings and properties with restrictive Article 4 directions remove permitted development rights, meaning planning is required for all loft work. We'll flag any planning requirement at the free survey and handle the submission for you.

Yes — always, without exception, for any habitable loft conversion. Building Regs cover structural integrity, insulation, fire safety (interlinked smoke alarms, FD30 doors, escape routing), staircase compliance, ventilation and electrics. Wolsten handles the full submission, inspections and sign-off — that's included in your fixed quote, no separate Council fees to manage.

Yes, typically. A well-built loft conversion adding a double bedroom + ensuite adds 15–25% to a typical North West home's value — usually significantly more than the cost of the conversion itself. The biggest value uplift comes from converting a two-bed house to three-bed, or three-bed to four-bed, where the next bracket up matters most to the local market.

Building Regs (Part K) require: minimum 2m headroom above every tread, rise no greater than 220mm, going no less than 220mm, total pitch no steeper than 42°, balustrade 900mm high (1.1m at landings), gaps no greater than 100mm. On older terraces and semis, fitting a compliant staircase into the existing landing footprint is genuinely the most technical part of the whole job. Paul leads every Wolsten staircase install personally — built on site to fit, not pulled off a shelf.

Yes, on almost any loft type. Plumbing extends from the existing bathroom or kitchen stack below; soil-pipe routing usually runs through a stud wall in the loft or down through an eaves cupboard. Cost typically adds £4k–£10k depending on spec (basic shower room vs full-tiled ensuite with vanity). We design the layout at the quote stage so the bathroom sits over a load-bearing wall and minimises pipe runs.

A proper Wolsten loft includes full insulation to current Building Regs U-values — typically 100mm PIR between rafters + 50mm under-rafter for the roof slopes, 100mm in stud walls, and acoustic underlay under the floor deck for sound separation from below. Heating extends from the existing system — usually one or two new radiators sized to the room. The end result feels exactly like any other room in the house: warm, dry, properly built.

For a rooflight or dormer conversion, no — we work with the existing roof structure. For hip-to-gable or mansard, we're rebuilding the roof anyway as part of the conversion. If your existing roof is at end-of-life (heavy moss, slipped tiles, sagging timbers), it's worth budgeting a re-roof alongside the conversion rather than converting under a tired roof — we'll flag this at the survey if relevant.

If your conversion involves any work on the shared wall (cutting in steel beams, raising the gable, building a dormer that touches the party line), you'll need to serve a Party Wall Notice to the neighbour at least two months before work starts. Wolsten drafts the notices for you and includes them in your quote process. Most neighbours sign immediately. If they dissent, a party wall surveyor is appointed — typically £600–£1,200 extra, paid by you.

Less than you'd think. Most of the noisy structural work happens in the first 1–2 weeks (opening up the roof, fitting steels). After that it's largely contained to the loft itself — first-fix, insulation, plasterboard, plastering. The dustiest day is when we cut through the ceiling for the new staircase opening (we sheet everything below). Most clients stay in the property throughout — we work around school runs and bedtimes where it matters.

By resale value, a bedroom + ensuite typically adds significantly more than a plain bedroom — often £15k–£30k more in a typical North West market for the same conversion type. The ensuite costs £4k–£10k extra to build. So if you're already converting, the ensuite is almost always worth doing.