Dormer loft conversion drawings in Haringey

Conservation areas and Article 4 in Haringey

Haringey has 33 conservation areas and 25 Article 4 directions. Class B roof enlargements are not permitted development on article 2(3) land, so a dormer in one needs an application, and a direction can remove other rights too.

Historic England lists 289 entries in the borough, with 6 at Grade I. We screen the address against each of these on day one, because the answer changes the whole route.

How Haringey has been deciding householder applications

Haringey decided 689 householder applications in its latest year and granted 90.3 per cent. 94.3 per cent were decided on time. They cover all kinds of home project, so we treat them as a guide to the council's habits, not to your outcome.

The strategic plan, the Haringey Local Plan: Strategic Policies 2013-2026 (consolidated with 2017 alterations), with the Development Management DPD, Site Allocations DPD and Tottenham Area Action Plan, dates from 2,013, so we also read the more recent guidance that sits beside it.

Permitted development for a Haringey dormer

Where the house is unlisted and outside a conservation area or direction, a dormer can be permitted development. The limits are volume, 40 m³ (terrace house) / 50 m³ (any other house) additional roof volume; position, No enlargement beyond the plane of a roof slope that forms the principal elevation and fronts a highway; and set-back, Original eaves maintained; enlargement set at least 0.2 m from the eaves measured up the roof slope, so far as practicable (not required for hip-to-gable or roofs joining a rear/side extension).

A full-width dormer can use a lot of that volume on a wide house, so we calculate it on the model and tell you early if the plan must change.

Designing a full-width dormer well

A full-width dormer is a large piece of building, and in South Tottenham it is the council's own model. The risk is bulk, so we spend our design effort on proportion: the depth of the fascia, the position of the windows and the choice of cladding.

The materials rule on the permitted route reads: Exterior materials similar in appearance to the existing house. Where planning applies the same advice holds, because a dormer in matching tile or a muted material recedes from the garden view.

Side windows, if any, follow this rule: Upper-floor side windows obscure-glazed and non-opening below 1.7 m above floor. On a full-width dormer we check early whether any side window is wanted at all.

Stairs, fire and the building regulations in Haringey

A wide dormer gives you full height across the room, but the stair still needs headroom. For lofts, Approved Document K allows: Loft conversions where 2.0 m cannot be achieved: 1.9 m at the centre of the stair, 1.8 m at the side (half width).

For fire, the rule is: New storey above 4.5 m by loft conversion: protect the full escape route with fire-resisting doors (min E 20) and partitions (min REI 30). We show the doors and partitions on the plan and mark the escape route.

Our building regulations drawings take the planning design forward into construction detail, including the beams that carry a wide dormer.

What we draw for Haringey dormers

You receive plans, a roof section and four elevations with the dormer dimensioned. Price: £695. Where the council asks for changes, we redraw at no charge until approval.

For the wider roof options see loft conversion drawings in Haringey. The ground floor below may need house extension drawings in Haringey, and architectural drawings in Haringey is the borough overview. Adjoining councils include Barnet, Hackney and Enfield.