Dormer loft conversion drawings in Havering

A suburban borough with a large green belt

Havering is mostly suburban: 76.7 per cent of its 101,277 households live in a house or bungalow and 69.5 per cent own their home. That makes dormers a very common project.

About 53 per cent of the borough is green belt. A loft conversion adds no footprint, so it avoids the main green belt test for extensions, but we still describe the setting on the drawings.

Heritage in Havering

Havering has 11 conservation areas and Historic England lists 146 entries, including 6 at Grade I. Class B roof enlargements are not permitted development on article 2(3) land.

The council also publishes a Heritage SPD, which we read for any older or listed house.

How quickly Havering decides householder cases

Havering decided 985 householder applications in its latest year and granted 85.9 per cent. 97.8 per cent were decided within eight weeks or an agreed extension. These cover all home projects, so we use them only to set expectations on timing.

Permitted development for a Havering dormer

An unlisted house outside a conservation area can use permitted development, within 40 m³ (terrace house) / 50 m³ (any other house) additional roof volume. The set-back rule is 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).

Because the council's front dormer allowance exists only through planning, a front dormer here always needs an application, whatever the volume.

Planning a rear dormer and a small front dormer together

Because Havering allows a small front-facing dormer, some owners add one for the stair landing. The usual pattern is a rear dormer for the main room and, where the street supports it, a modest front dormer that brings light to the stair.

We test both against the width limit. The front dormer stays within its own cap, and the total of all dormers stays within half the roof width. The drawing shows each figure so the officer can see the test has been done.

If the street has no front dormers at all, we tell you that a front dormer is a harder case, and suggest a rooflight instead.

Building regulations for a Havering dormer

The stair rule for lofts reads: 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). The new room is also a new storey for fire purposes, where 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).

For insulation, the limit for new roof elements is: New elements in existing dwellings, limiting U-values W/(m²·K): roof 0.15, wall 0.18, floor 0.18, windows 1.4 (or WER Band B), doors 1.4.

We draw these items in the building regulations set once the planning design is settled. On a two-storey semi the stair and hall are the places to look first, because they set what the new loft stair can do.

What we check on a Havering address before quoting

Before we confirm a design we check the address against the green belt, the conservation area list and the council's heritage guidance. Havering has 12 entries on the Heritage at Risk Register, so an older house is worth a second look.

We ask for photographs of the front and rear elevations, access to the loft and the age of the house if you know it. With those and the survey, we can say which route fits and what the dormer can safely be, usually in a single short report.

Havering dormer drawings and related pages

Our set has plans, a section and four elevations, with every dormer dimensioned against the council's width test. Price: £695. If the council asks for changes, we redraw at no charge until approval.

See loft conversion drawings in Havering for other roof forms and house extension drawings in Havering for the ground floor. The borough overview is architectural drawings in Havering. Neighbours include Redbridge and Thurrock.