L-shaped dormer drawings in Ealing

Rows of Edwardian roofs, and the L that fits them

Ealing's terraces and semis have long back roofs and many have a rear addition, the layout an L-shaped dormer was made for. It turns one cramped attic room into two rooms and a landing.

Gardens take up 25.6 per cent of the borough's land, so most owners have a private rear elevation to work with. The dormer faces that garden, and our drawings show how it looks from there as well as from the neighbours.

Conservation areas and listed entries

Ealing publishes 31 conservation areas, and Historic England lists 309 entries in the borough. In an area, the national rule is plain: Class B roof enlargements are not permitted development on article 2(3) land.

That puts many Ealing roofs on the planning route. Where your house stands outside an area, the permitted development limit is 40 m³ (terrace house) / 50 m³ (any other house) additional roof volume.

The certificate route is busy here

Ealing received 754 lawful development certificate applications in the latest national return. Owners clearly use the certificate to confirm that a roof falls within permitted development.

If your L fits the allowance, a certificate on our drawings confirms it in writing and is useful evidence when you sell. If it does not fit, we propose the smallest change that brings it within, or move to a planning application.

Decision figures for householder cases

Ealing decided 946 householder applications in the latest year. It granted 87.2 per cent, and 95.3 per cent were decided in time. These are borough-wide numbers.

With an average home price of 585,216 pounds, owners tend to extend upwards rather than sell. A drawing set that answers the extension guidance cleanly keeps the application short and the programme predictable.

Ealing houses with long back additions

Many Ealing semis and terraces carry a long single-storey kitchen extension behind a two-storey outrigger. That makes the roof geometry awkward at the back: the main ridge, the outrigger ridge and the lower kitchen roof all meet within a few metres. We model the three roofs together before drawing the dormer, since the drainage and the party boundary affect where the L can end.

On a house with a long addition we often pull the L slightly back from the end of the outrigger, so the guttering and a clear maintenance route remain.

Contributions and levies for larger lofts

Ealing charges a community levy at £300/m² (Central Ealing); £150/m² (Rest of LPA). Mayoral CIL (MCIL2) £60/m² indexed additionally. on larger schemes, with the mayoral charge added. Householder loft work may fall below the threshold, but we calculate the new floorspace on every set so the answer is on record.

What the survey visit covers

Our visit records the roof pitch, the ridge and eaves heights, the width of the outrigger, the position of the chimney and the line of the stair below. We photograph the rear elevation from the garden and from the neighbours' side when access is agreed, because officers look at the roof from those angles.

After the visit we model the house in Revit and show you the options in 3D and plan: whether the L fits, how large the second room would be, and which route applies, so you decide with facts in hand.

Practical details, then your next page

The junction rule helps the design: Eaves-retention and 0.2 m set-back do not apply where the enlargement joins the original roof to the roof of a rear or side extension. The stair needs this headroom: 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), and neighbours must receive notice where you cut a shared structure: Party structure notice at least 2 months before work.

You receive plans, a roof plan, sections and elevations, checked by a second MCIAT chartered technologist, and we redraw at no charge until approval. Look at loft conversion drawings in Ealing, the Ealing architectural drawings hub, or the neighbouring L-shaped dormer drawings in Hammersmith and Fulham.