Things You Need to Know About Home Extensions

With the rise and rise of property prices, especially in London and the Home Counties, many people are going down the “improving, not moving” route. Extensions, conservatories and loft conversions are the most popular options, adding space, function and value to a home. They are so popular, in fact, that they’re a frequent topic among home owners, who spend hours poring over garden room or loft conversion pictures in magazines and online. Many are keen to get cracking with the building, but might not be aware of some rules – and allowances – that they’ll meet once they’ve started. Here are just a few:

You can now have bathrooms and toilets anywhere. Older building regulations stated that there had to be a lobby or corridor between a toilet and other rooms, whatever the rooms were. Obviously hygiene was the main issue, especially if the toilet was downstairs and anywhere near the kitchen.

This is no longer necessary, although many people will still choose to place an extra toilet off a hallway or next to a utility room, for privacy. There does need to be a hand-sink and enough ventilation in the toilet space, however.

The minimum ceiling height. There’s now no legal minimum ceiling height in the UK’s building regs, but there’s a practical, or common sense, minimum height of at least 2.1 meters, so if you’re converting a loft or attic, you need to get your measuring tape out. If your loft has a sloping roof, at least 50% of the floor area should have a ceiling height of 2.1 meters.

You should aim for an extra bathroom. There are no legal requirements to provide an extra bathroom, but it’s handy (to say the least) to have a full bathroom or shower room on the same floor as the bedrooms. If your house is larger, an en-suite to the master bedroom is a good idea.

If your extension is for extra bedroom space, then you should aim to fit another bathroom somewhere – if you don’t, your four-bedroom house won’t be quite so attractive to buyers when you do come to move and you may have to lower your asking price.

There are minimum room sizes. The temptation is to cram as many extra rooms into the old and new space as possible by dividing it up, especially if you’re restricted budget or footprint-wise. You should be aware, however, that there are minimum room sizes – below these sizes a room simply isn’t fit for purpose.

Most UK local authorities have recommended minimum sizes for various rooms and your plans must usually conform to them – there will be exceptions, of course – and here they are:

• Double bedroom – 10.2 – 11.2m²;
• single bedroom – 6.5 – 8.4m²;
• living room – 13 – 13.2m²;
• dining room – 9.5m²;
• kitchen – 7.2 – 7.65m²;
• kitchen-diner – 12m²;
• lounge-diner – 15 – 18m²;
• bathroom and toilet – 3.6m², and
• toilet only – 1.3m².

Hallways and landings must be at least 90cm wide and all habitable rooms must have windows. Non-habitable rooms include bathrooms, studies and kitchens.