Loft Conversions North London Architects

A loft conversion or loft extension is a great way to make use of space in your attic; especially in north London where land for extending out horizontally is in short supply.  Although it may seem a big project, with the mess and noise from the builders to consider, it adds value to the house and proves well worth while as an ongoing benefit.

AURA are experienced residential architects in creating more living space with clever design and original suggestions. A good choice for loft conversions in North London, Edgware and Hackney, we have completed many projects for extensions, garden offices and kitchens all over London.

Aura won an award from Build as the ‘Most Trusted Architecture Practice Greater London’, and our online reviews are 5/5 on Houzz.

Can you convert your loft or attic space?

A loft conversion can often be carried out without having to get full planning permission. You may just need a Certificate of Lawfulness from the council. The following guidelines are what to consider if you want to carry out your loft conversion under permitted development.

 

Please note that if you live in a conservation area, a group of flats, or on designated land, you may in fact need full planning permission despite the points outlined here.

 

The Planning Portals Guide to Permitted Development lays out that your loft conversion must follow the guidelines on the right to be under permitted development:

  • Any additional roof space must not exceed 40 cubic meters for terraced houses and 50 cubic meters for detached and semi-detached houses

  • If your property faces a highway, your loft extension cannot protrude the plane of the existing roof slope.

  • You need to use similar materials to your existing house.

  • No part of the extension can be higher than the highest part of the existing roof.

  • You cannot add a balcony under permitted development

  • For the sake of your neighbours privacy, any side facing windows need to be obscure glass. They also can’t be openable unless higher than eye level (specifically 1.7m above the floor height).

  • Roof extensions cannot over hang the existing roof. They are to be set back at least 20cm from original eaves.  (Unless of course its a hip-to-gable extension – More on that later!)

Three Popular Types of Loft Conversion

Dormer Loft Conversions

Dormer loft conversions are popular and our clients love them! Look at or our Hackney project for what a loft conversion can bring to your home. To summarise, it is building a square extension popping out of your existing roof shape. Simple to construct and they look great! Dormers are a great for bungalow loft conversions.

Rooflight Conversions

Rooflight conversions: The easiest option of them all… Simply adding roof lights and using your existing roof shell to create an attic/loft style room! You’ll need a tall loft to make this space useable though. When the head height hits 1500mm, add a small wall and the left over space in the eaves becomes great storage.

Mansard Roof Extension

Think Paris! A mansard roof is characterized by its steep sides and its double pitch. Much like those you find all around central Paris. A mansard loft conversion will give you a lot of extra space but It will often be the most expensive form of loft conversion when compared with a traditional flat roof dormer.

Some of our loft conversion projects around London

6 – Maintaining standards and working with the building control department. Again, acting as an agent through the approval process of your plans

7 – Looking after the final touches – The specification of works will detail all the internal finishes, wall coverings, floor coverings, bespoke joinery, and electrical and heating layouts amongst other finishing touches.

8 – Help you find the right builder – We have a good relationship with many builders and will create a tender package for you. We recommend sending the package to 3 or 4 contractors to find you a competitive and comprehensive price.

9 – We also offer a site monitoring service which relieves the pressure off you to keep an eye on your builders. We usually monitor once a week (unless agreed otherwise).

10 – Enjoy your new loft conversion!

1 – A simple, 3 step online brief, we will then contact you to discuss everything about the loft conversion in more detail

2 – A desktop research study then a meeting to discuss

3 – A choice of designs and layouts –  we usually provide 3 options to choose from

4 – Managing the planning application – we will act as an agent to help you through the process and liaise with the planning officers.

5 – Working with the right people – we have a good relationship with builders and engineers that will help you with your project.

Making Everything Transparent

We often hear from clients that speaking to architects is a daunting and confusing experience, making the process unnecessarily complicated and hard to grasp.

 

Ben Richards, who lives nearby in Hertfordshire, set out to solve this issue for homeowners or developers wanting a friendly residential architect; please take a minute to watch him on the introductory video about us to the left.

 

That is why we share our fees on our website, create Blogs and FAQ articles to share industry insights, and have created the  10 Step AURA Process which is explained via YouTube or can be downloaded for free to read anytime.

Adding value to your home in North London

A loft conversion is generally reckoned to be one of the best ways to add value to your property. Whilst there is no formula to calculate the added value, a survey by Nationwide Building Society concluded that a loft conversion could add as much as 21% to your home value.

 

In London, where land is valuable, a loft conversion adds to the area of living space without reducing the garden space. By adding an extra bedroom, and often a bathroom too, you can then place your home among a different category of properties with a significantly higher value when the time comes to sell.

 

A loft staircase adds much more value to a house than a loft ladder. And find out what is needed to meet building regulations – this is very important in preserving both the value of your home and the safety of the finished loft extension.

 

Basement conversions north London are another way to add value that we specialise in designing and managing, give us a call on 0203 189 1619.

Our Online Reviews

Scott Robertson
Scott Robertson
June 20, 2023
Professional, reliable, great to work with. Highly recommended if you are renovating your house.
Carina Isabel Lopes De Carvalho
Carina Isabel Lopes De Carvalho
May 2, 2023
It is a company of excellence
Emily Stuart
Emily Stuart
January 25, 2022
I used Aura for a side return and rear extension, and a renovation of my first floor bathroom. I wanted something unique and characterful, with lots of natural light. Aura really went above and beyond my expectations, creating me a space that truly is more than I could have imagined. From the initial consultation, where I felt immediately at ease with the team, to the transparency in their costings, all the way through the design process and project management, Aura have been consistently professional, communicative and flexible. It certainly hasn’t been an easy time for anyone in the industry, but Aura’s solution-first attitude and their adaptability made it so easy to work with them through lockdowns, supply chain challenges, pingdemics and everything in between. It was a true pleasure to work with the team - they really do their utmost to make the process as straightforward, simple and enjoyable as possible. I’d not hesitate to recommend Aura. They team are the perfect balance of creative and practical, imagination and solutions, to make whatever dream you have come to life.
Rob Birkin
Rob Birkin
November 18, 2021
Georgina
Georgina
February 9, 2021
I chose to use Aura based on their reviews in June 2020. At first it was a really good experience and I was impressed with their professionalisim. I received my drawings and wasn't completely happy with them. The 4 options I was given were all basically the same thing. They never came to my property to see the space or get a feel for where the light was coming in etc. The bathroom on the drawing didn't make sense as it was so small. (See below). The snug was also like a meter so again didn't make sense. I tried to escalate this to Ben, and I was offered another call but I had lost confidence in them. My neighbour was also doing work on her flat which is a similar layout and in contrast her drawings were really well thoughtout. In the end I had to pay again to get my drawings redone. (Attachment P&S - one example of my new drawings below - the more detailed drawings). I asked Aura for a partial refund as I never actually received a final drawing from them (despite paying for them) and they refused. It was just a disappointing and expensive experience.
Anthony Egan
Anthony Egan
May 22, 2020
I recently contacted Aura Homes Ltd to discuss a small development project. The project was unusual and a lot of factors needed to be taken into account due to the location, site surroundings and practicality of the proposal. I originally discussed it with Ben Richards who I found to be helpful, knowledgable and very accommodating in that he listened intently to give a fair assessment of feasibility. Iris Kouneni was assigned to me and met with me to thoroughly discuss and understand what my intentions were. Like Ben, she digested my layman’s view and proceeded to give me her professional opinion. Iris and Ben were an absolute delight to work with, professional, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and communicative to mention just a few of their qualities. Unfortunately due to the COVID19 lockdown we have had to shelve the project. It's been a pleasure to work with Aura Homes Ltd, refreshingly honest and professional. I look forward to working together with them in the future.
Brendan Quinn
Brendan Quinn
May 20, 2020
Thanks for reading this review. Ben is one of my monthly sponsors of the Property Events that I have run and also of the National Development Summit earlier in 2020. In a business setting I really appreciate Ben's support, particularly during COVid19- Ben had the option of pulling out of my events as a sponsor- as I have had to pivot- moving them online. Ben has continued to support these events as a sponsor, when he could have easily turned his back and moved on. Also at the National Development Summit 2020, Ben could see the effort I had put in to make the event, a great event, and himself and his team also equally put in huge effort. When you organise events, you ideally want things to go smoothly in terms of presenters turning up on time/before time, and with slides which are hassle free, and this Ben has done so. I have been to Ben's office several times and the staff have been really friendly. Ben's knowledge of working at Berkeley Homes, puts his company at a very high level.
Louise Hancock
Louise Hancock
April 13, 2020
Aura Homes is a highly professional firm of architects that always have the clients best interests at hart. The quality of their plans and drawings is superb and their turn-around when making amendments well within expected timelines. For bespoke projects, their research and recommendations (both in terms of quality and costs) is superb.
Harry Bucknell
Harry Bucknell
April 10, 2020
Couldn't recommend Ben and his team more. We were in a really tricky position with our building project and Ben navigated us safely out of it. Superb guidance, great technical knowledge and what I really valued the most was the communication. Always got back to me promptly which makes a real difference when stress levels are high. Thanks Aura!
Eugene Clarke
Eugene Clarke
April 9, 2020
The quality of work from Arua Architecture is to an excellent standard. We worked primarily with Ben and Gabby, they provide a friendly and professional service that minimised the worry and stresses associated with building projects. We hired Aura Architecture to assist us with our building project. We appointed them for the following work: - Regularisation on previous designs - Planning conditions discharge - Building regulation drawings - Detailed designs They came recommended from a Structural engineering company, and we were not disappointed.

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