Many reasons bring people to an idea that a property redevelopment or extension is required. These types of works, however, at times are so grand and involve so much risk to the original construction involved in the project or to the environment around the prospective construction site that local and governmental authorities deem it necessary to be involved in regulating these processes. And, as we’ve touched upon this subject in one of our previous articles, sometimes it’s required to get additional paperwork before you can proceed with making your vision for your ideal house a reality. These requirements, however, are grounded in reality and apply for larger operations or construction plans which may not apply to smaller nor not as invasive plans.
Permitted development rights documentation can authorise home improvement projects such as home improvement and redevelopment, adding an attic or garage, or adding story to a home without requiring a building permit. Knowing what sort of work doesn’t require getting such documentation can save your time, money and ensure project security by not fearing rejection. However, whether you are adding to your home or planning to renovate your home, there are building limits, size limits, and other rules you must follow before proceeding.
In this article, we will outline what sort of works don’t require such permits and how you can make the most out of it. This article shouldn’t, however, be seen as a decisive list, as regulations change all the time. Before proceeding with any of the following ideas you should still consult with a UK-based construction planning and management specialists in your area.
Small Extensions: Adding Multiple Small Additions Instead of a Single Big One
Small house extensions can make a big difference in the use of living space of any house, as well as improve its property value. Even if you’re on a tight budget, thoughtful additions to your home can make a small dining area more useful or add space to a home office. Extensions can also enhance the overall design by enhancing natural light, connecting existing areas of the property and allowing the space to breathe a little more. Whether it’s a small one-story extension or a side extension, done right, can add both value and space to your home.
Get started with these small house expansion ideas:
- Adding a new porch can serve as a buffer against inclement weather, especially if the front door opens directly into the living room or if you want to make a small hallway feel more spacious. A well-decorated porch, even a small one, as those that fall under a “small porch” category mean porches under 3 square metres, can effectively add to your property value, for it makes the house more approachable and inviting.
- A cantilever bay or, as it’s otherwise called, a projecting bay window extension can enlarge a room and does not necessarily require a foundation, as it can be supported with brackets from existing structures. In addition, it implements windows on three sides, expanding on lighting and making the room feel more open. An alternative to a full-fledged projecting bay can come in the form of a box window – protruding from the walls, these contemporary glazed boxes are a reinterpretation of the traditional bay windows found on the upper floors of historic buildings, appearing to float while forming a wide window sill. Choose a crisp black frame or opt for the effortlessly chic frameless version to make the most of natural light coming from such addendums to your home.
- A lean-to conservatory is an extension that can be built without a planning permit or building permit, depending on size and design. Adding a sunroom to your main building is a great way to create an additional living room. However, you will need to invest in heating and greenhouse blinds for year-round use of such an extension.
- Covered walkway connecting your home to a standalone building on the property. For example, a modified garage can be a very compelling option. A glazed walkway can be a great solution to your design constraints and limitations of your initial planning, fixing issues that come from buildings that can’t be altered due to its special status, for example, if the main building is listed.
- Adding a small-sized glass panel over your basement can flood the space under it with light and make it appear larger and brighter. This modification also serves as a source of natural light in an otherwise unlit space, saving on electricity consumption. The extension is modest and unassuming enough, especially if it faces a sunken courtyard with steps down to the garden. This sort of extension can be coordinated with your backyard or garden space if your basement is built or placed outside of your house foundation space and is placed on your house premises.
Conversion work: Repurposing As a Way to Avoid Legal Paperwork
Existing home extension conversion could be the solution if you want to add more living space to your house or if you need to. Because a well-designed attic room is a really smart alternative to an extension that could even increase the value of your property, it will not only create additional habitable space to help free up a busy household. Whether you want to add an extra lounge, bathroom, guest bedroom, or even an open plan kitchen to your home, you can utilise existing extra space around your house to make those additions work for you.
We will list you some ways different house extensions could be repurposed in creative ways to maximise their usefulness:
Garage
Converting garages into additional living space can be a great way to expand homes. And if your current garage is cluttered rather than being the location where you store the automobile, it would be a really appealing house improvement. A garage conversion can increase the value of your property by up to 20% while providing you with useful extra living space that is less likely to cause planning issues. This type of repurposing can be completed quickly, is frequently less expensive than an addition, and usually doesn’t need planning permission. When converting a garage, it’s essential to come up with a decent design that blends in with the rest of your house. Working with qualified experts and contractors that know from experience what goes into a garage conversion, as well as following the procedure’ steps are essential as well.
The majority of the time, converting a garage will fall within the category of permitted development. Obtaining a certificate of lawful development if you intend to exercise your rights on performing repurposing works is a smart idea to avoid possible legal ramifications. It’s worth checking what’s permitted if you reside in a conservation area, a location where development may be limited to preserve the aesthetics of the neighbourhood, or on a new estate with strict regulations, as some new homes are built with the requirement that the garage remain as parking, so you’d need to apply to change its use.
The area of a joint garage can be used for a wide variety of various things, such as a living room, kitchen, bathroom, or even a gym with the best home gym equipment, an office, or a home movie theatre. In order to do that, you might need to extend your plumbing systems to output water into your garage space if you plan on installing a bathroom or a wet room. Garages are also rarely insulated, so before you think of planning interior design solutions for this space you need to consider ways of making the space fitting for living by blocking the elements out of your future at-home gym or an extra living room. The plus of converting garages usually is its ventilation that needs to be sufficient to avoid car emission poisoning, but the quality of those systems, as well as its functionality, in your given situation should be checked by a professional.
Basement
An increasingly common home renovation project is a basement conversion. Additionally, if your house doesn’t already have a basement, excavating beneath it can be a terrific option to expand your estate’s space. This could give you the extra living space you need. The second option is a large undertaking, of course, but it can add anything to your home, such as a home gym, a kids’ playroom, space for guests, a studio, and more.
Whatever your basement remodelling ideas, it’s critical to understand how to plan and design them for the most success. Before you start working on your basement, there are some points you need to check:
- if it’s necessary to reroute drains under your home;
- if the subfloors of your home are made of solid concrete rather than wood;
- if your home is situated on unstable ground, for example clay, made-up ground, sand or marsh;
- if the local water table is high, which would mean that constant pumping will be required to keep the structure stable;
- if the site’s accessibility is adequate and can be used by people of various mobility.
Work on fixing issues that come from these considerations can make any repurposing projects more costly, but the payoff will be in a greatly increased home value, as well as an increase in a quality of life in a house with a converted additional space.
Basement conversion is unlikely to need planning approval in England and Wales when it entails turning an existing residential cellar or basement into living space. This is possible as long as the original house’s exterior isn’t drastically changed and it won’t be used as a separate property for housing other households. However, if you’re converting or expanding on an existing cellar space, which would require significant work to excavate a new basement, create a separate unit of dwelling, and/or change the exterior aspect of your home, that kind of building activity is likely to need planning permission.
Any underground space must be waterproofed before any living rooms and accommodations can be placed there. In addition to installing a drain and a pump that removes water from the basement, you might address interior dampness while rebuilding an existing basement. Condensation appearing in underground spaces can be prevented via a vapour barrier. In order to provide a waterproof barrier inside porous basement walls for a new basement, a coating must be applied. This can come in the form of a membrane that is attached to the walls or some sort of render or sealer that is watertight. Of course, having adequate ventilation and heating will also aid in avoiding possible condensation. All of these concerns can be adequately addressed by an experienced professional.
Loft or Attic
A small loft conversion could be the solution if you want or need to add more living space to your house. Because a well-designed attic room is a really smart alternative to an extension that could even increase the value of your property, it can create additional habitable space to help free up a busy household. Whether you want to add an extra lounge, bathroom, guest bedroom, or even an open plan kitchen to your home, all of this can happen by expanding on your loft or attic functionality.
A loft conversion may be the best solution to balance your house if you have all the living space you need downstairs but are short on bedrooms and bathrooms. The majority of loft conversions include one or two additional bedrooms with en suite bathrooms. Teenage hangout areas, movie theatres, and home offices are some more common functions that an attic can fulfil after repurposing efforts. If your property has breath-taking views, you might want to think about relocating some of the living quarters up into the new loft as well to make the most of them.
If your family doesn’t require an additional bedroom in the loft but you work from home, converting the space into a home office can be a smart option for you. Avoid using dark or black-out materials in your home office because you need ample natural light to be productive. Instead, choose light-filtering blinds in calming neutral tones that, when closed, will lessen glare while still letting in light, enabling you to continue working effectively after the sun sets. They are just as important for the bright summer days as they are for the shorter days in the winter.
Before you proceed with your loft repurposing efforts, work out whether your small loft is even big enough to convert before looking at small loft conversion ideas for a small child’s bedroom, a home office, or even a kids’ TV room or teen lounge. Long before you even begin construction, you need to think about the plan of your finished loft conversion. Choosing the placement of furniture, the bathroom, and any built-in storage must be done in a way that a place that is limited to begin with doesn’t come off as cluttered. When designing an en suite, consider the height of the ceiling in the room and give top priority to fixtures like the shower and hand basin that require adequate headroom.
Consideration should also be given to the size and placement of your windows when designing a loft conversion. Generally speaking, if you want to maximise natural light, your roof area should be 20% glass. A long, shallow room will benefit from windows distributed uniformly along its length, whereas a narrow, deeper room will do best with one huge window. The position of the windows will frequently be determined by the curve of the roof.
Loft conversions typically don’t require planning approval. Although obstructions like chimneys or water tanks, as well as the pitch of the roof, might also influence this decision, lofts with a minimum head height of 2.3m are typically viewed as suitable for conversion. However, don’t give up on your conversion aspirations if the roof space is smaller than 2.3m; there are always alternative choices. It is feasible to create the necessary headspace by removing parts of the roof or the entire structure. Contrary to a more straightforward conversion, this raises the price and also needs planning clearance. Alternatively, the ceilings of the rooms below may be lowered, albeit this would be more expensive. A consultation with a seasoned interior designer and an architect who specialises in raising house value can help you figure out the best way to maximise functionality of your loft or attic.
Single or Double-Storey Extensions: What Can You Build Without Additional Permits?
A smart option to expand your home’s living area is by adding a single storey addition. The downstairs of your home can be changed with the addition of an open-concept kitchen, a utility room, or a home office, and single storey additions are a more affordable option than moving. With the addition of roof lights and bi-fold doors, you will also benefit from increased natural light indoors.
Compared to one-story expansions, two-story extensions can add more sleeping room in addition to useful living space. Furthermore, double storey additions will fix interiors that are not suitable for modern living. Your home will feel more balanced and pleasant after the renovation is complete, whether the new space should contain a home office, bathroom, kitchen, more bedrooms, or if it necessitates an improved plan to provide a more seamless connection to the yard.
Single-storey House Extensions: Benefits and Considerations
In comparison to a two-storey design, single-storey expansions typically require less extensive and consequently less expensive foundations as well as steelwork or lintels over openings. However, it might be worthwhile to prepare for this expansion up front if you believe you might eventually add another storey above your extension.
As crucial as choosing the proper interior finishes are the materials for such small one-storey house extensions that can be seen from the garden looking back at the house. Any extensions need to fit in and harmonise with the rest of the building. In this case you have two fundamental options: either try to match the materials as closely as you can to those of the original building, or choose a contrast. This could entail meticulously acquiring bricks or brick slips that closely resemble the originals or opting to employ rendered and painted stone veneer to match the back of a rendered house. Alternatively, it can entail employing cladding to create a contemporary contrast between the new expansion on the lower floor and the materials of the original upper floors. Another option is to add a contemporary glass addition to the back of your property. It may come down to personal preference or the planning department may have a role in the choices you make. You may want to check if there are any limitations or if the local council wants to become involved before moving further.
Keeping in mind that a higher ceiling in the new addition would result in a brighter, larger room, the roof should complement the materials and design of the old house. However, take care to ensure that the first floor windows are not compromised by the extension’s roof. A mono or duo pitched roof may typically cover a smaller, narrower extension, but the achievable spans are severely constrained. Although a very low roof pitch can be an option, this could be problematic when applying for planning clearance and not look good. Pitch roof intersections can be effective, but for bigger extensions, a flat roof is frequently the only option.
You should also make sure you get the placements, sizes, and forms of your doors and windows, as well as their framing materials and sightlines, absolutely right. Doors and windows will have a significant impact on the final appearance of your expansion.
For a single-storey extension to be effective, the transition between the new and old spaces must be as seamless as possible. A home office would just need a regular door width, but if you’ve added a kitchen, you might want to use larger than typical doors to access it from the original hallway. Although it can be more expensive, hiding joists beneath the floors of upper rooms will guarantee a constant ceiling level between existing and new spaces, giving you a more appealing architectural finish.
Finally, take into account how interior and outdoor materials, including wall treatments and landscaping, interact. Your expansion will be more effective overall and both spaces will feel larger the more complementary they are. In light of this, you can think about installing an exposed brick wall inside if your garden includes brick walls. Unity is very important in this endeavour, and a professional interior designer will help you navigate this kind of situation in the best manner possible.
Double-storey House Extensions: More Benefits or More Hassle?
When it’s time to scale up, double storey additions are a reasonable alternative to moving house that are also cost-effective. They can offer valuable living space as well as additional sleeping space, unlike one-story expansions. Additionally, double storey additions will fix interiors that are not suitable for modern living. Your home should feel more balanced and pleasant after the renovation is complete, whether the new space will contain a home office, bathroom, kitchen, more bedrooms, or if it needs a better plan to provide a more seamless connection to the yard.
A successful double story addition requires the construction of new rooms both upstairs and downstairs that seamlessly blend into your existing home. In an open-plan design, the main hall or circulation space, as well as the landing, should lead to your home’s key rooms. Rooms or zones having similar functions, such as the kitchen and dining area, function best when placed next to one another. The last choice is a two storey expansion, which is more economical than a single storey extension and allows you to change how the upstairs and downstairs appear and feel. It’s the simplest method to expand living space and add a second bedroom, making it ideal for compact houses and families that are expanding.
The height of the roof is typically the principal restriction for two-story additions. According to UK-specific planning regulations, an addition must have ridge and overhang that are not higher than the roof of the original structure in order to be considered complementary to it. It can be challenging to construct an addition tall enough to combine two complete stories in a house with low ceilings. However, there are workarounds available, such as lowering ceiling heights in the additional rooms, particularly on the first floor, partially integrating upstairs rooms into the roof area, or lowering the extension somewhat into the ground. If there are limitations on roof height, you could still build an addition that is one and a half stories high by extending into the roof space. Without changing room height, it might also be able to dig into the earth and construct two stories. This could lead to a split-level design or basement level, and it can be effective on a sloped site.
Keep in mind that the extension’s placement will impact view, access to the garden, privacy, and which windows will be blocked. It’s also crucial to think about how the new area will connect to the layout of the room. Any other principal rooms should, ideally, have access from the main hallway and landing. It is frequently necessary to sacrifice a portion of an existing room to make the necessary circulation space.
When adding an addition to your home, consider whether it would reduce the amount of light coming into your neighbours’ windows. If it does, they might protest that you didn’t take into account their “right to light.” Even if you have received planning clearance, if you haven’t considered this, your neighbour may object to your building project. A court can order compensation, ask for a revision, or, in the worst case, stop the work altogether. It should be noted that Scotland does not have a legal right to light.
In order for a two-storey extension to fall under requirement for not necessitating additional building permissions, it needs to follow these general guidelines:
- The highest point of your current roof must be higher than your extension;
- Extension’s roof cannot protrude more than three metres past the back wall;
- At least seven metres must separate it from the boundary;
- It must be constructed using materials that complement the old structure.
To make sure a double-storey addition is planned in accordance with these and any other applicable regulations, you should seek expertise of people with background in house upgrading and renovation.
Hopefully, this detailed outlier gave you some insight into what you as a house owner that looks into renovating and raising your property value should keep in mind when looking into options to extend your house without extra legal paperwork. Other actions that you can perform on your house that don’t require additional legal approval are:
- Demolition;
- Installation of solar panels;
- Installation of satellite dishes;
- Internal house alterations;
- New doors and windows installation;
- Certain changes of use and repurposing etc.
It’s important to highlight one fact again – regulations change and keep being expanded and lessened all the time, and so a consultation with specialists that keep their hands on the pulse of UK building regulations is paramount before you proceed with any of your plans.
