GS Renovation converts lofts across Eltham, where SE9 is largely 1930s semis and interwar family houses on generous plots. Hipped roofs are the norm, so hip to gable with a rear dormer is the scheme that usually pays for itself. We coordinate the engineer, build the steelwork and staircase, and manage Royal Borough of Greenwich building control.
Hip to gable and rear dormer in SE9
An Eltham semi with a hipped roof loses head height on the side elevation exactly where a staircase has to land. Building the hip up into a full gable wall in matching brick or render recovers that height, and a rear dormer behind the new gable then squares off the back of the roof. In many SE9 houses that combination yields a double bedroom with an en suite, or two smaller rooms if the ridge runs long enough.
The check that comes first is ridge height, roughly 2.2m to 2.4m from the top of the existing ceiling joists to the underside of the ridge. Interwar roofs here are typically purlin and strut construction, which is easier to work with than modern trusses. If a house has been re-covered in heavier tiles or the ceiling joists sag, the engineer's design will reflect it, and we build to those calculations rather than around them.
Planning, party walls and regulations in Eltham
A semi-detached house gets the larger permitted development volume allowance, commonly cited as 50 cubic metres, but a gable and dormer together use volume fast, so the figure needs calculating properly. Conditions on matching materials, obscure glazed side windows and nothing forward of the roof plane still apply. Parts of Eltham lie in conservation areas where permitted development rights are removed, so we confirm the position for your address with the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
A semi shares one party wall, and the new steels almost always bear into it, which makes the work notifiable under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. The duty to serve notice is yours as building owner and we prepare the supporting detail. On the regulations side, Part B fire safety governs the protected stair to a final exit, Part K sets the stair geometry, and the floor is carried on engineer-sized joists off the new beams.
- L-shaped dormers over a rear closet wing
- Staircase design to Part K, including the landing below
- Hip to gable conversions on semi-detached and end terrace roofs
- Head height and ridge survey before design
- Structural steel sized by the engineer and set on padstones
Trusted Loft Conversion in Eltham
Eltham families choose GS Renovation because we handle the structural half of a loft properly: gable masonry, steel beams on padstones, an engineer-designed floor, a compliant staircase and a fire strategy that satisfies Part B. We coordinate the engineer, prepare your party wall paperwork and carry the job to a Greenwich building control certificate. Fully insured, free no-obligation quotations, dedicated project manager.
- Party Wall notices prepared for steels bearing into a shared wall
- Registered in England, Companies House no. 14611254
- Free, no-obligation quotations
- Honest answer at survey if your roof will not take a conversion
- Staircase set out to Part K within the space you have
- Structural engineer instructed and coordinated on your behalf