GS Renovation converts lofts across Hanwell, on the Edwardian terraces that run through W7 towards the river and Walpole Park. Most have a rear closet wing, so an L-shaped dormer is often the scheme that earns its keep. We coordinate the structural engineer, build the steels, floor and stairs, and manage Ealing Council building control.
Making a W7 Edwardian roof work
Hanwell's Edwardian terraces tend to have good ridge heights, which is the single biggest factor in whether a loft converts cleanly. We measure from the top of the ceiling joists to the underside of the ridge and look for roughly 2.2m to 2.4m. With that in hand, a rear dormer produces a proper double bedroom, and extending it in an L over the closet wing adds the space for an en suite and a landing that is not squeezed.
If the ridge falls short, the alternatives get expensive quickly. Lowering the ceilings on the floor below means stripping and rebuilding those rooms, and raising the roof takes the scheme firmly into planning territory. A rooflight conversion between reinforced rafters, indicatively £30,000 to £45,000 in London for 2026, sometimes remains the sensible answer for a study or a spare room rather than a full bedroom suite.
Ealing planning and the party wall duty
Terraced houses have the smaller permitted development volume allowance, commonly cited as 40 cubic metres, and an L-shaped dormer can approach it. The other conditions matter too: materials to match, nothing forward of the roof plane facing the road, no balconies, and obscure glazing to side windows. Several Hanwell streets sit within Ealing conservation areas where those rights are removed altogether, so we check the designation with Ealing Council before quoting.
With terraces on both sides, the steels that carry your new floor and dormer will bear into shared party walls, which is notifiable under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. The notice is served by you as the building owner, not by us, and we supply the structural detail your neighbours or their surveyor will ask for. Building control then inspects the floor, fire separation, stairs and insulation as the work goes up.
- Building control inspections booked at floor, steel and completion
- Interlinked mains-powered smoke alarms
- Party Wall notices prepared for the building owner to serve
- Staircase design to Part K, including the landing below
- Structural steel sized by the engineer and set on padstones
Why Hanwell Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
Hanwell homeowners use GS Renovation because we run the loft as one accountable job: engineer coordination, steel beams into party walls, an engineer-designed floor, a Part K staircase, Part B fire separation and Ealing Council building control to completion. We protect the occupied part of the house while the roof is open. Fully insured, and our MyBuilder rating stands at 4.9 from 31 reviews.
- Honest updates if a date or a detail has to move
- Photographs kept at each stage for your records
- Roof made good, leadwork and guttering finished properly
- Staircase set out to Part K within the space you have
- Protected stair route and fire doors detailed to Part B
- A written scope and programme agreed before work starts