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Loft conversions London- Do I need planning permission*?
Most loft conversions London do not need planning permission.
If your property is not in a conservation area and is not a listed building*, it is highly likely that a
loft conversion can be carried out without planning permissions.
Most of the confusion with planning is based on previous planning rules. New planning
regulations were introduced in 2008 that completely changed the landscape for
the better.
Permitted developments were introduced for the ground floor and the roof-space separately.
Typically a roof can be extended in volume by 40 to 50 metre cubed.
A London loft conversion can increase the value of your home by over 10-20% of the
amount you spend on the loft conversion.
Loft conversion can have a variety of uses from a new master suite bedroom
with an en suite, or a study/home office, cinema room, spare bedroom, chill-out
room or in these days of austerity-a letting out room to generate rental
income.
Whatever your needs the most likely position will be that the London Loft conversion
will pay for itself easily and is a sound long term investment.
So, even if you have a ground floor extension, you can still have a loft conversion. The
roof extension and the ground floor extension are treated separately for
permitted development purposes. Visit www.touchstonelofts.co.uk a market leader in attic conversions. There is a page on permitted developments. Or email sales@touchstonelofts.co.uk
or ring 0800 881 8194 for your free no obligation feasibility study for Loft conversions London.
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Touchstone Lofts A-Z- B is for bungalow
Touchstone Lofts are experts in Bungalow loft conversions. Loft conversions for bungalows are on the increase despite the current economic climate.
There are many reasons why Bungalow loft conversions are quite popular, bungalows are often built on a large footprint so the roof space is pretty large.
Even for small bungalows, semi detached or detached the footprint allows for 3 rooms, 2 bedrooms and an en suite.
loft conversion
It is paramount that the bungalow loft conversion is designed so the new stairs are located so they look like they have always been there and they do not adversely affect the existing ground floor accommodation and they maximise the new accommodation on the first floor.
Bungalow loft conversions clients include those preparing the conversion for their retirement and younger families looking to convert and gain a bigger house.
A loft conversion to a bungalow can add up to 40% to the value of the new home, depending on the size and the area of the conversion.
Trust Touchstone lofts to convert your bungalow, we will provide with our award winning credentials- Master Builder of the Year 2010- Highly Commended for “Outstanding Quality Craftsmanship and Excellent customer service”.
Touchstone Lofts- (A-Z-) A-Is for Attention to detail.
A- is for Attention to detail.
Touchstone Lofts are not just concerned with the basics, we are committed to the attention to detail in all aspects of our business.
You will notice the difference from when the surveyor enters your property, we notice items and come up with ideas that customers have heard for the first time, it’s quite common to hear something like- “Oh, I have not been told that before”, and “that has not been mentioned by my previous visits from other companies”.
This attention to detail includes our extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of loft conversions and all associated property care relating to a loft conversion.
loft conversion with rear pitched dormer
This includes your heating and plumbing, roofing, bathroom design and tiling, electrical, audio-visual and computer technology, design and decoration.
As a national and prestigious award winning company, we are are keen to extend all of our services to our most valued customers.
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Touchstone Lofts reviews
Touchstone Lofts reviews
Touchstone Lofts were employed by us to convert our loft in Fulham. We asked a few loft conversion specialists to quote and decided to use them as they seemed very professional and only did Loft conversions. The job was completed without any fuss and no hidden extras. All the workers were very friendly, efficient and left no mess. The main loft team got on very well with our neighbours as we needed their co-operation for the loft conversion.
Overall could not realy ask for more, there were only a few days when no one was working. We has a small leak and they were straight out to sort it out.
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Touchstone lofts reviews
Touchstone lofts reviews
Touchstone lofts goes from strength to strength as it is still the most highly recommended loft conversion company in the country. Recommended by over 93% of its recent customers. Touchstone lofts are the only national award winning company for Excellent customer service and outstanding quality craftsmanship for the most prestigious and coveted award-Master Builder of the year 2010- Highly commended.
Almost all our recent loft conversions have had an en-suite fitted of which we have supplied and fitted the full bathroom including the tiling. We have also supplied and fitted a record number of boilers and un-vented cylinders.
Alongside the quality loft conversions we are now beginning to make a name for ourselves for our quality and designs for our bathrooms and our expertise in boilers and un-vented cylinders.
If you are considering a loft conversion and your boiler needs replacing, don’t call the plumber, wait and see what we can do for you.
We are extremely competitive and we are experts in all aspects of plumbing and heating. We will also save you money as the work do will be in preparation to your loft conversion.
Call the experts, call touchstone lofts.
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Touchstone Lofts reviews
Touchstone Lofts undertook our loft conversion project and have completed a fabulous job for us in which we are delighted with the outcome. The loft conversion story is however not simple. We were advised by friends to contact an architect to do the drawings and then get quotes for the work.
We contacted a number of “loft conversion specialists” to tender for the project. Five loft conversion specialists provided quotes for the drawing provided by our architect. Touchstone lofts arrived and after inspection of our home and the drawings, pointed out that the architects drawing was flawed. They suggested that the designs were not maximising potential and could not see why a spiral staircase had been used as it compromised the existing landing, bedroom, bathroom and limited space in the loft. Touchstone Lofts also said that the loft floor should not extend across the trusses as it made the barn feel claustrophobic and did not compliment the existing character allowing the height of the barn should remain. We were very surprised at this as other loft conversion specialists had not pointed this out. Initially I was not convinced as we had already obtained building regulations consent from the local council.
The surveyor did a quick scaled sketch and showed me how our bedroom, landing area and main bathroom would not be affected by a traditional staircase. It seemed to good to be true but Touchstone Lofts submitted drawings to the council who accepted them.
The resulting project is amazing. We have got a much bigger loft, timbers were retained which maintained the character of the barn.
As the width of the loft did not go across the full width of the barn, the height was maintained which keeps with the character of the building. After the care, patience and expertise displayed by Touchstone Lofts, I felt obliged in providing them with this detailed reference. Although we did not nominate Touchstone Lofts for the recent award they won, I can truly understand how and why this company thoroughly deserves the award and would not hesitate in nominating them for a future award.
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Google’s easy choice-Touchstone Lofts
Touchstone Lofts becomes the easy choice in Google search
Choosing the right builder is pretty difficult as there appears to be so many nightmare stories associated with the building trade. Customers are faced with a difficult choice as the promises on builder websites cannot be verified.
Cowboy builders, Channel 5’s series does little to improve the reputation of the building trade and further adds to customer apprehension and concerns.
A loft conversion is normally a very complicated project, there are the planning and building regulations to comply with and the overall design will have a significant effect on the resale value of your home.
Whilst is common knowledge not to accept the cheapest price, the most expensive price is also to be challenged. I can recall a job we priced for that the customer refused over a competitor’s price. The competitor’s price was cheaper by half and this infuriated the customer. I later heard from the building regulation officer that the whole loft had to be stripped out as the builder had used the wrong floor joists.
So how does a customer choose a builder for its loft conversion, firstly choose a specialist loft conversion company, not a general builder who will be limited in expert knowledge. Secondly choose a FMB Masterbond builder, just a FMB builder will very limited. There are around 11,000 FMB members and less than 900 (8%) are Masterbonded. This very prestigious accreditation means the company has been thoroughly vetted, accounts, insurances, directors checked out and the building work has been independently inspected by the BBA (British Building Aggregate).
Touchstone Lofts were “Highly Commended” for “Outstanding Quality Craftsmanship and Excellent customer service” National Master Builder of the Year awards 2010 organised by the Federation of Master Builder. This is a award open to every builder in the UK and over 500 nominations were received . Whilst being nominated is an amazing achievement, winning an award is a remarkable and spectacular recognition.
Touchstone Lofts is also recommended by 100% (Qype) and 91% (Review centre) of its recent customers, as listed on independent review sites.
Touchstone Lofts is the easy choice for your loft conversion, email now at sales@touchstonelofts.co.uk, or visit our website www.touchstonelofts.co.uk, or ring 0800 881 8194 for a free quote.
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London is Booming
London loft conversions
London is the loft conversion capital, Loft conversions in London are very popular. The price of property in London is staggering and can make an outsider feel pretty faint. You will not get much change from £700,000 for a small terraced property in a respectable area.
Apart from adding considerable room to your home, a london loft conversion can add significant value to your home , up to 21%.
To maximise value the loft conversion should be carried out in accordance with local authority planning guidlines and Building regulations.
Choose a company that is an expert in Loft conversions, preferably one that is Masterbonded, that is affilated to Federation of Master Builders.
Better still choose a company that has positive reviews, Touchstone lofts is recommended by 91% of its customers.
Even better choose a National Prestgious Award winning company for “Outstanding Quality Craftmanship and excellent customer 
service”- Choose the Brand Leader- Touchstone Lofts.
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Touchstone Lofts Review
Faced with spending a substantial amount of money on a loft conversion, and with enough horror stories out there to stop us, we put our most effort on determining which company to use.
We narrowed the search down by looking for a company that specialised in loft conversions, and one that was backed by a high level of warranty – in this case through Masterbond. Touchstone Lofts gave us the most peace of mind, and also the best quote ! I spoke at length to a previous customer who was very pleased with his conversion.
From day one the builders were very pleasant and friendly, took on board my requests, kept disruptions to our daily life to a minimum, and cleaned and vacuumed at the end of the day. They worked through a particularly unpleasant winter ( end of 2010 ), undaunted by the bitter winds, with hardly any complaint, and remained focused on their work. They asked for confirmation of important decisions before doing those tasks ( even when they didn’t have to ), and took into account any changes we proposed. Bearing in mind their often substantial travel times they were up early to get a good start and were always good spirited. True attention to detail showed in all their work; from carefully aligning the windows on the loft with those on the rest of the house, to installing door handles with all the screw heads in line. Additionally we had an architect, plumbers, electricians, roofers and plasterers, all of whom did great jobs and came across as genuinely nice people.
We had a number of problems external to Touchstone – the council, neighbour and scaffolders. Through all of these Paul kept positive and dealt with all of them in a timely and enthusiastic manner. No problem was too big. At the completion of the build there were a couple of nigglies, but these were resolved in a fair manner.
follow the line of exixting window
Finally the loft itself. Its fantastic ! The outside is very much in keeping with the rest of the house, and the inside is a pleasure to be in. We are mightily impressed with the general finishing and the plastering in particular. The quality of work is superb and we are happy to recommend Touchstone lofts.
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Touchstone Lofts Review
Professional, Tidy, Friendly and Excellent Customer Service.
loft conversion
Touchstone Lofts converted our loft space in the summer of 2010, and we were asked to add a review. Being quite busy with work and having young kids we wanted a company we could rely on 100%. My work is in predominantly in I.T. so I found the website excellent and very informative and the fact it was on page 1 of Google was a bonus and impressive.
We initially contacted three companies and we narrowed it down to two specialists as they were both very informative and professional . Touchstone lofts sent a very detailed quote with some great visuals within a few days of visiting.
My wife visited some completed lofts and we decided on Touchstone as all their customers were so pleased and the lofts were all very well designed and the attention to detail was exceptional.
The teams always arrived early, before we left for work and they were all extremely courteous and clean and tidy. We were very happy to leave our house in their hands on a daily basis.
The loft team even texted my wife on one occasion when there was a police speed trap on our road- how great is that! We were kept informed on what was completed daily.
The whole job progressed very well, and there were no delays or days when nothing happened.
Touchstone Lofts were very helpful and informative during the whole conversion. They were also very patient with one of our neighbours who did not allow any scaffolding over the boundary. Our delightful neighbour also refused to sign the “party wall agreement” and Touchstone Lofts came up with an alternative floor structure without having to put steels into the party wall.
Overall we would highly recommend them and you won’t be disappointed as the whole process was first class, delivered on time and the final finish was better than the proposed plans. There were some really good added touches and improvements. The disruption was kept to an absolute minimum which is a blessing when you have a young family!