Dormer Windows Conversion in Brighton, East Sussex

We have employer’s liability insurance and public liability insurance to the value of £10,000,000 and £1,000,000 respectively. We also offer a free one year maintenance guarantee apart from our 10 year structural guarantee.

Strictly speaking, it is not true that you can’t remodel or renovate your home if it’s in designated land such as a conservation area. The focus is more on preserving the surrounding environment and general style of the home.

In relation to dormer loft conversion, this means that any work which alters the roofline requires special consent. Failure to obtain the consent means your loft conversion is illegal and you could be fined or imprisoned in extreme cases.

In most cases, converting a loft with the dormer style or adding a dormer window is permitted and doesn’t require planning permission. You have to apply for planning permission if

• The volume of the converted space is above 50m3 for detached and semi-detached homes and 40m3 for terraced houses.
• The home is on designated land. Examples include world heritage sites, areas of outstanding beauty, national parks and conservation areas.
• The dormer extension will face the street or the height will exceed the existing roof
• The loft conversion includes a veranda or side window overlooking your neighbour’s property.

Ask for recommendations. It is a tried and trusted method of finding good loft conversion companies in Brighton. Ensure that the builder of your choice has the right credentials and meets industry specifications for loft conversion companies. Clifton Hill & Montpelier Loft Conversions are NIC EIC approved contractors. We are also members of the Federation of Master Builders.

Go online and research the company. Do they have a website that inspires trust? Where is their office located? Who answers the phone when you call their contact number? Who have they worked for in the past? These are ways to verify that the company is legitimate.

Ask them if they have worked on dormer windows and dormer loft conversions. A good conversion specialist will be happy to put you in touch with a client they’ve worked with in the past.

Many of our clients in Brighton opt to re-mortgage their homes to get the funds they need for a dormer loft conversion. You must have equity in your home for the amount you need to borrow, this will include a deposit.

If you have savings, you can leverage that to expend some of the cost of a home renovation. Savings is the cheapest way to pay for a loft conversion as you’re not charged bank interest. You could also look into a credit card reward or cashback deal to pay off the balance if your savings are not sufficient to cover the full cost of the dormer loft conversion.

A third option is to take out a personal loan if you have a good credit history. It is cheaper than re mortgaging but you will have to consider whether you can manage the monthly payments on top any other financial commitments you have.

Alternatively, you can pay for your project in instalments. We can sit with you and map out a payment structure starting from the first stage of the project and finishing before the final stages.

Dormer windows open up space in your room, create more headroom and allow for more daylight. The increased space means you have room for a closet, en suite bathroom, reading corner, small window-side sofa and a bedroom.

There are many shapes and sizes so you shouldn’t have trouble finding an option that fits your Brighton home. A dormer window incorporates an extra floor of accommodation, turning your home into a three storey building without feeling high on the outside.

When considering a loft conversion design, the position of the staircase is one of your most significant decisions. With the help of our gifted architects, there are several options that could improve your existing upper floor layout, and therefore improve your new loft floor.

The first option is to install the staircase over the existing stairs. It saves space for your loft conversion and creates a symmetrical design that complements your existing home layout. It also minimises floor space taken up by the stairs without affecting headroom.

A second option is to position the stairs behind the chimney. This allows headroom for the staircase to come up off to the left. This means you have an extra space to convert your loft into an en suite bedroom with a bathroom.

Using a loft conversion specialist is better than working with a general builder. Clifton Hill & Montpelier Loft Conversions Brighton has the experience required to ensure a smooth job. We know all the required planning permissions and regulations required for your building and your preferred dormer window style.

You are assigned a project manager who schedules regular meetings to keep you informed on the progress of your loft conversion. Any mistake in your loft conversion could double the charge of fixing your home. Working with a loft conversion specialist in Brighton eliminates the risk of a conversion gone wrong.

A loft conversion is considered a third storey for your Brighton home. You have to install a wide fire-escape window and fire doors that can withstand heat for 30 minutes. One will be installed at the top of the new stairs and doors in all the rooms of the house. You also need smoke alarms in your loft. It should be wired to the main control and include a backup battery for power supply.

Book an appointment for a free site survey to determine the suitability of your loft for a conversion. We send you a quote and if you’re happy with it, we draw up a contract with a fixed price and timeline for the loft conversion.

The next stage is the design process where our RIBA certified architect creates a customised design drawing for your new loft conversion. We advise you on how to get the building regulation, planning permits and party wall agreements.

Once all of that is settled, we begin construction. It takes approximately 2 to 3 months during which our contractors will be on site 5 to 6 days a week. We assign a dedicated project manager who keeps you in the loop and makes regular visits to inspect the work and ensure it is going as planned.

A building control officer will also make regular visits to your property and upon the final visit, you will be awarded a certificate.

If you want to take the right steps in becoming eco-friendlier, Clifton Hill & Montpelier Loft Conversions provides sustainable dormer windows that help to save the planet and your wallet. We could use timber walls, a sustainable material that is a good alternative to brick or concrete, and provides proper insulation while maintaining good air quality. It is also cheaper.

We can attempt to reuse your existing roof types or recycled shingles and include double glazing dormer windows that reduce heating bills and provide great insulation. We’ll also use low energy LED bulbs that reduce electricity bills, illuminate your loft and last longer than regular bulbs.

As a leading loft conversion company in Brighton, we are happy to show you our portfolio of completed work in any style of dormer window in which you are interested. Simply give us a call to arrange a meeting, complete the contact form or peruse case studies from

A dormer window is a vertical window with its own roof and positioned within the slope of the roof. It is used to increase the livable space in a loft and create window openings in a roof plane. When installed by a professional, it looks beautiful. When done by a cheap contractor, it might look cheap.

The average loft conversion in Brighton usually takes 4 to 10 weeks to complete. It could reach 12 weeks if you have a more complex project or custom specifications.

Please call our phone number or complete the enquiry form on our website and we’ll arrange for a surveyor to visit your property.

If your loft is not in violation of the planning and conservation guidelines, it can be converted. The roof ridge is a crucial element. It has to be a minimum of 2.2 m.

Most window installers offer prices based on double-glazed windows as it offers more security and better insulation for your Brighton loft conversion. Currently, the cheapest price you can get for a dormer window is £600. A more expensive window might cost up to £1,250.

A customised dormer window can make your home more impressive, depending on the style and period of your property. With a budget of £5,000 and above, you can install a simple flat roof dormer that turns your unused loft into an office or bedroom.

A mid-range budget of £10,000 and above will get you a pair of gable dormers that create a beautiful design and maintain a perfect symmetry of your Brighton home. Our designers can match dormers to fit the existing architectural style of your home.

With a budget of £15,000 and above, our designers can create a customised dormer window for your loft conversion project. We’ll add high-quality finishes that maximise the value to your home.

You need planning permission if you plan to alter the shape of the roof or if your dormer window is front-facing. You submit your plan to the local council and it is open to rejection by your neighbours or the council.

A permitted development means you don’t have to apply for planning permission. This is usually the case for most buildings that aren’t flats or in a designated area. Semi-detached properties are allowed an extra 50 cubic metres and terraced houses are allowed an additional 40 cubic metres.

We can move your water tank to a more conducive area so that you have more space in the loft. We advise Brighton homeowners to upgrade to a combi boiler that eliminates the problem and provides more efficiency. We can either work around your chimney or remove it altogether.

At Clifton Hill & Montpelier Loft Conversions, we pride ourselves as a full customer orientated service. It is very rare that customers have issues with their loft conversion but in the rare case that you do, our team of friendly contractors will come over and fix the problem. We also provide a 10 year guarantee on all dormer window installations.

The minimum height for a conventional cut rafter along with purlin rooftop should be 2.2m to 2.4m. A chimney or lift zone that goes through the top won’t influence your loft conversion. However, you might have to relocate the boiler if maximising extra space is the goal for your loft conversion.

If the roof has felt under the tiles, it has to be fully weathered. No felt? You have to be able to see the back of the roof tiles and battens they are fixed to. In most specialised properties, such as a Victorian house, the rooftop slate front has felt already installed.

You can move on if you tick these boxes. If there are any problems, you might have to make some adjustments before the conversion can begin.

A loft conversion is considered a safe investment that adds value to your property. A large bedroom, with a new staircase, en suite bathroom and dormer windows delivers an immediate increased value of at least 10%.

Absolutely. We can undertake work if you already have an existing plan. Our architects will look it over to ensure it conforms with Brighton’s building regulations.