Loft conversions · Didsbury and south Manchester
Same house. One more floor.
Dormer, hip-to-gable and Velux conversions for the Victorian and Edwardian semis and terraces of south Manchester. Drawings, planning, building control and the party wall, all handled, and one fixed price paid in stages.
- 4.9 from 212 Google reviews
- FMB member
- 10-year guarantee
The space is already paid for
Most of the houses on your street are a floor short of what they could be.
South Manchester is built of tall Victorian roofs and generous Edwardian ones: the terraces off Wilmslow Road in Withington and Fallowfield, the semis between Lapwing Lane and Burton Road, the 1930s semis along Kingsway. Most of them have a loft you could stand up in, holding a water tank and the Christmas decorations. We turn it into a bedroom, usually with a shower room, in about eight weeks, while you carry on living downstairs.
- Lofts converted since 2011
- 184
- New floor area, typically
- 26 m²
- On site, for a rear dormer
- 8 wks
- On value, by Nationwide’s often-quoted figure
- up to 20%
Four ways up
Which loft conversion fits your roof.
The shape of your roof decides most of it. Here is what changes on each, drawn from the side, and what it costs from in Greater Manchester in 2026, with the paperwork in.
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Velux
Rooflights in the slope you have
The roof line stays as it is and the light comes in through the slope. The quickest and cheapest, and the only one that usually still works in a conservation area. It needs a loft that is already tall: 2.2 m or more from the top of the ceiling joists to the ridge.
- Suits
- Steep Victorian roofs, Edwardian semis, conservation areas
- On site
- 5 to 6 weeks
From £31,500
-
Rear dormer
A box built out of the back slope
The back of the roof comes up to near the ridge and goes straight down, so the whole floor is standing height. The conversion most south Manchester houses get, and usually permitted development on a semi or a terrace outside a conservation area.
- Suits
- Terraces in Levenshulme and Withington, semis anywhere
- On site
- 7 to 8 weeks
From £46,500
-
Hip to gable
The sloping side becomes a wall
On a semi with a hipped roof, the sloping end is built up into a brick gable, which turns a narrow loft into a full-width one. Almost always done with a rear dormer. The 1930s semis of Burnage and Heaton Moor are made for it.
- Suits
- 1920s and 1930s semis with hipped roofs
- On site
- 8 to 10 weeks
From £57,000
-
L-shaped dormer
Over the main roof and the back outrigger
Victorian terraces with a two-storey back addition get a dormer on each roof, joined into an L. Usually two good bedrooms and a shower room where there was one attic. Watch the 40 cubic metre limit on a terrace; we measure before anything is drawn.
- Suits
- Victorian terraces with back outriggers
- On site
- 9 to 10 weeks
From £59,500
A mansard rebuilds the back slope almost vertical, and it nearly always needs planning permission. We build a few a year, mostly on terraces in Levenshulme where a dormer would not give enough room. From £68,000.
Two minutes, five questions
Does my loft need planning permission?
Most rear dormers in south Manchester do not. Some do, and the conservation areas in Didsbury are the usual reason. This checks your answers against the permitted development rules for roofs; we confirm it at the survey.
Likely permitted development
You probably do not need planning permission.
- A rear dormer on a semi is allowed up to 50 m³, and about 36 m³ is well inside it.
- Outside a conservation area, the roof allowance applies in full.
- It must sit below the ridge, about 20 cm back from the eaves, in materials that match.
Either way you will need
- A Lawful Development Certificate from Manchester City Council: not required, but your buyer’s solicitor will ask for it. About eight weeks.
- Building regulations approval and a completion certificate.
- Party wall notices to your attached neighbour, two months before work starts.
A guide, not a legal answer. Rules from the General Permitted Development Order, Classes B and C, as they stood in October 2026.
Book a survey to confirm itThe rules in brief, and the conservation areas we work in most
- Volume. 40 m³ of new roof space on a terraced house, end terraces included; 50 m³ on a semi or detached. Earlier roof extensions count against it.
- Not at the front. Nothing may stick out of the roof slope that faces the road. Front dormers always need planning.
- Not above the ridge, set back about 20 cm from the eaves, and in materials that look like the house.
- Side windows obscure-glazed and fixed shut below 1.7 m. No balconies.
- Flats and maisonettes have no permitted development rights for roofs at all.
- Rooflights come under a separate allowance: no more than 15 cm proud of the slope. It can be removed by an Article 4 direction.
- Manchester: Didsbury St James, around Wilmslow Road and Stenner Lane; Blackburn Park, inside Barlow Moor Road, Palatine Road, Lapwing Lane and Wilmslow Road; Albert Park in West Didsbury; and more across the city.
- Stockport: Heaton Moor and Heaton Mersey, among others.
- Trafford: conservation areas of its own, including in Sale. We check your address on the council’s map before we draw anything.
- Inside a conservation area a dormer needs a full planning application. Rear dormers are often approved when they are modest and match the house.
Fixed prices, 2026
What it costs, with the paperwork in.
Starting prices for a typical south Manchester house, including VAT. Your written quote after the survey is fixed: the price on it is the price you pay, unless you change what we are building.
| Conversion | On site | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Velux conversionUp to three rooflights, new stair, one bedroom. Terrace or semi. | 5 to 6 weeks | from £31,500 |
| Rear dormer, terraced houseFull-width box dormer, bedroom and storage in the eaves. | 7 to 8 weeks | from £44,000 |
| Rear dormer, semi-detachedBedroom and a shower room, the most common job we do. | 7 to 8 weeks | from £46,500 |
| Hip to gable with rear dormerGable built up in matching brick, dormer at the back. | 8 to 10 weeks | from £57,000 |
| L-shaped dormerVictorian terrace with an outrigger, two rooms and a shower room. | 9 to 10 weeks | from £59,500 |
| MansardNeeds planning permission. Priced after a measured survey. | 10 to 12 weeks | from £68,000 |
Paid in stages, never ahead of the work.
Five per cent books your start date. Every payment after that follows a stage you have seen finished.
From survey to sign-off
How it runs, one step at a time.
About three months of paperwork, then eight weeks on site for a rear dormer. The paperwork is the part people underestimate, so we start it the week you say yes.
- 01 Day one
Free survey
An hour in your loft with a tape and a torch. We measure the head height, look at the roof timbers and tell you which conversion fits.
- 02 Weeks 1 to 3
Drawings and structure
Our architectural technician draws it; the structural engineer sizes the steels. You sign off the layout before anything is submitted.
- 03 Weeks 3 to 11
Permission and party wall
A Lawful Development Certificate or planning application, eight weeks at the council, and the party wall notices served the same week, which need two months.
- 04 Before we start
Building control
Plans approved, a start date fixed in writing, and the 5% that books it. Nothing else is paid until the scaffold is up.
- 05 On site, week 1
Scaffold and strip
Scaffold at the back, the slope opened, the roof sheeted every night. You will hear us; you will not see much from the house.
- 06 Week 2
Steels and floor
Steel beams craned or carried in, new joists laid on top of your old ceiling. Building control inspects.
- 07 Weeks 3 to 4
Dormer and roof
The dormer framed, felted, tiled or slate-hung to match, windows in. Watertight by the end of week four.
- 08 Weeks 5 to 6
The stair goes in
The day we break through the landing ceiling. Insulation, wiring and plumbing, then the fire doors onto the stair.
- 09 Weeks 7 to 8
Plaster and finish
Plastered, skirting and doors, the shower room tiled. Building control signs it off and the certificate comes to you.
The part nobody enjoys
Four pieces of paper. We handle all four.
Every loft needs the same things signed by somebody. Lucy draws, Aoife submits and chases, and you get a folder at the end with every certificate in it, which is what a buyer’s solicitor asks for the day you sell.
-
Planning, or a Lawful Development Certificate
Most dormers outside a conservation area are permitted development. We still apply for an LDC, so when you sell, your buyer’s solicitor has a council letter saying so.
Manchester, Stockport or Trafford planning
-
Building regulations
Structure, fire escape, insulation, stair headroom: 1.9 m at the centre of a loft stair. Inspected at each stage and signed off with a completion certificate.
Council building control
-
Party wall agreement
On a semi or a terrace the steels sit in the party wall, so your neighbours get a notice two months before. Most consent by letter; we serve and chase them.
Party Wall etc. Act 1996
-
Structural calculations
An engineer sizes every steel and joist for your house, not a table. The calculations go to building control with the drawings.
Our structural engineer
Recent lofts
Upstairs, on streets you know.
-
Lapwing Lane, West Didsbury
Rear dormer in the Blackburn Park conservation area, so a full planning application, slate-hung cheeks to match.
-
Fog Lane, Burnage
Hip to gable on a 1930s semi: two single beds and room for a third.
-
Burton Road, West Didsbury
Velux conversion on a tall Victorian roof, a study by day and a guest room at weekends.
-
Beech Road, Chorlton
Three rooflights in a row, the loft as a second living room above the children.
-
Mauldeth Road, Withington
Rear dormer on an Edwardian semi: main bedroom up top, the old one now a nursery.
-
Albert Road, Levenshulme
L-shaped dormer on a Victorian terrace, with a shower room over the outrigger.
-
Heaton Moor Road, Heaton Moor
Rooflights only, inside the Heaton Moor conservation area, Stockport building control.
-
Northenden Road, Sale
A new stair over the old one, under a rooflight wide enough to read by.
4.9 from 212 Google reviews
What the people downstairs said.
-
★★★★★
We were in a conservation area and assumed it would be a nightmare. Aoife did the planning application, the neighbours signed the party wall letters in a week, and the price on the contract was the price.
Hannah and Raj, West Didsbury · Rear dormer, May 2026
-
★★★★★
Nine weeks start to finish and we lived in the house the whole time. The stair went in on a Tuesday and there was hardly any dust downstairs.
Mike, Burnage · Hip to gable, March 2026
-
★★★★★
They told us straight that our loft was tall enough for rooflights and we did not need a dormer. Saved us about fifteen grand.
Clare, Chorlton · Velux conversion, January 2026
-
★★★★★
Two bedrooms and a shower room out of a loft we used for boxes. Weekly photos every Friday, even the weeks we were away.
Tom and Femi, Levenshulme · L-shaped dormer, October 2025
-
★★★★★
Knew the Stockport side as well as the Manchester side. Building control signed it off first time.
Sarah, Heaton Moor · Rooflights, August 2025
-
★★★★★
We paid in stages, each one after the work was done. I never once felt we were ahead of them.
Dev, Withington · Rear dormer, June 2025
- FMBFederation of Master Builders member
- TrustMarkGovernment-endorsed quality scheme
- 10 yearsInsurance-backed guarantee on every loft
- £10mPublic liability, certificate on request
Who will be in your loft
- Sean ByrneFounder and site lead. A joiner by trade, on south Manchester roofs since 2009.
- Aoife ByrneOffice, planning and party wall. The person who rings the council so you do not have to.
- Kwame AsanteLead carpenter. Dormers, stairs and anything cut on site.
- Lucy PenningtonArchitectural technician. Your drawings, from survey to building control.
Questions
What people ask on the landing, looking up at the hatch.
Anything else, Aoife is on 0161 496 0418.
Is my loft tall enough?
Measure from the top of a ceiling joist to the underside of the ridge timber. At 2.2 m or more, most conversions work. Under that, a dormer can still get you standing height over most of the floor, or we lower the ceilings below; both cost more, and we will say which at the survey.
Do I need planning permission?
Many rear dormers and most rooflights are permitted development, within 40 cubic metres on a terraced house and 50 on a semi or detached. Not in a conservation area, not on a flat, and never a dormer on the slope facing the road. Try the checker above, then we confirm it at the survey and apply for whichever you need.
Can we stay in the house while you work?
Almost everyone does. Everything comes in through the scaffold at the back, and we only break through into the house in week five, when the stair goes in. That week is dusty, and we sheet the landing and stair for it.
What do the neighbours have to agree to?
On a semi or a terrace, the steels bear on the party wall, so the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 means a notice to each neighbour two months before the work. Most simply consent. If one appoints a surveyor, that cost is yours by law; we tell you before you sign.
How do you handle fire safety?
A loft makes your house three storeys, so the stair has to be a protected route to the front door: fire doors on every room off it and mains-wired, interlinked smoke alarms on every floor. It is all in the price and inspected by building control.
How much value does a loft add?
Nationwide’s often-quoted research put a loft conversion with a double bedroom and a bathroom at up to about a fifth on the value of a house. On a street where buyers want a third bedroom, it is usually the cheapest square metre you can add.
When do we pay?
Five per cent to book a start date, then six stage payments, each after the stage is finished and you have seen it. Nothing up front for materials, and the last ten per cent after building control signs it off.
Do you work outside Manchester City Council?
Yes: Stockport for Heaton Moor and Stockport itself, and Trafford for Sale. Each has its own building control and its own conservation areas, and we deal with all three every month.
Where we work
From Burton Road, twenty minutes in every direction.
- West Didsbury2 min
- Didsbury6 min
- Withington7 min
- Chorlton9 min
- Fallowfield10 min
- Burnage12 min
- Levenshulme16 min
- Sale18 min
- Heaton Moor18 min
- Stockport20 min
Three councils, three building control teams: Manchester for Didsbury, Chorlton, Withington, Fallowfield, Burnage and Levenshulme; Stockport for Heaton Moor and Stockport; Trafford for Sale.
Directions to the studioFree, an hour, no obligation
Book a loft survey.
Sean or Kwame comes round with a tape and a torch, goes up the hatch, and tells you what fits, whether you need planning, and roughly what it costs. The written quote follows within a week.
- Office0161 496 0418
- Sean, on site07700 900 362
- Emailhello@upstairsloft.co.uk
- The studio, by appointmentStudio 3, 186 Burton Road, West Didsbury, Manchester M20
Office open Monday to Friday, 8 to 5:30
| Monday | 8am to 5:30pm |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 8am to 5:30pm |
| Wednesday | 8am to 5:30pm |
| Thursday | 8am to 5:30pm |
| Friday | 8am to 5pm |
| Saturday | 9am to 1pm, surveys only |
| Sunday | Closed |
Thanks. That is with Aoife.
She will ring you before 5:30 today to fix a time for the survey.
Reference UL-2610