Roof dormers – Albion Lofts

Dormers windows are very versatile. They add a huge amount of extra living space, they give you the option of a full-size stand up shower and they can be built in many different styles to suit the look of your house.

Some would say they are a bit ugly and change the skyline, and there are local building authorities that would require planning permission to have them built. But at Albion Lofts Ltd we are very experienced in how we approach whether a dormer would be right for you in the first place and also the design and look, combined with functionality.

Over the years we have built many types of dormers. We've constructed large flat-roof dormers that take up the whole of the back of a roof; we've built pitched dormers, converted a hipped roof to a gable end with a dormer on the back and we've increased the size of existing dormers.

Clearly, a dormer conversion is more expensive than a simple 'Velux job', and the length of time it takes to build your new room will increase. But at Albion Lofts we are commited to making sure the process will not inconvenience you and our dormers prices are extremely competitive.

Building Process (flat-roof dormer)
Generally the time it takes to build a dormer depends on the size and complication aspects (i.e. weather) but we generally allow three working days to build the main construction ofa flat-roof dormer and another three days for the flat roofer and tiler to finish the exterior. Another couple of days are then added on for the fitting of the sofit and facia and the double-glazed window units. All-in-all we allow two weeks for the actual dormer part of the job.

The process of how we build a flat-roof dormer is one that we pride ourselves on. After the main floor is finished (which includes raised lintels of existing first floor windows) we will fit the ridge steel. This sits in the party wall one end on a steel plate and at the other end on a strong timber post which will be integral to the stud wall which goes across the face
of the chimney breasts.

Once the ridge steel is in place we are ready to put our main wall plate and 'goal posts' up. The 'goal posts' are the main beams that form the main wall of the dormer and the top of this is in line with the bottom of the ridge steel. With the ridge steel in place and the 'goal posts' up we are then ready to fit the roof joists. These site on the top wall plate and are joist hung onto the timber webbing inside the ridge steel. Now the side walls can be built.

The next stage is fitting the firing pieces and cross battonning. The firing pieces give the dormer a sloping roof for drainage and the cross battons are there for ventilation and to carry the main ply roof. Once the ply is in place and nailed down, drainage strips will be fitted and the dormer door is now ready for the flat roofer. The front of the main wall and the side walls are clad in 9mm OSB board, felted over and then battonned and tiled.

If the dormer is being built on a terraced property we will fit fire-resistant Gyproc board to the sides of the dormer. This will give the dormer its half-hour fire protection to adjoining neighbours.

Before the UPVC windows are fitted we are then ready to strip out the original roof. The original roof is left in place as long as possible so that in the event of rain and leaving the 'job' over a weekend, you are still protected from the classic British weather.

Now that the main construction is up, the old roof gone and the windows fitted we are now ready to insulate to new dormer. This is done with Celotex and the insulation process takes about a day and a half.

This is the general process of a typical flat-roof dormer.