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Serving Essex & London
- 07441 343232
- Contact@foxconversions.com
Owner-led loft conversions across Chelmsford, including the newer estates with truss roofs. No deposit on the build, and you deal with Chris from survey to sign-off.
A Velux conversion on a loft that already has the height starts from around £28,000. All figures include VAT, and they are for a finished, signed-off conversion, not a starting price that climbs once the work begins. A truss roof adds to the figure because of the steelwork, and I confirm that at the survey once I have measured up.
I'm Chris. I run Fox Conversions, a small firm based in Benfleet, about forty minutes from Chelmsford up the A130. I've been on the tools for over 15 years, trading since 2012 and as Fox Conversions Ltd since 2014. I do the survey myself, I sort the drawings and building control, and I'm on site through the build until it's signed off. The figures on this page come from jobs we've actually done, not a price list.
Chelmsford is two different towns for anyone converting lofts. The gap isn't about size. It's about what's holding the roof up.
Older houses: cut roof
The 1930s semis and Victorian terraces through Moulsham, Old Springfield and Broomfield were built with rafters and purlins, and usually have good height at the ridge. We work with the existing timbers, add steel where the calculations need it, and build the new floor into a structure that was broadly meant to carry weight.
Newer estates: truss roof
Chelmer Village, Chancellor Park, Beaulieu and most houses built since the 1970s have W-shaped trussed rafters, designed to hold the roof up and nothing else. You can't just cut them out. Steel beams go in first to take over the structural job, then the redundant timbers come out and a proper floor is built. It costs more and takes longer, and it needs a structural engineer's design, which is included in the quote. It is not a reason to say no.
Head height is the other check. Many newer houses have a shallower roof pitch. Around 2.3 metres at the ridge is comfortable; below about 2 metres a conversion gets difficult without lowering the ceiling below. I measure it at the survey and tell you either way.
Rear dormer
The most common choice on Chelmsford semis and terraces. Full head height across the back of the house, with room for a bedroom and an en-suite.
Hip-to-gable
For semis and end-terraces with a sloping side roof, common in Great Baddow and Galleywood. The sloping side is built up into a vertical gable wall, usually combined with a rear dormer, as at Knightsbridge Walk below.
Velux
Roof windows fitted into the existing slope. The lower-cost option, but only if the loft already has good height, which rules out most of the newer estates.
Roof structure
A truss roof needs steel before anything else can happen. A hipped roof needs more structural work than a straight gable end. Both add cost, and hip-to-gable often adds the most usable space.
Head height
Where head height is tight, we can often lower the ceiling below to gain it. Raising the ridge usually isn't an option, because it takes the roof above its existing height, which permitted development doesn't allow. I measure this at the survey because it's the biggest single factor in how straightforward a job is.
A bathroom or en-suite
Plumbing, tiling and waterproofing add to the figure.
Finish
A plastered shell costs less than a fully fitted room with joinery and flooring.
These figures assume the job is done properly, the structure is right, and it's signed off. If a quote comes in a long way under them, ask what's been left out. The steelwork on a truss roof especially isn't something you want done cheaply.
The figures above are for the whole job, not just the build:
You pay in stages as the work goes up. No large deposit up front.
Most loft conversions fall under permitted development, so you won't need full planning permission. You will need to apply if your house is in a conservation area, if the design goes beyond the permitted limits, or if earlier extensions have used up your permitted development allowance. On some of the newer estates the developer removed permitted development rights when the houses were built, so I check your address before I quote.
Chelmsford comes under Chelmsford City Council for planning, and we handle the application if one is needed.
Every conversion goes through building control, whatever the planning position. That's the part that signs off the structure and fire safety, and we manage it from submission to the final certificate.
A recent job nearby
We haven't put a Chelmsford job on the site yet, so here's the nearest one, twenty minutes down the B1007 in Billericay. A hip-to-gable conversion with a rear dormer on a semi. The side of the roof was hipped, so the usable space stopped well short of the walls and you couldn't stand up at the edges. Building the hip up into a full gable and running a dormer across the back turned it into a full-width bedroom with its own en-suite. The same approach suits the hipped semis around Great Baddow and Galleywood.
Before: a standard hipped roof and a loft used for boxes. During: the new steels in, the hip built up to a gable and the dormer framed across the back, all under a scaffold and weather cover so the house stayed dry throughout. After: a bedroom with an en-suite and a Juliet balcony, signed off by building control.
Before, during and after photos below. Tap any photo to see it full size.
Another nearby job: a trussed roof, like the Chelmsford estates
A long house in Billericay with a trussed roof, the same construction as most of the newer Chelmsford estates. The owners wanted the space but didn't want a big box sitting on top of their home. It mattered to them that the dormers looked like they belonged, so instead of one wide dormer across the back we built three small ones, spaced along the roof to line up with the house below.
Head height in the bathroom was tight, so the bath is sunk into the floor rather than sat on it, which gained the headroom without touching the roofline. The bookshelf is built into the wall so it takes no floor space at all.
Same process as every job: drawings and calculations first, building control from start to certificate, and Chris on site through the build.
“Excellent work by Chris & team! Arrived on time, work super hard, clean & tidy, good cost and invoice management. We were delighted with the whole experience.”
During the build and the finished rooms, including the sunken bath and the built-in bookshelf. Tap any photo to see it full size.
We work across Essex. See every area on our Loft Conversions Essex page.
Velux from £28,000, rear dormer from £45,000, hip to gable from £55,000, all including VAT, drawings, structural calculations and building control. A truss roof adds to that for the steelwork, and your fixed price comes after the free survey.
Yes, in most cases. Steel beams go in to take over the job the trusses were doing, then the redundant timbers come out. It costs more and takes longer than a cut roof, and it needs a structural engineer's design, which is included in the quote. Head height is the thing that rules a loft out, not the trusses.
Usually not. Most loft conversions are permitted development. Conservation areas and estates where the developer removed permitted development rights are the exceptions. I check your address at the survey, and we handle any application with Chelmsford City Council.
The build itself typically takes six to eight weeks, a little longer for a truss roof. Before that, allow time for drawings, building control and any party wall notices. I run one job at a time, so there are no weeks where nobody turns up.
Yes, across Chelmsford and mid Essex, including Great Baddow, Writtle, Broomfield, Danbury, Witham and Maldon.
The survey is free and takes about 45 minutes. I'll look at the roof, check the head height, tell you honestly what's achievable, and follow up with a fixed written quote. No obligation.
Call or WhatsApp Chris: 07441 343232
contact@foxconversions.com
Also see:
Loft Conversions Billericay, Loft Conversions Brentwood
Fox Conversions Ltd
Specialists in high-end home transformations for over 15 years.
Office: 9 Dorothy Gardens, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 3AD Phone: 07441 343232
Email: contact@foxconversions.com
Registered in England & Wales: Company No. 09270847
