Planning a loft conversion in Storrington? Apex designs and builds dormer, hip-to-gable, Velux, mansard and L-shape conversions across RH20, on traditional cut roofs and modern trussed ones alike, with architectural support in house from the first drawing to the finished room. Book a free, no-obligation quote.
Thinking about a loft conversion in Storrington? The first thing worth knowing is what sits above your ceiling, because across RH20 that varies far more than the houses do. Open a hatch in the older part of the village and you often find a traditional cut roof: rafters and purlins, with usable space already there. Open one on the later estates that make up much of Storrington and you are more likely to find a factory-made trussed roof, where timber webs criss-cross the whole void and there is nowhere to stand at all.
That single difference shapes the job more than anything else about the house. A cut roof can usually be opened up, strengthened and floored. A trussed roof has to come out and be replaced with a new structural floor and new support before there is a room to design, which changes both the programme and the cost. Neither rules a conversion out, and plenty of Storrington’s trussed-roof homes convert very well. It simply means you want to know which one you have before you start picturing furniture, and we can tell you within a minute of putting a head through the hatch.
Working across Storrington, we take a joined-up approach from the first drawing to the finished room. Our in-house architectural support covers layout planning, structural coordination and technical drawings, and can prepare and submit a planning application or Lawful Development Certificate where one is needed, with Horsham District Council as the planning authority for village addresses. We build to current Building Regulations throughout. Contact us for a free, no-obligation quote.
Which conversion suits a Storrington home comes down to the roof you are starting with, how much of the new floor clears usable head height, and whether the roofline is allowed to change. Five types come up across RH20. Where the roof is trussed the choice tends to open up rather than narrow, because the structure is being rebuilt anyway, so the real question becomes how much you want to change the outside.
The most common answer across Storrington’s later residential estates, because it creates head height rather than borrowing what is already there. A dormer projects out from the roof slope to give a flat ceiling and standing room across a usable width, and it generally returns the most floor area for the least planning weight. Where a trussed roof is being replaced anyway, a rear dormer is often the natural pairing, since the new structure and the new roofline get designed together. Away from the conservation area at the older core, a rear dormer may fall within permitted development.
Suited to the hipped roofs found right through Storrington’s later housing, where the side of the roof slopes inward instead of rising to a flat wall. Rebuilding that slope up to a full gable recovers the volume the hip takes away, and on a modest roof that is often the difference between a room worth having and an awkward one. It changes how the house reads from the side, so how the new gable sits against the neighbouring roofline is worth thinking about. It pairs frequently with a rear dormer to square the new floor off.
The lightest touch of the five. Nothing outside changes beyond the plane of the glazing: we strengthen the structure, insulate, board the floor out and fit rooflights for daylight. It is the quickest route, the least likely to need permission, and it holds the roofline exactly as it is, which matters on the older properties near the village core. The caveat in Storrington is that it only works where the height is already there, so it is far more often the answer under a cut roof than under a trussed one.
The biggest change of the five, rebuilding a roof slope to near vertical for maximum floor area and headroom across the footprint. Full planning permission is almost always required and the appearance of the house changes substantially, so it suits larger properties rather than a modest estate semi. Around the older core the design detail would be examined closely, which is a conversation to have with Horsham District Council and a planning consultant before the idea takes hold.
Works where the house has a two-storey rear projection to build onto, with a dormer added to both that projection and the main roof to form an L-shaped upstairs. It delivers more than a standard dormer without the planning weight of a mansard. That projection is far more common on the older properties around the village core than on the later estates, so it is one of the first things we look for when we walk round.
The best conversion is the one your existing structure will actually support, so we design around your roof rather than from a template. In Storrington that starts at the loft hatch, because a cut roof and a trussed roof lead to two different schemes and two different quotes. Knowing which you have lets us be precise about the two numbers that decide everything else: the head height you will genuinely stand up in once the new floor and the roof lining are in, and the run a staircase needs to land properly. You leave the first visit knowing where you stand.
We are based in Worthing, and Storrington sits at the northern end of our regular working area, an easy run up for a site visit or a call-out mid-build. We work across the villages at the foot of the Downs and know the general planning picture under Horsham District Council, including how differently a job runs depending on whether a house sits in the older heart of the village or on the later roads around it. You get a local team on site, the same standards from first day to last, and a crew that treats your home as somewhere people are living.
Our team and specialist partners work to a finish that stands up to close inspection: level floors, plumb walls, clean plaster lines and well-fitted joinery. Where a conversion changes the outside of the house, the new work has to look like it belongs rather than like something bolted on, and that counts on Storrington’s estate roads where a whole run of houses shares one roofline. All work is carried out to current Building Regulations and we coordinate with your Building Control inspector at the relevant stages. Recent projects are shown in the gallery below.
A Storrington loft runs through six stages, from the first visit to the day we hand it over. Design and any application sit with our in-house architectural support, and the build is ours. A short list stays with you: Party Wall notices, appointing Building Control and any listed building consent, all best taken up with a surveyor, architect or the council.
We come to your Storrington home, get a head through the loft hatch to see whether the roof is cut or trussed, measure floor to ridge and work out where a staircase could realistically land. That first look tells us most of what shapes the quote, and we would far rather share it on the day than after a drawing. No cost, no obligation.
If you already have drawings we will price against them. If not, our in-house architectural support takes the design on, producing the layout and the technical drawings an application or certificate needs. Where a trussed roof is coming out, the replacement structure gets designed at this stage rather than improvised on site. A detailed quote and outline programme arrive alongside the drawings.
Where a planning application or Lawful Development Certificate is needed, our architectural partners can prepare and submit it to Horsham District Council on your behalf. We would always suggest confirming the planning position for your own address directly with the council, and talking to a surveyor or architect about Party Wall requirements before work starts. Party Wall notices are the homeowner's legal responsibility and cannot be served by the builder.
Once consents, drawings and structural calculations are all in place, work starts on site. The programme follows the conversion type and the house itself, and we give you an indicative one when we quote. The opened roof stays weatherproof from the moment it comes off. Where a trussed structure is being taken out and replaced, we run that stage tight and get the house closed up again as fast as the work sensibly allows.
Building Control is appointed by you, through the council team or an approved inspector, and the visits are booked by you too. Our job is to build to current regulations and to flag each stage in good time, so nothing gets boarded over before it has been looked at. With a rebuilt roof structure, that notice period earns its keep.
After the final sign-off, the room is yours. File the completion certificate with your property paperwork, together with any planning or certificate documents, since a solicitor acting for a future buyer will want to see them.
Recent projects from across West Sussex, spanning different conversion types, roof structures and property sizes. Ask us and we will pick out the ones closest to what you have at home.
The notes below are general context for Storrington homeowners considering a loft conversion and do not constitute legal advice. Always confirm the position for your property with Horsham District Council, and where relevant with an architect, planning consultant or party wall surveyor, before any work starts.
Planning authority. Village addresses in Storrington fall to Horsham District Council.
South Downs National Park. The boundary runs close to the southern edge of the village rather than through it, so most homes sit outside the Park and the South Downs National Park Authority applies to parish land on the Downs.
Conservation area. A conservation area covers the older core, where permitted development rights are usually tighter and a full application more likely.
Permitted development. Much of the later housing sits outside that core, so many conversions proceed under permitted development, subject to the usual limits and to any Article 4 Direction.
Listed buildings. Listed buildings are concentrated around the older core. Listed building consent is separate from, and additional to, planning permission.
Party wall. On semi-detached and terraced homes, serving any Party Wall notice is the homeowner’s legal responsibility and cannot be done by the builder.
Apex works across Storrington and the villages at the foot of the Downs, with Steyning, Henfield and the surrounding parishes inside the same run, so arranging a visit is straightforward and the build keeps its pace once it starts.
The first step is a free site visit. We look in the loft, measure up, assess the roof structure and head height, and set out realistic options, including whether you are working with a cut roof or a trussed one, which on a Storrington home is the answer that shapes everything else. From there our in-house architectural support can take on the drawings and any application, and you will want to confirm the planning position for your address directly with Horsham District Council and discuss Party Wall requirements with a surveyor or architect before the build starts.
Apex works on loft conversions across Worthing, Brighton & Hove and the wider West Sussex coast. The pages below give a closer look at
the housing, planning and conversion types we see in each area. If your town or village isn’t listed, we likely still cover it, get in
touch for a quick check.
The questions Storrington homeowners put to us most often. If yours is not here, send it through the contact form and we will answer it.
It depends on the conversion type, the size and condition of the property, and the consents involved. Rooflight conversions are usually quickest, with dormer, hip-to-gable, L-shape and mansard builds taking progressively longer. The bigger variable in Storrington is the existing roof: replacing a trussed structure adds a stage that a cut roof does not need, and that shows up in the programme. We give you an indicative programme for our part of the work at quote stage, and your architect or planning consultant is best placed to estimate the design and consent phase.
Often not. Most of Storrington’s housing sits outside the conservation area at the older core, and outside the South Downs National Park, whose boundary runs close to the southern edge of the village rather than through it. On those homes many conversions fall within permitted development, subject to the national limits on volume, position and window design and to any Article 4 Direction. Inside the conservation area permitted development rights are usually tighter, so a full application to Horsham District Council is more likely and details such as dormer position, materials and window design are looked at more closely. A mansard or a raised roof normally needs permission wherever it is. Where an application or a Lawful Development Certificate is needed, our in-house architectural support can prepare and submit it, and we would always recommend confirming your own position with the council. Building Regulations apply either way and are separate from planning.
Usually, yes. The roof is kept weatherproof once it is opened and most of the work happens above the existing ceiling. Expect noise and dust at points, particularly during steel installation and when the staircase is cut in. If a trussed roof is being replaced, that stage is the noisiest and the most exposed, so we agree the sequence with you beforehand and get it closed up as quickly as the work allows.
A well-built conversion has long been regarded as one of the better returns among home improvements, though the actual figure depends on the property, the quality of the finish and the local market at the time. In Storrington the pull is often practical rather than speculative: families who want another bedroom, or a bedroom with an en suite, in a village they have no intention of leaving and where trading up locally is not always straightforward. It is worth taking an estate agent’s view alongside ours.
Roughly 2.2 to 2.3 metres from the top of the existing ceiling joists up to the underside of the ridge is the usual starting point, measured before any work begins, because the finished floor and the roof lining each eat into it. Under a trussed roof that figure tells you less on its own: the webs have to come out before the space can be judged, and the new floor may end up at a different level. We take the measurement at the free visit and will say straight out if it does not stack up.
As a broad steer: a hipped roof on the later estate housing often suits a hip-to-gable paired with a rear dormer, and where that roof is trussed the rebuild tends to make the pairing easier to justify rather than harder. A house that already has a gable end may need only the dormer. Rooflights work well where the ridge is generous and the structure is a traditional cut roof. Where there is a two-storey rear projection, more common on the older properties near the core, an L-shape is worth considering. We will recommend the right option for your specific property at the free site visit.
Yes. Every loft conversion has to satisfy the Building Regulations whether or not planning permission comes into it. They deal with structural stability, normally steel beams and strengthened floor joists; fire safety, meaning escape routes, fire doors and alarms; staircase design and headroom; thermal insulation; and sound separation from the rest of the house. Replacing a trussed roof puts more weight on the structural calculations, because the new floor and supports are doing work the original design never anticipated. You appoint Building Control and book the inspections, via the council or an approved inspector, and we coordinate with whoever you choose.
