Areas We Cover
Loft Conversions in West London
From the Metroland semis of Harrow and Hillingdon to the Victorian terraces of Acton and Hammersmith, West London is unusually good at loft conversions — because so much of it was built with a roof worth converting.
What &Ldquo;West London&Rdquo; Means Here
West London isn't one market. It's four postcode families that happen to sit next to each other, and each was built in a different decade for a different kind of household.
The W postcodes — Acton, Ealing, Hanwell, Chiswick, Hammersmith, Shepherd's Bush — are largely Victorian and Edwardian terraces, built dense and built tall. The HA and UB postcodes north and west — Harrow, Pinner, Ruislip, Uxbridge, Hayes, Greenford, Northolt — are the inter-war suburbs that went up along the Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines, and they are semi-detached almost to the horizon. The TW postcodes south — Hounslow, Isleworth, Brentford, Twickenham, Teddington, Richmond, Kew — are a mix, with the oldest and most protected stock nearest the river.
That matters because the conversion you need is decided by the house, not the budget. Someone in Perivale and someone in Hammersmith are both looking for a loft conversion, and they need almost nothing in common.
West London House Types and What They Need
Inter-war semis with hipped roofs — Greenford, Perivale, Northolt, Southall, Harrow, Ruislip, Hayes, Uxbridge, Wembley, Osterley. These are the easiest conversions in London to price, because the houses are so alike. The roof slopes inwards at the side, wasting most of the loft, and the fix is a hip to gable. It's usually paired with a rear dormer to add standing height across the back.
Victorian and Edwardian terraces with rear outriggers — Acton, Hanwell, West Ealing, Chiswick, Isleworth, Twickenham, Teddington. The back of these houses isn't a rectangle: there's a narrower section projecting into the garden with its own small roof. An L-shaped dormer joins the two and wraps a single room around the back.
Tall, dense period terraces — Hammersmith, Shepherd's Bush, parts of Chiswick and Teddington. Where the houses are narrow and the demand is for two rooms rather than one, a mansard rebuilds the rear roof close to vertical and delivers something much closer to a full extra storey.
Period and conservation stock — Richmond, Kew, Teddington, and pockets of Ealing, Hanwell and Acton. Here the roof is rarely the constraint. Planning is. Roof enlargements aren't permitted development on designated land, so the design starts from what the council will accept rather than from what the roof allows.
Modern flats and maisonettes — Brentford's riverside developments and similar. Worth saying plainly: permitted development rights don't apply to flats, and in most cases the roof space isn't the flat owner's to convert. If you're in a purpose-built flat, a loft conversion generally isn't available to you.
The Five Conversion Types
Hip to Gable
For the hipped-roof semis that fill Greenford, Perivale, Northolt and Harrow. Fills in the sloping side of the roof to square off the space. Usually paired with a rear dormer.
Learn More →Dormer
A box built out from the rear roof slope to create full standing height and a flat ceiling. The most common conversion in West London, and often permitted development.
Learn More →L-Shaped Dormer
For terraces with a rear outrigger. Joins the main roof and the outrigger roof into one space, typically big enough for a bedroom and a bathroom.
Learn More →Mansard
Rebuilds the rear roof to something close to vertical. The most space you can get from a loft, and the most planning involved.
Learn More →Velux & Rooflight
Rooflights in the existing roof slope, nothing structural changed outside. The cheapest route, but only if your loft already has the head height.
Learn More →What Loft Conversions Cost in West London
| Conversion type | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Velux / rooflight | £22,000 – £32,000 |
| Rear dormer | £42,000 – £62,000 |
| Hip to gable | £48,000 – £70,000 |
| Hip to gable with rear dormer | £58,000 – £85,000 |
| L-shaped dormer | £55,000 – £80,000 |
| Mansard | £65,000 – £105,000 |
These are estimates for West London, not quotes. What your loft actually costs depends on your roof, your access and what you put in the room — which is exactly what a survey is for.
West London sits above the national average, and two things drive that. The first is labour and access: terraces with no side return mean every steel, skip and pallet of tiles goes through the house. The second is the housing stock itself — the older and more protected the property, the more design, planning and matching work sits in front of the build.
The practical consequence is that the same conversion costs more in Richmond or Chiswick than in Northolt or Hayes, on houses that are otherwise comparable. It isn't a postcode premium so much as a consequence of what's being worked on.
Areas We Cover
Ealing
Hounslow
Hammersmith & Fulham
Brent
Harrow
Hillingdon
Richmond Upon Thames
Planning Rules Change at the Borough Boundary
Permitted development is national law, so the volume allowances are the same everywhere — 40 cubic metres for a terrace house, 50 for a semi or detached house, with the same conditions on height, materials, eaves and side windows.
What changes borough by borough is the local layer on top. Every council decides its own conservation areas and its own Article 4 directions, and those are what remove permitted development rights from individual streets. A house in Bedford Park and an otherwise identical house half a mile away can be in completely different positions.
Our detailed planning guide covers Ealing specifically — its 30 conservation areas and the six that carry Article 4 directions affecting roof work. If your property is in Hounslow, Richmond, Harrow, Hillingdon, Brent or Hammersmith & Fulham, the national rules in that guide still apply to you, but the local designations won't. Check your own council's conservation-area map before you assume anything.
West London Questions
Do loft conversions cost more in West London than elsewhere?
Yes. Access is harder, the housing stock is older, and more jobs involve planning and conservation input. Expect West London figures to sit above national averages for the same type of conversion.
Which conversion is most common in West London?
The rear dormer, because it works on nearly every pitched roof. Outside the W postcodes, hip to gable comes a close second — the inter-war semi is everywhere in Harrow, Hillingdon and outer Ealing.
Do you cover the whole of West London?
We cover the 24 areas listed above, across six boroughs. If you're just outside that and unsure, ask — the specialists working these postcodes usually cover a wider radius than the list suggests.
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