Loft conversion Ealing on a 1930s Metroland semi is usually a hip-to-gable plus rear dormer, not a simple Velux. GSMS Construction Ltd is an in-house building team — not a loft-only franchise — offering dormer, hip-to-gable and rooflight conversions on a fixed-price contract after a free site survey. Guide ranges run from £22,000 to £78,000 depending on roof type.
Key takeaways
- The typical Ealing job is a 1930s hip-roof semi in W5, W13 or W7: raise the hip to a gable, add a rear dormer, keep the street ridge and clay tiles.
- 2026 GSMS guide ranges (not a quote): Velux / rooflight £22,000–£38,000; general loft £35,000–£70,000; dormer £38,000–£72,000 (8–14 weeks); hip-to-gable £45,000–£78,000 (10–16 weeks).
- Planning, structural engineer and party-wall fees sit extra unless they are in a managed package. Building Regulations always apply.
- Ealing Green and Montpelier Park are conservation areas. Northfields is not designated. Brentham Garden Estate and Hanger Hill (Haymills) have Article 4 controls.
- Free site survey, fixed-price contract, 5-year workmanship guarantee. Call 07717 790273 or 07453 292996 (Mon–Sat 9am–5pm).
Why 1930s hip roofs dominate Ealing lofts
From the District and Piccadilly lines outward — Northfields, West Ealing, Hanwell, parts of Acton W3 — the houses that still have unused roof volume are overwhelmingly inter-war Metroland semis: hipped clay-tile roofs, a shared party wall, a bay to the front, and a shallow rear outrigger. That is a different problem from a Victorian terrace loft.
The hip steals headroom exactly where the stair wants to land. A Velux-only scheme only works where the existing ridge already gives about 2.2 m to the underside of the ridge timber. On a 1930s pitch of 30–40° it usually does not. The workable plan is to turn the hip into a gable in matching brick and push a rear dormer off the back slope, set in from the eaves, so the new room has square walls and a full-height landing.
Walk Elers Road, Loveday Road, Lavington Road, Graham Avenue and Weymouth Avenue off Northfield Avenue, or Argyle Road, Cleveland Road, Drayton Green and St Stephen’s Avenue in West Ealing W13: some pairs still have both hips; some already show one raised gable and a rear dormer to the garden.
Hip-to-gable plus rear dormer: the Metroland plan
GSMS builds three conversion types as part of house renovations and extensions, not as a franchise package.
- Hip-to-gable — replace the sloping side roof with a vertical gable. Default on a semi or end terrace. The new gable should read as original: London stock or red facing brick to match the pair, not a tile-hung box seen from the pavement.
- Rear dormer — vertical rear wall, shallow roof, windows to the garden. Combined with the gable this is how most W13 and W7 families get a double bedroom plus en-suite. Ealing’s SPD 4 (Residential Extensions) expects the dormer to respect the original house, neighbouring roofs and pair symmetry.
- Velux / rooflight — flush windows in the existing slopes. Use it where head height is already there, or on a conservation street where a visible dormer will not be accepted. SPD 4 does not encourage a row of lights on the front roof face.
Steels almost always sit in the new floor and around the stair opening. Where an opening is more involved — a trimmed stairwell, a chimney breast out, or a loft tied into a new rear extension — that is ordinary work for an in-house team with RC frame and formwork capability. It is why a general contractor helps on a 1930s pair that already has later ground-floor work.
Ealing Council granted householder permission in January 2026 at 30 Vallis Way, West Ealing W13 0DD (not a GSMS job) for a hip-to-gable, rear roof extension and three front rooflights — the same Metroland recipe.
Loft conversion Ealing costs in 2026
These are published GSMS 2026 guide ranges, not a quote. Scaffold down a W5 side passage, matching clay tiles, an en-suite stack and party-wall steels all move a job inside the band. Planning, structural engineer and party-wall surveyor sit extra unless they are written into a managed package.
| Type | Guide range | Typical time on site | Where it fits in Ealing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Velux / rooflight | £22,000–£38,000 | Shorter programme; still needs Building Control | Steep existing ridge; conservation-sensitive street face |
| General loft conversion | £35,000–£70,000 | Varies with steels and fit-out | Straightforward dormer or mixed specification |
| Dormer loft conversion | £38,000–£72,000 | 8–14 weeks | Rear slope on a terrace or already-gabled semi |
| Hip-to-gable | £45,000–£78,000 | 10–16 weeks | 1930s hip-roof semi in W5, W13, W7, Acton W3 |
A loft conversion in Ealing priced only as “£30,000–£50,000” rarely survives a hip, an en-suite, matching brickwork and West London labour. Ask what is in the number: weathertight shell, first and second fix, bathroom, staircase, decorations, VAT, and which professional fees. Book a free survey, then a fixed-price contract: 07717 790273, 07453 292996, or info@gsmsconstruction.co.uk.
Planning permission and Ealing Council rules
Many rear dormers and hip-to-gable enlargements on unlisted houses outside designated land can proceed as permitted development under Class B if volume stays within 40 m³ (terrace) or 50 m³ (semi or detached), the ridge is not raised, the front roof slope to the highway is not built out, materials match, and side windows are obscure-glazed. National tests: Planning Portal loft conversion.
Those rights fall away quickly here. For a loft conversion Ealing Council says planning permission is required in most cases if the property is a flat or maisonette, is listed, is in a conservation area, or has an Article 4 direction. Class B does not apply on Article 2(3) land, which includes conservation areas. Use the live hub at Ealing planning and building control and the permitted development note before anyone cuts a hip. A Lawful Development Certificate is still worth having on a PD scheme — W5 solicitors ask for it. Raising the ridge, a mansard or a front dormer will not sneak through as Class B.
Conservation streets: Ealing Green, Montpelier and Northfields
Ealing lists 30 conservation areas. The map matters more than the postcode. Start with the council’s conservation areas pages.
Ealing Green, St Mary’s Road and Lammas Park
Ealing Green Conservation Area runs along St Mary’s Road and The Green, then west along Mattock Lane toward Culmington Road and Walpole Park. This is Victorian villas and the old settlement core, not 1930s hips. A street-facing dormer is the fight you do not want. Recent boundary work pulled in 69–83 Warwick Road and Vestry Hall on Ranelagh Road. Lammas Park, Lammas Park Road and Lammas Park Gardens now sit in their own Lammas Park Conservation Area, so a house overlooking the park is not “just Northfields” for planning.
Montpelier Park and Eaton Rise
Montpelier Park Conservation Area covers Montpelier Park, Montpelier Road and the 1930s mansion blocks on Eaton Rise. Roofscape and materials are tightly read. Treat designated streets as conservation land; do not rely on a hip-to-gable under PD. Article 4 is a second overlay. Ealing currently names six conservation areas with extra directions: Bedford Park, Brentham Garden Estate, Churchfields (Half Acre Road), Ealing Town Centre (The Grove), Hanger Hill Garden Estate, and Hanger Hill (Haymills) Estate, including 1930s Haymills houses such as those on Corringway. On those estates a loft needs permission.
Northfields, Little Ealing and Acton W3
A wide Northfields Conservation Area was consulted on and not designated. Inter-war streets such as Leyborne, Camborne, Blondin and Niagara Avenues, and the Edwardian grid off Little Ealing Lane, are therefore not automatically conservation land. You still check the map: Lammas Park is next door, Ealing Green is to the north-east, and Creffield in Acton W3 is its own CA. On a non-designated 1930s semi in Northfields or Hanwell (Greenford Avenue, Boston Road), a well-set rear dormer plus hip-to-gable can still be PD if Class B tests are met. On St Mary’s Road or in Brentham, it will not be.
Party walls on Ealing semis
Almost every Metroland pair shares a brick party wall up into the roof. Hip-to-gable work, new steels bearing on that wall, and a dormer close to the boundary all engage the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Serve notice in good time — two months is the usual period for a party-structure notice — and budget for surveyor awards if the neighbour does not consent in writing. A semi on Cleveland Road or Twyford Avenue is just as much a party-wall job as a mid-terrace. We flag it at survey so it is in the programme, not a surprise in week two of scaffolding.
Building regulations: fire, stairs and heat loss
Planning is optional on some roofs. Building Regulations are not. A habitable loft needs a permanent stair, fire protection to the escape route, insulation, structure and ventilation, signed off by Ealing Building Control or an approved inspector.
For fire, Approved Document B Volume 1 treats a new storey more than 4.5 m above ground as a loft-conversion case: protected stair, fire-resisting doors and interlinked detection. Open-plan ground floors often need a new enclosure or an alternative strategy. For the stair, Approved Document K wants a conventional flight where it will fit. Alternating-tread stairs are a last resort for a single habitable room. On a 1930s semi the stair usually drops over the existing first-floor landing — which is why the hip has to move. For heat, Approved Document L sets U-values for the new roof, dormer cheeks and windows.
Neighbourhoods: W5, W13, W7 and Acton W3
The core for a loft conversion Ealing search is W5 (Ealing Broadway, Ealing Green, Northfields, South Ealing), W13 (West Ealing, Drayton Green) and W7 (Hanwell). Acton W3, West Ealing, Hanwell and Northfields are coverage for the same hip-roof stock — they are not the headline. If the brief is a loft plus a kitchen or wraparound, that is one site and one programme: see house extensions in London. The same 5-year workmanship guarantee we publish on our Croydon construction page applies to completed building work.
How GSMS prices and builds the work
An in-house team surveys the roof, coordinates drawings and Building Control, installs the steels, weathers in the dormer and finishes the room. Hours are Monday to Saturday, 9am–5pm. You get a free site survey and a fixed-price contract.
How GSMS delivers a loft conversion in Ealing
- Survey
head height, hip geometry, PD volume already used, conservation / Article 4 check, party wall.
- Design and applications
householder or Lawful Development Certificate as required; Building Regulations; structural calculations.
- Fixed price and programme
8–14 weeks on site for a dormer, 10–16 weeks for a hip-to-gable, weather and neighbour notices permitting.
- Build
scaffold, roof opened, steels, gable and dormer, windows, stair, fire doors, insulation, first and second fix, decorations.
- Handover
Building Control completion, snagging, 5-year workmanship guarantee on completed building work.
GSMS Construction Ltd, VAT 429761270. Address: ZERO VILLA LTD, 532 Southgate, 5th Floor, London N14 6BN. Also listed: 53B Plashet Grove, London E6 1AD.
Ready to start a loft conversion in Ealing on a 1930s hip roof? Call 07717 790273 or 07453 292996, or email info@gsmsconstruction.co.uk for the free survey.
Frequently asked questions
Not always. An unlisted house outside a conservation area and outside Article 4 can often use Class B permitted development if volume, ridge, front slope and materials tests are met. Inside Ealing Green, Montpelier Park, Lammas Park, Brentham, Haymills or Bedford Park, assume a householder application. Building Regulations apply either way. Check Ealing planning and building control.
Use the 2026 GSMS guide ranges: Velux £22,000–£38,000; general £35,000–£70,000; dormer £38,000–£72,000; hip-to-gable £45,000–£78,000. A 1930s hip-to-gable with en-suite in W5 or W13 usually sits in the upper bands. Fees for planning, engineer and party wall are extra unless packaged. The fixed price follows the free survey.
Dormer: 8–14 weeks on site. Hip-to-gable: 10–16 weeks. Drawings, council determination and party-wall notice sit before that. A one- or two-week quote is a rooflight install, not a conversion to Building Regulations.
On a semi or terrace, almost certainly once steels or a dormer affect the shared wall. Serve notice; if the neighbour dissents, surveyors produce an award. We raise this at survey so it is on the critical path.
Yes. That is a normal GSMS renovation: new kitchen-diner below, bedroom and bathroom in the roof, one scaffold, one programme. See house extensions in London.
Most families stay. The noisy, wet trades are on the roof and scaffold first; the stair opening is the main internal disruption. We agree protection and working hours (Mon–Sat 9am–5pm) before start on site.