Hithermoor Farm's barns
Hithermoor Farmhouse, a barn and a barn with stables west of it are each listed Grade II.
Roofers in Stanwell Moor
Roofs on Stanwell Moor's 1930 estate, old farmhouse and listed barns
Stanwell Moor was a hamlet by the 14th century and gained a council estate in 1930. We survey its roofs and explain the loft conversion rules in plain words.
Stanwell Moor's roofs, farm to estate
The Croft, a 17th-century house
The Croft in Hithermoor Road is a 17th-century house, and the Anchor Inn stood there by 1730.
The 1930 council estate
A council housing estate was built at Stanwellmoor in 1930, according to the 1962 county history.
Map of Stanwell Moor with Stanwell, Poyle, Colnbrook, Horton marked around it.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Loads only when you ask for it.
Stanwell Moor, on the edge of Staines Moor
Stanwell lies to the south-east, Poyle to the north-west, Colnbrook beyond it, Horton further north-west, Staines-upon-Thames to the south and Wraysbury some way off.
About 19.4 road miles north-east of Farnborough · Spelthorne Borough Council and Surrey County Council.
Choose a service for Stanwell Moor
Stanwell Moor, loft conversion rules
Stanwell Moor roofs: loft rules, barns, the 1930 estate
What the Building Regulations ask of a loft conversion, with stair, escape window and insulation figures, plus what the county history records of the hamlet, its listed barns and its 1930 council estate.
| No. | Chapter | The figure it turns on |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Loft conversions: stair, window and insulation | Protected stair usually needed |
| 02 | A medieval hamlet and an estate of 1930 | Hamlet 14th century, estate 1930 |
| 03 | Listed barns and nearby conservation areas | Three Hithermoor buildings, Grade II |
Chapter 01 of 03
Loft conversions: stair, window and insulation
| Check | Published requirement |
|---|---|
| Stair on a two-storey house | Usually a protected stair; Approved Document B also allows alternatives |
| Escape window | 0.33 m² openable area, 450 mm high and wide, bottom at most 1100 mm above floor |
| Roof window | U-value 1.4, or Window Energy Rating Band B |
| Rooflight | U-value 2.2 |
| Renovated roof insulation | 0.35 W/(m²·K) threshold, improved to 0.16 |
Stanwell Moor is a hamlet on the edge of Staines Moor, west of Stanwell village, and the 2021 Census counted 1,431 people in its built-up area. Planning here is decided by Spelthorne, which also has its own building control team, and Surrey County Council keeps the roads until 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 West Surrey Council replaces them both, so read what follows as current practice for the months before that change.
The stair and the escape window
Plenty of owners look into the loft of a 1930s house and see a spare room. Building Regulations see an extra storey with a fire-escape problem. Approved Document B expects a house of two storeys to get a protected stair when its loft is converted, meaning a stairway enclosed in fire-resisting walls and doors. It does allow alternatives, such as sprinklers in open-plan areas, but the protected stair is the usual answer.
An escape window must open to at least 0.33 square metres, measure at least 450 millimetres in clear height and in width, and have its bottom edge no higher than 1100 millimetres above the floor. Such windows only count for storeys within 4.5 metres of the ground, so a higher storey leans on the stair solution.
The figure0.16W/m²Ktarget U-value for a renovated roof, improved from a 0.35 threshold0.16 improved value0.35 thresholdSource: Approved Document L Volume 1 (2021), Table 4.3
Windows and insulation
For thermal purposes a roof window follows the window rule, at a U-value of 1.4 or WER Band B, and the 2.2 figure belongs to rooflights alone. Renovating a roof, which a loft conversion does, brings the 0.35 threshold into play and an improved value of 0.16 W/(m²·K), softened by paragraph 4.13 where that is not feasible. The 2026 edition of Approved Document L starts on 24 March 2027 with its own table numbers.
The roof windows and skylights page covers fitting and repair, and the planning permission guide covers whether a conversion needs permission, since a dormer or a side-slope window raises rules of its own.
A roofer is not a building control officer. Our part is the roof: we measure the loft, note the rafters and eaves, and photograph what is there, so whoever designs the conversion starts from facts.
That start matters, because rafters that look sound from the loft hatch can hide rot at the wall plate, and a head height that seems generous can shrink once insulation goes in. The survey records both, and the measurements go in your notes. If the roof will take a dormer, the rafters and ridge are measured for that too, so the designer is not left guessing.
Chapter 02 of 03
A medieval hamlet and an estate of 1930
Stanwell Moor: people and published dates
- 1,431usual residents, ONS Census 2021, Stanwell Moor built-up area
- 14th centurywhen people were living at Stanwellmoor
- 1730year the Anchor Inn was there, since rebuilt
- 1930year a council housing estate was built
The 1962 county history says people were living at Stanwellmoor by the 14th century, and that by the 17th it had grown into a fair-sized hamlet. The Anchor Inn stood there by 1730, although it has been rebuilt since, and The Croft in Hithermoor Road is a 17th-century house. A council housing estate went up at Stanwellmoor in 1930.
A house built in 1930 is now more than 90 years old and has seen a lot of weather, yet age by itself does not say what is wrong with a roof, so each estate roof is read from its own evidence, slope by slope, on the day of the visit.
What a roof from 1930 needs
The details on a roof wear out before the broad slopes. Ridge bedding perishes, mortar on verges cracks and lets go, flashings round chimneys split and valleys wear through at the bottom. Any underlay dries out and tears.
Houses of this period were often put up without any underlay, tiles laid direct onto battens, so a cracked tile has no second line of defence behind it. That works until a tile cracks or slips and wind-driven rain gets in, and then the water reaches the roof timbers. Fitting underlay when a roof is re-covered closes that gap and belongs to any proper re-roof.
A survey looks at each of these places and photographs them. If a few tiles and the ridge need attention, that is a repair. If the battens have rotted or the tiles are failing across a slope, the evidence points to a re-roof, and you see the pictures that show it.
Many estate houses also have a flat-roofed extension, porch or garage added later. Those roofs have their own life and faults, and the flat roofing page explains them.
The roofline needs a look too. Fascias, soffits and gutters on a 1930 house were fitted for the roof they carry, and a sagging gutter or a rotting fascia board is a repair in itself, often cheaper to fix early than late. Overflowing gutters on a 1930s house mark the brickwork beneath and send water behind the fascia board, and each outlet is photographed to show where it happens.
Chapter 03 of 03
Listed barns and nearby conservation areas
| Designation | Where | For roof work |
|---|---|---|
| Grade II listed | Hithermoor Farmhouse (NHLE 1187049) | Listed building consent |
| Grade II listed | Barn 15 yards west of the farmhouse (NHLE 1204903) | Listed building consent |
| Grade II listed | Barn and stables 30 yards west (NHLE 1187050) | Listed building consent |
| Nearby conservation area | Colnbrook, Longford Village, Stanwell | Check your address with Spelthorne |
| Listed buildings nearby | 5 within about 500 m of the centre | Check each address first |
Hithermoor Farmhouse carries a Grade II listing, as do the barn 15 yards west of it and the barn and stables 30 yards west. Five listed buildings stand within about 500 metres of the centre. Permitted development rights survive a listing, but any work that would change the building's character also calls for listed building consent.
Colnbrook, Longford Village and Stanwell are the conservation areas closest to the hamlet, each within about 2.5 km on the national map. That does not tell us whether a particular Stanwell Moor address lies inside one, so Spelthorne's planning team is asked whenever a house might.
A listed barn and its roof
A barn roof is one large plane with few penetrations, and repair is largely a matter of scale. The tiles, battens and any underlay must be assessed over a wide area, and access has to cope with height and weight. The frame counts as well, since barn roof timbers are often large and old, and a repair that loads them differently needs thought. Weatherproofing a section before winter, with the proper photographs, can protect both the building and any listed fabric inside.
For a listed barn, the survey record is the foundation. We photograph the covering, ridge, verges, eaves and the junctions with neighbouring buildings, and we measure tile and batten sizes and spacing. If a repair is proposed, the record shows what exists and what is to be kept, which is what a conservation officer wants to see first, along with the proposed method.
Many barns now serve as stores, workshops or homes, and use affects the repair. A barn made into a house raises the insulation questions covered earlier in this read, and one that stores machinery raises load questions. We note both.
Old farm buildings are also the places where bats and nesting birds turn up. GOV.UK counts roof repair as work that could touch a roost. Droppings, staining or a nest seen at survey end our work on that section until you have taken advice, and you decide the next step with the facts to hand.
The pitched roofing page describes how tile repairs are carried out once a survey and any consent are in hand.
Stanwell Moor roof questions, from loft stairs to barn roofs
Can I convert the loft of my Stanwell Moor house without a new staircase?
Normally you will need one. Approved Document B looks for a protected stair when a house of two storeys gets a room in the roof, though it allows alternatives such as sprinklers in open-plan areas. Your building control body decides which applies, and our survey measures the loft so the designer starts from accurate figures.
What U-value does a roof window need in a loft conversion?
Approved Document L treats a roof window as a window: 1.4, or Band B on the Window Energy Rating scale for the glazing. The figure of 2.2 is reserved for rooflights. A renovated roof has a 0.35 threshold and an improved value of 0.16, and the 2026 edition applies from 24 March 2027, with new table numbers.
My 1930s house has no underlay: is that a problem?
It can become one if a tile cracks or slips, because wind-driven rain then reaches the timbers, and many houses of that age were built that way. We photograph the underside at survey to show what you have, and a re-roof adds underlay so the tiles are no longer the only barrier against the weather.
Is a Stanwell Moor barn conversion roof subject to bat law?
It can be. The law protects bats and their roosts in full, and GOV.UK counts roof repair as work that could touch a roost. Should a survey turn up signs, the affected section is left alone and you are informed, so specialist advice comes before anything is lifted or covered.
Roofs we survey around Stanwell Moor and Stanwell
Get your free roof quote
A visit to your Stanwell Moor roof
Send your Stanwell Moor address and what you are planning, and a surveyor will measure and photograph the roof.
10-year workmanship guarantee, in writing.