Client: Family of five

Duration: 42 weeks - Jan 2018 (built in 2 phases)

Borough: Redbridge

Employer: ARCHEA

The property is a 1930's semi-detached 3.5 bedroom family home in Wanstead and had previously been separated into 2 separate flats; as such the first phase of the brief was to regularise the property as a single dwelling.

The house itself was in good condition and had previously been refurbished to a good level by the client. Despite this, the arrangement of the ground floor was awkward and the 3 key functions (living, kitchen & dining) were disparate and didn't work on various levels for modern family life. As the property only had 3 good sized bedrooms, another key part of the brief was to extend the attic to provide a new large master bedroom and ensuite.

The biggest challenge with the brief was making best use of the attic space and reconciling the position of the new attic stair, due to the fact that the property was semi-detached and had a hipped roof. Based on this limitation an application for a hip to gable conversion was applied for, and approved, under a Lawful Development Certificate (based on Permitted Development rights).

With a larger, traditional ridged roof, we were then able to configure the stair to work as a continuation of the existing first floor stair, and were afforded plenty of space to provide a generous master suite, including dressing area & ensuite bathroom. We also provided large sliding glazed doors to the main dormer, with a discrete frameless internal glazed balustrade, to offer expansive and uninterrupted views from the bedroom.

At ground floor we removed a large downstairs bathroom (a legacy from the property previously being subdivided) which generated space for a dedicated utility & laundry room, and also allowed us to increase the size of the existing rear reception room to provide a large informal family lounge. A wraparound side infill and rear extension was added to enable a new, light, dining area, with a large knock through to a new extended open plan kitchen, and also direct access to a new raised terrace.

The project also included a new compact under stair WC, replacement front porch, new timber composite windows to the rear, a new heating system throughout (including new column radiators and a hot water underfloor heating system to the rear extension), together with extensive external works, including a new garden studio (also under Permitted Development rights).

Specifications & finishes were coordinated with the client and contractor to establish a high quality finish & aesthetic tailored to the client's personal requirements.

Project completed while employed at ARCHEA https://www.archea.co/section492684_756432.html