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With the ever-rising house prices and the additional cost of stamp duty and other fees involved moving out is far more expensive than extending your home. If you have outgrown your current abode, think about extending it. Today it’s far easier than ever before to build the modern kitchen extension, fully equipped home gym, a home office, an orangery or an open-plan living space for entertaining the family and friends. Combine this with a complete refurbishment of the rest of your home and voila, you will have a new home to live without having to move.
Transitioning your home to cater to your growing needs and at the same time adding value to your property, so you kill two birds with a stone.
We make your dreams come true...
If you can dream it ,we can build it for you.
The Build PROCESS
For most home owners building projects are daunting and painful process, but we endeavour to make it an enjoyable journey, guiding you at every step of your build.
Post our free online consultation, we will visit your property for an initial assessment, to discuss your brief, listen to you and understand your requirements. Advise on the feasibility of your home goals and provide the timelines.
Once appointed, we will visit your property again to record the existing measurements of your home and also take a range of photographs required for reference purposes during the design process. Following the survey, the measurements taken are then turned into a set of existing drawings. Depending on the type of development you are carrying out, these can include floor plans, elevations, and a section, site plan, and roof plan - all required to develop the proposed design drawings and for the planning application to the local authority.
With the existing drawings as the base, we can now work on your proposed design based on the brief provided by you. A total of three layout options will be provided for you to choose from. Once the layout is finalized, the rest of the design package including the proposed drawings would be developed. These drawings can then be used to help secure planning approval.
In case planning permission is not required, then these drawings can be used to develop the building regulations drawings and the structural drawings by third party consultants.
Once it is ascertained that Planning permission will be required for your build project, we will work with you to finalize the design and submit the proposals to the council for their approval. Working with a variety of councils in and around London over the years, we have gathered good knowledge of councils planning restrictions and rules, this helps make sure the application is accepted and validated first time with no hassle.
This is a 8-12 week process regardless if you go through full planning and/ or permitted development. During the process we will also deal with all the queries and the requests from the council regarding your application to ensure all the information is provided promptly to help the planners decide the application swiftly. In case any revisions are required we try to sort these out immediately, to avoid rejections .
Planning
ApplicATION
Feasibility Study
and
Measured Survey
Once planning has been secured, it’s time for building regulations. Not only do we create the essential technical drawings, but we also introduce you to vetted structural engineers, party wall surveyors, and approved inspectors. Meaning at every stage, you’ve got the best professionals by your side.
Nearly all home renovation projects require building regulations approval, even if the work doesn't require planning permission.
Building regulations ensure that the building meets the statutory standards. They cover everything from fire safety, glazing, ventilation, structural work and much more. If building regulations aren’t followed, you may have to re-do the work and even pay a fine.
Not having the building regulations certificate, when it comes to selling your home will also cause complications...so for this reason, we make sure you obtain building regulations approval.
From producing all the drawings; required to construct the building; making the initial notice application and to get the necessary approvals from the local authority, we will walk you through each step.
We can work with client's Structural engineer or recommend one of the competent Structural engineers, who we work with on regular basis. The structural engineer will use our architectural drawings to their produce structural drawings and calculations. This information is necessary for items such as foundations, structural slabs , steel beams, steel posts and any load bearing walls.
These can be considered as the most important set of drawings as they determine how your property will be supported and remain safe for years to come. We only use qualified engineers along with appropriate Professional Indemnity Insurances.
building regulation
drawings
structural
design
AND drawings
The Building Regulations drawings act as the Tender drawings along with the Schedule of Works and the Specifications that we will produce. These are then used to tender out to three or more contractors to get the most competitive and comprehensive quote for the client. We could recommend the competent contractors, whom we work with or tender out to Client's chosen contractors. We only recommend our vetted contractors, who are registered with the Federation of Master Builders and carry the necessary insurances.
Next, the tender returns by all the contractors are thoroughly reviewed to check if everything is included in the quote. A tender analysis report is then prepared to help the client choose the best contractor for their build to suit their budget.
Once, the client decides the contractor he wants to proceed with, we help formalize the contract. It is highly recommended to use industry standard contracts, the likes of JCT, RIBA etc. for the appointment of the contractor for peace of mind in case of a dispute. We will help you choose the contract best suited to your project and help you with the appointment of the contractor.
Lastly, we will manage the build for you, making sure that the contractor is building on site as per the drawings and specifications in accordance with the building regulations.
Before the contractor starts on site, it would be made sure that the Local Authority is informed and the initial notice served. Party wall awards with neighbours are in place.
During the build, regular site inspection meetings will be carried out, with the contractor and other consultants like the Structural engineer, the building control officer to keep the project on track. On site queries will be dealt with promptly and information provided to the contractor to avoid any delays.
The contract will be administered and valuations carried out to assess the construction work carried out, before paying the contractor.
On completion, all the certification from the contractor would be checked and provided to the the Building Control for sign off and completion certificate sought for the client for future records, confirming that all works carried out comply with the building regulations.
TENDER PROCESS
PRoject management
and
Contract Administration
We cater to all needs. Our services could be limited to just making the planning drawings and the application to the local authority for the house extension, loft conversion or out building or the building regulation drawings for a project where planning is already received, or just project managing the build for you.
However, should a client wish, we could provide full Design and Build services too, for a complete stress free build experience, where we will design your dream home based on your brief, get it build using our experienced team of consultants and contractors.
Design
AND
Build
Refurbishments and Extensions
New Build
Testimonial
“It was a pleasure working with REFURB. From the start till the end of our project, we had one point of contact. Divneet was very friendly, she listened and designed to our needs and within our budget, advising us at every step to maximize the potential of our home. A complete stress free build experience."
Michael and Dagmara