Reworking a Garden Flat

Often our homes have all the space we need, but they just aren’t using it well. This reconfiguration of a Ground Floor flat reworks some of the wasted space and creates a series of brighter, better proportioned, and more generous rooms.

Thursday works were approached by a client to help them develop construction-level information for a home extension for which they already had planning permission. When starting a project, even one that had progressed as far as this one had, we make sure that we properly understand the brief and the requirements of the clients. In this instance, it quickly became apparent to us that the consented scheme did not reflect the client’s budget. Collaborating with a quantity surveyor and a couple of contractors we developed some cost analysis, to help the client understand how much the project would cost, where simple savings could be made, and where prioritisations might be needed.

Overall, even with the extensive cost savings that we found, the project would be out of reach within the available budget. As such, we proposed a revised scheme that acted as efficiently as possible, utilising knowledge gained from the cost analysis exercise. The result is an efficient, minimal scheme, that tweaks and alters the house to meet all of the client’s basic requirements. This left space in the budget where we worked with the client to choose where the remaining money was best spent.

Our sustainability-conscious clients chose to prioritise the upgrading of the existing, poor quality side extension, and installing a new air source heat pump. A small, but clever extension was added to the dining area to create a special moment that connects the house to the garden, with a new pergola in the garden for warmer days. All of this leaves the client with a home that works for them, with special moments to make them smile and enough money left over to ensure trips to Corfu can still happen in their retirement.