This Welwyn Garden City, three storey, 4 bedroom end-of-terrace town house boasted ample bedroom and bathroom space but lacked suitable sociable living space to entertain and enjoy family time together. Yamine and Jesus wanted to create a brighter, bigger and more sociable living space downstairs, to accommodate their young but growing family.
Blandly decorated inside, this property had that ‘tired' appearance that, even during the summer months, inside always appeared to be dark and cavernous. Beswick Building were approached to help engage with the Architecture firm appointed to collaborate on how to transform the downstairs living space.
With very limited ability to be ‘creative’ due to very strict planning policies in place for the surrounding area and a very small garden, it was agreed that a single storey extension to the rear of the property, boasting 3 large roof lights and fully opening bi- folding doors on the rear wall, would give this area not only the additional space required but the much-needed natural light.
The foundation dig was tricky and complexed considering the ‘small’ footprint required but once concreted the brick and block construction for the walls was complete to roof level where the flat roof structure was installed including the 3 new, curved glass, Velux flat roof windows. The roof was finished with a felt mineral system, accompanied by a 20year material guarantee.
By far the hardest part of this project was the preparation for and insertion of the rather large ‘goal post’ steel framework that was proposed by the structural engineer to ensure the ‘knock through’ from old to new could be possible. With careful planning and delicate execution, once completed we were able to install the new aluminium bi-folding doors and secure the rear of the property.
With a strict deadline in place, Beswick Building and renovations ltd opted to use a fast curing screed to ensure that the floor area was sufficiently dry in order to be able to lay the porcelain tiled floor and continue with the internal works.
The entire downstairs was re wired, incorporating new power points, tv points and, most importantly, new LED downlighting suitably designed to allow the open plan living area to be split into smaller living zones when necessary.
Family meal time was noted as a massive priority for consideration and although a small space, with careful consideration between client, kitchen designer and builder, we came up with a small, yet sociable breakfast bar design that can seat 4-5 people without comprising on the kitchen storage space.
Internally Beswick Building and Renovations LTD were also engaged to replace the existing kitchen, remove the existing tiled floor throughout the ground floor and reinstate with wood effect, porcelain tiles, rip out and refit the downstairs cloakroom toilet, install new decorative radiators and to thoroughly decorate throughout.
Yasmine’s idea was to keep the kitchen and living space bright, clean, sharp and minimalistic and opted for a white, hi-gloss kitchen unit with a white Quartz worktop, stainless steel appliances and a Dulux Diamond matt Dusted Moss 4 paint finish on all but the 2 feature walls. The updated look was completed with a new ‘wood effect’ porcelain tile laid throughout the entire ground floor.
The next stage of work is to return and Landscape the garden area which will consist of brand new ‘close board’ fencing to all 3 sides of the garden, a rural sandstone patio area to seat the garden table and an artificial grass lawn for that all year round usability! Watch this space…….
Our experience with Beswick Building Limited has been extremely positive. Once we were able to determine a time for the start of the works, the whole process was very smooth and relatively stress free. All the people that were involved in building our extension and changing the downstairs area for us handled our queries and concerns professionally and swiftly. What we liked most was how tidy and clean the builders were, and how much care they gave to our privacy and safety at home.
Matthew was very considerate, and was guiding his team according to our needs. He has extensive knowledge of the business and his opinion was much appreciated. He helped us design and execute our new lounge and kitchen area which now look amazing!
We would most certainly recommend him and his team for any home improvement project.
Yasmine and Jesús
