A kitchen refit can be a straightforward replacement, or it can involve structure. Moving the kitchen to the back of the house brings in structural openings, new drainage runs and new circuits, and those are the parts that need signing off. We appoint the structural engineer where structure is involved, coordinate the building control application and inspections, and run the fit out in the same programme.
Kitchens that need a rear extension
Where the kitchen moves into a new single storey rear extension, Elmbridge's daylight rules set the shape. The council treats the effect on a neighbour's natural light as minimal where a single storey extension projects no more than 3 metres. Beyond 3 metres, it expects the extension to sit below a 45 degree line taken from the edge of the nearest adjoining habitable room window.
That has a direct effect on the kitchen layout. A 3 metre projection gives a run of units and a table, not an island with circulation on all four sides. Knowing the constraint before the layout is drawn saves redrawing it after the planning officer has commented.
The Esher stock and what fits inside it
Layouts differ sharply between the sub-areas. In sub-area ESH02 the housing ranges from early 20th century Edwardian houses on Hillbrow Road to post-war houses on Lakeside Drive. An Edwardian rear addition and a post-war kitchen wing are different problems, with different wall construction, different floor build ups and different drainage.
Access shapes the programme as much as the design. Houses on Park Road in Esher sit very close to the pavement, with tiny front gardens enclosed by low brick walls. Where there is no side access, units, worktops, appliances and waste all pass through the front door, and the delivery sequence is planned around that.
What building control needs to see
A like for like kitchen replacement is not notifiable, but the work around it can be. EBCS provides building control for both Elmbridge Borough Council and Epsom and Ewell, and describes itself as the first building control mutual in the country. New circuits, altered drainage and any structural opening are the parts that need an application and inspections. We make the application and book the inspections into the programme.
- Quartz, granite and marble worktops templated and fitted
- Island units and bespoke cabinetry
- Waste, water and gas runs moved before the units are set
- New circuits and consumer unit work certified under Part P
- Floor levelling and screeding before the flooring goes down
Why Choose GS Renovation in Esher
A kitchen goes wrong in the handover between trades. Structure, drainage, electrics, plastering, flooring and the fit out have to arrive in the right order, and a day lost early pushes the template date for worktops. We hold the programme, appoint the structural engineer if a wall or an opening is involved, and coordinate the building control inspections around it. You deal with one person rather than five. Fully insured, free no obligation quotations, rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder.
- Dust screens and floor protection in occupied homes
- Second fix carpentry and decorating finished by the same team
- Waste cleared as we go, not left piled in the garden
- A written scope and programme agreed before work starts
- Old kitchen stripped, disposed of and made good within the price
- Suppliers used across every budget, with options priced