GS Renovation fits kitchens throughout New Barnet, usually in the back addition of a Victorian terrace where the room is long, narrow and dark, or in a side return infill that has just made it twice the size. We handle the structural opening, the drainage, the electrics and the units as one project rather than four separate visits.
Kitchens in a New Barnet back addition
A terrace kitchen in EN4 is typically a galley in the back addition, with a door at one end, a window over the sink and a chimney breast that once took a range and now takes nothing at all. Opening that breast up gives a proper recess for a range cooker, and it is the natural place to run the extraction because the flue is already there. Whether the breast can be opened out depends on what is above it, which is a question for the structural engineer rather than the kitchen fitter.
Extraction is where terrace kitchens are routinely bodged. A recirculating hood with a charcoal filter does very little about steam, and steam is what rots the window reveals in these rooms. Ducting out means 150mm rigid duct on the shortest run you can manage, with a proper hooded terminal, and in a narrow side return the terminal position has to be sensible relative to the neighbour's window rather than pointed straight at it. We set the duct route before the units are ordered, not after.
Structure, services and flats across EN4
Where the kitchen is being opened into the rest of the house, the wall between the back addition and the main house comes out on a beam sized by a structural engineer, and the floor levels almost never match. The back addition often sits a step down, and a step in the middle of a kitchen floor is a nuisance for the next thirty years, so we resolve it in the screed or with a ply and batten overlay. Barnet Council building control inspects the beam and the bearings before anything is boarded over.
In a converted flat the constraints come from the lease as much as the Building Regulations. Moving a sink or a washing machine means a new waste run at a workable fall to an existing stack, and there is a limit to how far you can chase across a floor that forms someone else's ceiling. The freeholder's consent covers that. Electrical work in a kitchen is notifiable, so it is certified under the Building Regulations either way, and we allow for the managing agent's hours and access rules in the programme.
- Underfloor heating and kitchen ventilation
- Sink, tap and filter installation with full leak testing
- Old kitchen strip-out, disposal and making good
- Island units and bespoke cabinetry
- Bespoke kitchen design and 3D layout planning
Why Choose GS Renovation in New Barnet
New Barnet kitchens usually involve a beam, a drain and a duct before anyone chooses a worktop, and that is the order GS Renovation works in. We appoint the engineer for any opening, resolve the floor level between the back addition and the house, set the extraction route properly, certify the electrics and hand over the Barnet building control paperwork. Founder led, with 30+ years of hands-on experience.
- Waste cleared as we go, not left piled in the garden
- Building control applications and inspections coordinated for you
- Worktops templated after installation for a precise fit
- Straight advice on what is and is not worth spending money on
- Free follow-up visit after completion if anything needs attention
- The kitchen laid out on plan before a single unit is ordered