Open plan means taking out the wall between two rooms, or between the back of the house and a rear extension, and carrying on a beam what the wall was carrying. We survey, appoint the structural engineer, build to their calculations and finish the space. We do not produce structural calculations ourselves. The Berkhamsted specifics, from the plot shape to what the council's own guidance says about the back of the house, are set out below.
The burgage plots behind the High Street set the shape of the house
The Berkhamsted Conservation Area Character Appraisal records that the medieval burgage plots lining the High Street are part of the 13th century town plan, and it treats those plots as largely surviving today. A long narrow plot running back from the street gives depth rather than width, so the space to work with runs front to back.
The appraisal also records that views of the rear of properties are uncommon in Berkhamsted, restricted by the medieval burgage plot layout or by 19th century terracing. It names Charles Street looking north, Mill Street, the west side of Holliday Street, Robertson Road and Water Lane car park as the few places rear plots can be seen. Where your rear elevation is one of those, the back of the house is on view and the detailing has to hold up.
The Victorian terraces southwest of the High Street
The appraisal records that the Victorian and Edwardian area southwest of the High Street, its Area 3, was developed for middle class residents. It describes that area as almost entirely housing, with little by way of workshops, stores, yards or corner shops. The streets it names there include Charles Street, Kings Road, Cross Oak Road, Boxwell Road, Kitsbury Road and Shrublands Avenue.
It also records that Highfield Road and Victoria Road were built during the mid to late 19th century with small terraced houses similar to those on Bridge Street and Chapel Street. Small rooms in a solid brick house are the starting point for an open plan job. The answer is a beam sized by an engineer to carry the wall and the floor above, and a bearing detail that the ground beneath will accept.
Glazed rear and side extensions have been accepted in Berkhamsted
Dacorum's design guidance for Berkhamsted names several successful recent rear and side yard extensions using a contemporary glazed approach at Shrublands Avenue, and one at Boxwell Road. If the open plan space you want needs more floor area than the existing footprint allows, that is the route the council's own guidance points to.
The same guidance states that because of the topography of the area and views onto the backs of some streets, the form, materials and detailing of rear and side yard extensions affect the conservation area as well as the appearance of the individual house. We treat that as a design input rather than an obstacle, and we build to the detail that gets consent.
- Steel beam installation to remove the dividing wall
- Ventilation and extraction planned for an open kitchen
- Structural engineer coordination and building control sign-off
- Making good, plastering and decorating the finished space
- Zoned lighting circuits and dimming for a multi-use room
Why Choose GS Renovation in Berkhamsted
An open plan conversion is a structural job with a design question attached, and in Berkhamsted both have to be answered before a layout is fixed. The structure is settled by a structural engineer we appoint, and we build to the calculations issued. The design question is what the council's own guidance says about rear and side yard extensions here, which is worth reading before you commit to a shape. We coordinate the building control application and the inspections, and you deal with one person from survey through to the final finish. GS Renovation Ltd is fully insured and rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder.
- Registered in England, Companies House no. 14611254
- Floor levels and thresholds evened out across the whole space
- Straight advice on what is and is not worth spending money on
- Broken-plan and Crittall-style options priced alongside full open-plan
- Our own trades on site rather than a chain of subcontractors
- Cooking smells and extraction planned into an open kitchen