Opening up a ground floor is a structural job, a services job and a heating job at once. Get the order wrong and you pay twice. We appoint the structural engineer, build to the calculations, and coordinate the building control application and the inspections. Quotations are free and carry no obligation.
Templemere ground floors were designed open already
Elmbridge Borough Council's Templemere character appraisal records that the houses have open plan interiors with the circulation space in the core, so the ground floors were designed open from the start. If you own one, the work is about adjusting an arrangement that exists rather than inventing one. The estate is also a conservation area, designated on 13 June 2017, and the council describes it as a 1960s development of 65 houses set in 12 acres of historic grounds. Anything visible from outside is judged against that mid century design intent, so we would want the appraisal on the table at the first visit.
South of Oatlands Village the houses sit close together
Elmbridge Borough Council describes the residential roads south of Oatlands Village as relatively high density, containing mainly two storey 19th and early 20th century houses. Density decides the practical half of an open plan job. Where the skip goes, how a beam is delivered and lifted in, and whether a party wall is in play. If a party wall award is needed, that is a separate appointment, because we are not party wall surveyors. We plan access and deliveries with you before the first day on site rather than on it.
Taking the open plan out into a rear extension
Depth is the first constraint to check. Elmbridge Borough Council advises that a single storey rear extension which does not project more than 3 metres has minimal effect on the natural light reaching a neighbour's windows. Past that depth, the daylight question is live and the design has to answer it. Either way the beam over the old rear wall is the same engineering problem. It is sized from calculations for your house, not from a span someone quoted for a different one.
- Beam depth checked against existing ceiling heights
- Zoned lighting circuits and dimming for a multi-use room
- Making good, plastering and decorating the finished space
- Structural engineer coordination and building control sign-off
- Knock-throughs between front and rear reception rooms
Why Weybridge Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
An open plan ground floor is not one trade. The steel, the floor build up, the heating that now has to warm a single larger volume, the lighting and the acoustics all have to be decided in sequence. Decide them late and the work gets undone. We run that programme, appoint the structural engineer, coordinate the building control inspections and give you one point of contact. GS Renovation Ltd is rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder.
- Structure and finishes delivered by one team on one programme
- Materials priced at options, so you choose the finish
- The house kept usable while the opening is formed in stages
- One point of contact on the phone, not a call centre
- The layout planned around how you actually use the ground floor
- A dedicated project manager from first survey to handover