Posts

The Barnet Extension Where the Builder Found Asbestos and Why Our Architect Had Already Planned for It

Image
The builder called us on day three. He had opened up the old kitchen ceiling and found Artex. The textured coating that was popular in the 1970s and 80s. The textured coating that often contains asbestos. Most homeowners panic at this point. Asbestos. Health risk. Stop work. Expensive removal. Project derailed. But our barnet architects practice had already planned for it. They had flagged the Artex during the first visit. Budgeted for testing and removal. Built the timeline around it. What could have been a crisis was just a scheduled task. Why Artex Means Asbestos Artex and similar textured coatings applied before the year 2000 often contain white asbestos. It was added to the mix to strengthen the coating and help it set. Completely legal at the time. Completely common in houses built or renovated in the 1970s and 80s. Our house in Finchley had Artex ceilings throughout the ground floor. Applied by a previous owner in what looked like the 1980s based on the style. We never thou...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ealing Extension Where the Electrician Changed More About the Kitchen Than the Builder Did

Image
The walls were up. The roof was on. The plastering was finished. The kitchen was about to be installed. And then the electrician arrived and made six decisions that changed how our kitchen works more than any structural element the builder had constructed over the previous ten weeks. Our ealing architects practice had specified every socket, switch, and light position on the drawings. Not as an afterthought. As a core part of the kitchen design. Because where you put the electrics determines where you put everything else. Most homeowners never think about electrics until the electrician asks where they want the sockets. By then it is too late to get it right. Why Electrics Get Ignored During Design Because they are invisible. Nobody walks into a kitchen and admires the socket positions. Nobody photographs the light switch layout for Instagram. Nobody tells friends about the double socket behind the bin cupboard. But try using a kitchen where the sockets are in the wrong place. Th...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Our Putney Architect Discovered About Our Boiler That Saved the Extension From Being Cold Six Months a Year

Image
Nobody thinks about the boiler when planning an extension. You think about the kitchen layout. The worktop material. The bifold doors. The rooflight. The connection to the garden. The boiler is in a cupboard in the hallway doing its job quietly and you assume it will keep doing its job after the extension is built. Our architects putney practice checked the boiler during the first visit. Not because we asked them to. Because they check it on every project. What they found explained why so many Putney extensions feel cold in winter even with underfloor heating installed. Our boiler was too small for the extended house. And nobody would have noticed until the first cold snap in November. What Too Small Means Our boiler was a 24kW combi. Adequate for our three bedroom Victorian terrace in its original configuration. Three radiators downstairs. Four upstairs. One bathroom. The boiler coped fine. Hot water on demand. Radiators warm within twenty minutes. No complaints. Add a thirty sq...
Post a Comment
Read more

Designing Better Living Spaces with Architects in Enfield

Image
Most people don't call an architect because everything is fine. They call because something about their home has stopped working. Maybe the layout feels awkward now that both of you work from home. Maybe the kids have outgrown their shared bedroom. Or maybe you've just spent another Sunday morning in a kitchen that's too dark and too small, and you've finally had enough. In Enfield, this happens a lot. People buy homes they love in a neighbourhood they don't want to leave, and then spend years putting up with spaces that don't quite fit. The house looked perfect on the estate agent's photos, but living in it every day tells a different story. The good news is that most of these problems are fixable without moving. You just need someone who can look at your home with fresh eyes and figure out how to make it work properly. At Extension Architecture, we've helped homeowners throughout the borough do exactly that. If you're ready to make changes, our te...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Our Ealing Architect Did With Our Chimney Breast That Nobody Else Thought Of

Image
Every architect we consulted wanted to remove it. The chimney breast in our rear reception room. A brick column projecting 350mm into the room taking up valuable floor space. Dead space. An obstacle. Something that belonged to the Victorian era and had no place in a modern open plan kitchen diner. Our architect in ealing said something different. "Dont remove it. Use it." We thought she was joking. The chimney breast was the reason the room felt cramped. Removing it was the obvious first step. Every renovation on our street had removed theirs. It was practically a rite of passage for Ealing homeowners. She wasnt joking. And what she did with that chimney breast is now the favourite feature in our entire house. Why Everyone Removes Chimney Breasts Because it seems logical. The breast projects into the room. Remove it and you gain 350mm of width across the full depth of the room. On a room thats only 3.5 metres wide that 350mm feels significant. But removing a chimney br...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Walthamstow Terrace That Got a New Floor Without the Neighbours Even Noticing the Build

Image
Our neighbours didnt know we were having a loft conversion until the scaffold came down. Eight weeks of construction above their heads and neither of them realised what was happening until they saw the finished dormer from their gardens. We told them beforehand obviously. Served party wall notices. Explained the timeline. But both said afterwards the build was so quiet they forgot it was happening. Our architect walthamstow practice designed the conversion specifically to minimise disruption. In Walthamstow where terraces are tightly packed, how you build matters almost as much as what you build. Why Loft Conversions Are Quieter Than Extensions A rear extension involves heavy groundwork. Excavation. Concrete. Drainage trenches. Steel craned over the house. Bricklaying. Weeks of noise and vibration at ground level travelling through party walls. A loft conversion happens above everything. Lighter structural work. Smaller steel beams. Timber dormer construction which is quieter tha...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Runnymede Planning Application That Was Approved in Six Weeks Because of One Document Nobody Else Submitted

Image
Six weeks. Not eight. Not ten. Six weeks from submission to approval. In a borough where most applications take the full eight week determination period and some stretch to twelve. Our runnymede planning application was fast tracked. Not because we paid extra. Not because we knew someone at the council. Because our architect submitted one document that most applications dont include. A flood risk assessment. Our property sits near the Thames in Egham. Parts of Runnymede fall within flood risk zones. Our house is in Flood Zone 2. Not the highest risk category but high enough that the council needs to see evidence that you have considered flood risk before they approve any extension. Most architects submit standard drawings and let the council raise flood risk as a query during the assessment. That query adds weeks. Our architect addressed it upfront. The officer had everything they needed from day one. No queries. No delays. Six weeks to approval. Why Flood Risk Matters in Runnymed...
Post a Comment
Read more