BIMx

We are now able to offer clients the opportunity to take home a 3D model of our proposals to view on a tablet or computer. Here is a screen capture of us 'walking through' one of our models. Clients have said this is a great tool for them to visualise the project in their own time and how helpful it is not to have to rely on just 2D drawings.

If this works successfully there are lots more to follow!

Complete remodelling of Art Deco house in Teddington

We have recently finished this complete remodelling of an Art Deco semi-detached house in Teddington. Internally, the house is completely unrecognisable as we replaced and changed the existing staircase, and altered the configuration of every floor meaning that nearly every room was affected. A small porch was also added to the front of the house.

The front room with bespoke plaster cornicing and refurbished floor.

Entrance hall with completely new stair, tiled floor and bespoke made doorset into the dining room behind.

Dining room with refurbished floor, bespoke plaster cornice and further bespoke made doors.

Nearly finished front porch.

View from the very top of the stairs looking down.

Finally another shot of the lovely front room with another bespoke glazed door.

Happy Christmas and Website Updated!

We'd like to wish all our blog readers a very happy Christmas! Just in time for Christmas we have updated the website with quite a few new projects so please do take a look here.

Project Management

Clients often ask us what the difference is between project management and contact administration/ onsite inspections, which are both offered when a project is due to go on site.

Project management is offered by our small approachable team of project managers who are usually managing 2 or 3 jobs on site and who offer a full service running the project from beginning to end. There is an additional fee for project management and we find it is usually a service used by our clients who are undertaking larger works, who are particularly busy (for example those who work abroad) or those who don't feel that they can accomplish their vision on their own. The project managers have links with local suppliers and can therefore assist with sourcing kitchens, bathroom fittings, flooring, tiling and any finishes not included in the contract. Equally they become the eyes and ears of the work going on and continually report back to the client regarding progress and on-site co-ordination.

The Architect's role of contract administration and onsite inspections occurs on every project we do. We ensure a fair and impartial contract is in place between the client and the contractor and monitor this throughout the project. The contract will always be weighted to protect the client and weekly inspections by the Architect ensure that the client is only paying for work that has been completed to the expected standard. We see this service as essential and we will only ever tender to contractors who have been vetted and that we trust.

Our aim is always that when on site a project will run smoothly and be as hassle-free for the client. Use of project management is entirely a client's decision and depends on their circumstances and the size of the job.

Long time no blog...

We have been so busy recently that the blog has had to take a backseat. Since the last blog post, Owen has joined the team (blog from Owen to follow shortly...), and we have completely finished some jobs and taken some others on site.

A few pics from a really great extension just finished in Teddington...

We created two steps down to make sure we had lots of height in the new extension

This spacious cloakroom fits perfectly underneath the stairs

The hallway was enlarged and the stair altered with a rounded starting step and traditional newel

View from the rear (just being cleared by the contractor!)

Making the most of Permitted Development...

Here are some pictures of an extension we have just finished in Richmond.

Amazingly this was done under Permitted Development!

Just finished in Teddington

We have just finished this rear extension, loft extension and refurbishment to a semi-detached house on a very popular road in Teddington.

We have extended at the rear to create a large kitchen, dining and living area. We have increased the height of the back living space by creating steps down into it.

 

 

 

The front living room has been tastefully refurbished.

Corner windows in the loft let in lots of light.

A few recent projects...

Here are some before/afters of some projects we have been granted planning for this week...

We are doing a number of alterations to this large house in Hampton Wick including a loft extension, rear extension and side extension to replace the existing porch.

We are going to completely remove the existing 2 storey rear extension and conservatory from this house in Teddington and build a new two storey extension with basement.

On Site This Week...

Currently we have lots of projects on site, all at various stages.

In Teddington we are doing rear extensions on two neighbouring properties. These were submitted as a joint planning application meaning that they must both be built together, but that they are also considered together when the decision is made.

Here are some images from the first property:

View of the rear looking into the kitchen (being fitted this week).

New side return which adjoins the neighbour's new extension.

Here are photos of the neighbouring property:

 

 

External shot of the new extension with the adjoining neighbour's extension on the right

 

Internal shot showing the new kitchen

 

 

Finally here are some photos of a project we have on site in Osterley.

 

This shows the rear of the house and the two storey rear extension under constuction.

 

Inside the new rear extension.

 

 

We will update the blog later to show a some of the projects we have recently submitted for planning.



Another successful addition to Teddington town..

Here are some photos of a recently completed project in Teddington. We had some pretty tight planning constraints (...as usual) so we used a wrap around hipped roof to give the family the open plan space that they required. Aluminium bi-folding doors open the space directly onto the patio and garden. 

On site this week...

We thought we'd start a regular post showing some pictures of the projects we have on site at the moment.

Here's a couple from under the temporary roof on Kingston Road:

 

Inside they are nearly finished and the temporary roof will be coming down very soon.

 

 

 

 

And here's the view at the back of a job we're doing on Fairfax Road.



 

 

 

Unfortunately Wayne couldn't find his tea once they had taken the scaffolding down!

 

 

This project still has a little way to go as we are building a full width extension on the ground floor at the back.

More photos to come soon!

BIMx (not BMX)

We have started using BIMx in the office.

(If you want to read more about BIM see our post from a few days ago...)

This is not a type of bicycle (although Simon would like this); it is an app that is used in conjunction with the existing modelling software we use. It means that we can now give clients a model of their proposal for them to view on computer, iPad or even and iPhone. The software allows you to actually walk through the building as though it's real.

We have been using 3D modelling for a long time, however we usually present clients with static views of their proposal, as they do not have the software capabilities that we have. A simple download from the app store changes this. The model that is being viewed, however, cannot be edited.

 

Here is a photo of Aidan 'walking' through one of our projects (you might recognise this project from an earlier post).

It is yet to be built, but well and truly exists in the digital world:

 

We are yet to appreciate the true potential of this software (partly as on the iphone it still runs fairly slow) but think that it is a very interesting way to present to clients.

 

The main drawback we can see at the moment is that the iPhone/ iPad does not deal very well with models that have a high level of detail.

 

That, and that our software trial period runs out in 30 days....