Create Home Design - Architecture and Engineering

Another beautiful day for visiting our riverside build with our structural engineer, I learned how to read the rebar drawings, and we played a game of spot the difference...

Ready for another week of heat? How does your home perform in the hot weather? If you're sleeping downstairs on the warmer nights, you're not alone. I even camped in my garden a few weeks back - not only was it cooler but it had the bonus of feeling of being on holiday!

On site insight

The value of support from your architect and engineer through the build phase is sometimes underestimated. Yet, last week we rejected work on site, due to poor workmanship and had all the walls of the extension rebuilt.

It's not a decision we took lightly, but if the work is defective to the extent that it could cause future problems then we don't let that slide. Our client had noticed that things weren't great - but when you're working with people in your home day in, day out it's easy to be convinced that it'll be ok. It can take that third party insight to do something about it. We've seen enough work in progress over the years to know when something is or isn't right, what good workmanship can and should look like.

Alongside giving our clients confidence, being involved through the build allows us to work with the builder to consider any changes they propose.

We bang on a lot about the importance of building things as designed, not because we think we know better, but because of the design liability the builder or client can inadvertently attract through making changes. There are lots of individuals elements that go into a building, but they need to work together. The impact of one change on another needs to be properly thought through.

This almost complete single storey rear extension is bringing some style to a house that was very much in need of some love. A whole house refurbishment means all the spaces have upped their game, and it's certainly going to be a great place for living and for entertaining once it's done.

Our riverside build is underway

There's always a slight anxiety at the start of the build, which tends to fade away as trust builds between the client, contractor and design team. At our new build home on the river in Windsor, the excitement is palpable... the piling is complete, we have tens of thousands of pounds of work, that you can't see - underground! But just getting started with the build marks such a milestone for most projects and especially at this property where the client began this journey over seven years ago with the outline designs.... Watch this space for updates as we share progress over the next 52 weeks!

Project timelines

If you've never done a building project before you could rightly be clueless on how long everything takes. I've had people ask me if their build can complete in 8 weeks... when a more realistic timeframe was 6 months plus (the real world isn't DIY SOS). The point is you don't know what you don't know! That's why we offer a chat ahead of any commitment to give people the chance to ask those all important questions, no question too silly - the silly thing is not to ask! It can come as a surprise to find that the design and applications take time too, often 4-6 months before you're ready to find a builder.

Got a daft question? Book a chat, I'm happy to answer it.

Check out the link in the comments.