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If you’re planning to construct a kitchen extension on your property, one of the first things that comes to mind is whether or not you’ll require a planning permission before you proceed. Generally, kitchen extensions are normally classified as permitted development which allows you to carry out your project without any interruptions from the law or your local authority. In other words, if your extension is meets up with the guidelines of the permitted development rights, you won’t have to apply for a planning permission. However if otherwise, you’ll have to apply for a planning permission to your local council and may require additional reports. And regardless of your position, you’ll always need building regulations approval before you can carry out any kitchen extension project. It may also be required that you’ll have to issue a part wall notice if you’re to build on or close to the boundary with a neighbour.

If you don’t want to go through the hassle and stress involved in applying for a planning permission with your local council, then you must ensure the following:

✓ Your kitchen extension must not be over half of the area of land around your main house.

✓ The kitchen extension must not be side elevation onto a highway or forward of the principal elevation.

✓ The extension must not be taller than the highest part of the roof.

✓ The height of your kitchen extension must not go beyond four metres.

✓ Kitchen extension that’s more than one storey must not go exceed the rear wall of the main house by more than three metres.

✓ Two storey kitchen extensions must not be closer to rear boundary by anything less than seven metres.

✓ The kitchen extension must not include balconies, verandas or any raised platforms.

Many types of loft are suitable for a loft conversion. In general, you will need at least 2.3 metres of headroom in your existing loft. This is to make sure there is enough headroom after the conversion. Speak to a conversion specialist about the probability and possibility of doing this in your house.

If you’re about to carry out a loft conversion project, you’d probably be wondering how long it’ll take to complete the task. Well, you’re not alone! This is one of the most common questions when it comes to loft conversion projects, however, providing a set timeframe for completion of such projects is impossible as all loft conversions vary. There are different factors that can determine the duration of your project. These factors include, the materials to be used, the type of the proposed loft conversion, the kind of staircase you’ll like to have installed, the number of windows included, the number of rooms to be added as well as a number of other influencing factors. As a result of these variables, the milestones and timings provided are only to be taken as guidelines. If you’d really like to have a set date, you can get in touch with a professional for help.

Generally, it’ll take up to 8 weeks to complete a loft conversion project.

✓ The first week activities will include putting up scaffolding, receiving the first materials for the build and creating an opening in the roof to gain access to the loft space.

✓ In the second week, the structure of the roof will be ammended and more support added.

✓ Third week, the floor joists will be fitted, building of the loft conversion will start, completion of the external roof works and commencement of plumbing and electric works.

✓ Fourth week, complete the building, construct the loft floor, fit the roof windows, insulation, ventilation and internal stud walls.

✓ Fifth week, apply plaster and plasterboard to the room walls, create a staircase opening and fit the new staircase.

✓ Sixth week, plaster the staircase area, complete plumbing and electrical works, hang the doors, fit skirting, handrails and bannisters and start decoration.

✓ Seventh week, complete the decoration and clean and wipe out all wastes.

✓ Eight week, complete all the remaining tasks.

If you’re currently experiencing some structural issues with your building or property and you’ve heard a thing or two about the several benefits associated with getting underpinning done, you may be wondering if underpinning might just be the answer to your worries. Well, one thing you should when it comes to underpinning is the fact that, while there are some structural issues that may actually warrant an underpinning job, there are also some situations that can not be fixed by underpinning. In this post, we’re going to consider the events whereby underpinning of your house will be required. Let’s take a look!

First and foremost, you should know that underpinning isn’t required for issues related to slab heave. Footing movements which are likely to reverse normally occur when the content of the soil moisture changes unevenly which gives rise to slab heave. This movement results for a reversible effect.

Generally, underpinning is done to remedy problems related with the movement of the footings of a building or property, but as stated above – not all movements require underpinning. So, when is underpinning required? More often than not, a situation that’s resolved by underpinning is the event whereby the footings of a building or structure drops or subside as a result of some reasons that are irreversible. For example, footing movements caused by a footing set on a soft or loose soil which may be irreversible.

In the event whereby the footings of your house haven’t been installed as deep as required during the initial construction, then you will need to have your building underpinned to make it more stable. If you’re also looking to increase the load on your foundation like adding another storey, you may also need to have your house underpinned to support the extra weight added.

The best way to go about converting a basement depends on its current condition and what you’d like to use it for.

If you’re happy with its size and structure, and just want to turn it into useful storage space, then your project shouldn’t be too complicated. You’ll simply need to make sure it’s damp proof and waterproof – either by fitting tanking or a cavity drain membrane with a sump and pump. You may also need to invest in new flooring, fit basic lighting, and plaster and paint the walls and ceiling.

If you’d like to turn your basement into living space, then you’ll need to think about ventilation, insulation and heating. If this involves creating a kitchen or bathroom, you’ll also need to incorporate plumbing.

If you want to extend your basement, add lightwells, or fit windows and a sunken garden, this makes things much more complicated. You’ll probably want to hire an architect or basement conversion building specialist to help you with the design and planning, and you’ll need a structural engineer to help you ensure your property is sufficiently supported.

A lot of an uninsulated property’s heat is lost through the roof and that’s even more alarming, when you realize this figure is up to a quarter of the total heat of the house. Hence, the tremendous importance of preventing this heat loss through loft insulation which will go a long way to help you against spending unnecessary thousands of pounds on heating bill as well as energy loss.

Loft insulation is an effective method to achieve the desired result, however the question is, how exactly does it work? Well, it’s time to find out!

Using either a fireplace or central heating to heat up your home, a large quantity of that heat would be lost through the roof of your home. Generally, heat rises and when it does, there’s simply no way to prevent it - it’s just science. Escaping by both the conduction and convection methods via your roof, the heat escaping through your ceiling, into the loft space and out into the open air outside can only be significantly reduced by laying loft insulation.

Generally, the added layer of insulation works by trapping the heat inside the room below the loft so as to enable the air within your house to stay warmer for longer. What’s more? The layer of insulation also keeps cold air from the outside from entering your home. As a result, you don’t have to heat your home as much in order to achieve the same temperature for each individual room. Over time, just by doing this you can potentially save hundreds pounds. Getting it installed in your home may actually seem a bit expensive at first, but it’s something that’ll eventually pay off.

How To Put Up Plasterboard

Putting up a plasterboard is a vital process when it comes to home renovations. However as daunting as it may seem, with a good guide and regular practice you can master the skill within a small period of time. If you lack proper training and experience, we’d recommend you hire a seasoned professional plasterer for help so as to get the best result and also avoid additional costs due to possible damages.

Putting up plasterboard is way quicker than wet plastering and also significantly reduces the drying time that can slow down your renovation plans. With a plasterboard, you can delve straight into the decorating stage and achieve a smooth finish. Below are the steps required to put up a plasterboard.

• The first step is cutting the plasterboard to shape which be one of the most challenging parts of the process. This is because you’ll need to fit the board around things such as plug sockets and window sills. As a result, this involves cutting complex shapes rather than just a simple straight line. To get this done, simply mark out the cut required with the use of a tape measure, combination square and spirit level for a better precision. Once done, you can then use a plasterboard pad saw to cut along the marked spots.

• After you made the required cuts, the next step is putting up the plasterboard. And depending on where the boards are going to be put, this could be a very challenging task. If you’re going to put the boards on the ceiling or somewhere very high up, you’d probably need an extra pair of hands for help. To get this done, use the appropriate screws to secure the boards in place if you’re installing them directly on studs. However, if you’d be fixing them onto bricks or blocks, a drywall adhesive is your best bet.

Did you try rendering a wall but it doesn’t turn out the way you would have hoped for? Or perhaps you’ve been watching your wall render gradually deteriorate over time. Regard of your purpose, learning how to repair render cracks on wall is usually a great skill to have with your home maintenance in mind. However, whenever these crack are too large or difficult, we’d recommend you call in a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results for help. In this guide, we’re going to take you through the wall render repairing process. Let’s have a look!

No matter how solid a building material is, over time it’ll yield to the elements. When it comes to wall rendering it may be a case of too much sunshine or a costly mistake in the application process, but in truth, it cracks just because it cracks.

In order to repair render cracks, you’d have to start with a removal of damaged or cracked render. You’ll have to remove all the render or just a small section depending on the area you’re working on. If you’re able to clean all of the existing render as well as the paint over it all (both old and new), then removing a small section would work better as it makes it look neat and redone. Upon the removal of the existing render, the next important step would be to remove all loose material as well. Once done, you can then leave for up to 2 days to allow any trapped moisture to come out. Unfortunately, if the rains you’d have to wait till that dries too before you proceed.

Once dried, you can buy a pre-prepared render mix which already contains cement, lime and sand. Mix a 20kg bag with 4 litres of water (or check the product instructions and follow strictly), the mix to a fine consistency. Render is quick to dry, so you’d want to apply within 30 minutes of mixing. Make use of a trowel to apply the render on the affected spots and blend with the surrounding area.