Extensions & Refurbishments Across Cornwall and Devon

Single storey extensions

Kitchen, dining and living space extensions are the most common work we do. The build sequence is foundations to the engineer's design, drainage and any diversion of existing runs, floor slab with membrane and insulation, cavity walls with insulation and correctly positioned ties and trays, then a flat or pitched roof depending on the design. The junction with the existing house is where care matters most: cavity trays above the abutment, correct flashings, threshold levels below internal floor level, and the structural opening into the existing room formed with the specified beam.

Two storey extensions and structural alterations

Two storey work brings heavier loads, so foundations, padstones and beam sizes come off the engineer's calculations rather than experience alone. Floor structures have to tie into the existing building, roofs have to marry into the existing roof line, and the whole thing has to be built plumb against a house that very likely is not. Structural alterations: removing walls, forming large openings, inserting steel - are propped and needled properly, with loads transferred down through the structure to something that can carry them, and inspected at the stages building control requires.

Whole-house refurbishment

Refurbishment work is sequencing and honesty about what is behind the plaster. A typical whole-house programme runs strip out, structural work and repairs, replacement windows and roof work, first fix electrics and plumbing, insulation and plasterboard, plastering, second fix joinery, decoration and floor finishes. On older Cornish properties we routinely find failed lintels, rotten timbers, unvented roof voids, redundant chimney flues and drainage that was never right. Where we open something up and find worse than expected, you get told with a price, not a bill at the end.

Property repairs and remedial work

We take on the specific problems that older buildings develop:

• Cracked, bowed or failing walls, and rebuilding sections where needed
• Failed lintels and openings requiring structural support
• Damp investigation and remedial work at ground level, abutments and roofs
• Rotten or beetle-damaged structural timber, joists and roof members
• Roof repairs, verge and flashing failures and water ingress
• Drainage repairs, replacement runs and new soakaways
• Retaining walls, boundary walls and external levels causing water problems

Planning, permitted development and building control

Some extensions fall under permitted development and some need a full planning application, assuming rather than checking is an expensive mistake, particularly on listed buildings, conservation areas and properties that have already been extended. We can submit the planning application on your behalf, and we handle building control on notifiable work: notification before starting, inspections at foundation, drainage, damp proof course, structural and insulation stages, and completion certification at the end. That completion certificate is what your solicitor will ask for when you sell.

Living through the build

The practical side is a large part of whether an extension feels well run. We plan the programme so the kitchen or bathroom is out of use for as short a period as possible, keep dust separation up between the works and the house, protect floors and routes, sequence the opening-up of the existing wall for late in the programme once the new space is closed in, and keep the site tidy and secure at the end of each day. You are told what is happening the following week rather than having to ask.

Older Cornish properties and modern homes

Granite, cob and rubble-stone properties behave differently from modern cavity construction: they move, they breathe, and details that suit a modern house can trap moisture in them. Work on those properties needs sympathetic detailing, care with structural openings in solid walls, and realistic expectations about level and plumb. Modern homes are more predictable but bring their own issues, trussed roofs that cannot simply be cut, insulation continuity and airtightness. Twenty years across Cornwall and Devon means both are familiar ground.

Working for homeowners, landlords and investors

Homeowners want communication and their house back in one piece. Landlords and investors want a defined scope, a predictable programme and work that meets the standard required for letting, often between tenancies. Buyers refurbishing before moving in usually want the disruptive structural and first fix work compressed into a single window. All three are work we take on, and the difference is mainly in how the programme is arranged.