Richmond, London TW10
Garden-Facing Open Plan Living
Open plan living and dining with sliding glazing
The project
An open plan living and dining room opened to the garden with sliding glazing and a dark brick fireplace, reordering a compartmented ground floor into one connected space.
The effort behind it
Removing two masonry walls in a single-storey structure meant a goalpost frame and a week of temporary works before demolition. The fireplace bricks were laid to a 4mm recessed joint by one bricklayer working alone for eleven days so the bond stays perfectly regular across the chimney breast.
Challenges faced
The hardest part of Garden-Facing Open Plan Living was what nobody could see until the work began. Hidden defects in the existing structure forced redesigns mid-programme, and consents in Richmond, London TW10 meant every method statement went through a third party before a tool was lifted. The team held the programme by resequencing whole phases rather than cutting corners on the phase in front of them.
Team & involvement
Delivery was led by a working site manager with a core crew of our own trades, supported by structural engineers, building control and specialist subcontractors we have worked with for over a decade. Morning briefings, a live programme on the wall and photographic records of every concealed stage meant the client in Richmond, London TW10 always knew exactly where their project stood.
A successful outcome
Garden-Facing Open Plan Living was handed over on programme and within the agreed budget, with building control sign-off at the first inspection of every notifiable stage. The client moved back in on the date we gave them at tender — and the aftercare visit twelve months later found nothing to put right. That is the standard every DBS project is measured against.
