Vaulted Open Plan Living

The project

A vaulted open plan living and dining room floored in large-format stone, with glazing to two elevations and services fully concealed in the roof structure.

The effort behind it

Hiding the services in a vault with no ceiling void meant every duct, cable and sprinkler drop was modelled before the timber was ordered. Two ribs were re-cut with wider webs to carry a ventilation run, and the stone was dry-laid across the whole floor and photographed for shade approval before fixing.

Challenges faced

Working in Hertfordshire brought the classic London constraints: party walls on both sides, no lay-down area, and neighbours two metres from the scaffold line. The Vaulted Open Plan Living programme had to absorb structural discoveries made only after opening up, and every delay risked cascading into the finishing trades booked behind us. Weekly look-ahead planning and a just-in-time delivery schedule kept the site moving without ever blocking the road.

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 Hertfordshire always knew exactly where their project stood.

A successful outcome

Vaulted 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.