Vaulted Timber Kitchen

The project

A vaulted kitchen and dining space lined in timber over a large-format stone floor, with a mezzanine reading gallery tucked into the roof volume.

The effort behind it

The vault ribs were set out full size on the barn floor and cut to a template so every bay matches within 2mm. Stone was laid from the centre out to keep the joints symmetrical about the room, and the underfloor heating was commissioned in slow stages over ten days to avoid thermal shock to the slabs.

Challenges faced

Working in Cotswolds brought the classic London constraints: party walls on both sides, no lay-down area, and neighbours two metres from the scaffold line. The Vaulted Timber Kitchen 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 Cotswolds always knew exactly where their project stood.

A successful outcome

Vaulted Timber Kitchen 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.