Transformation of Existing Bungalow in Highclere, Berkshire
In January 2017 we posted the first blog on this particular project in Highclere near the Berkshire border (home to Highclere Castle now well known as the set for Downton Abbey). Our clients have hugely increased the size of their existing property, by not only extending upwards, but also outwards on the ground floor level creating a much more spacious home.
Take a read of the original blog article about this extension in Highclere as well as the informative and complimentary review from the clients…
Our project wasn’t a simple one, but there again it would seem that most things we do never are.
Unlike most people who are sensible and build a house from the beginning so everything is designed together, our project was to turn an existing poorly insulated 1960’s chalet bungalow into a large more efficient aesthetically pleasing house. Many timber frame manufacturers wouldn’t entertain such a scheme due to the technical difficulties of matching the new timber structure to the existing masonry walls. Vision Developments however were happy to take on the challenge. They worked with us and our drawings to design the structure that would enable them to match the new timber frame to the old imperfect walls. Just to make things more difficult for them we then broke the news that we also remaining resident in the house during the work. Un-phased by our stupidity Vision put together an efficient sequence of work to seamlessly remove the existing bungalow roof, erect the first floor wall panels, partitions and crane in the huge 9 metre wide roof trusses to complete the outer shell as quickly as possible. It was very much a case of “Off with the old and on with the New” which enabled the building to be stripped and water proof again all within one month. During this time there were a few hic-ups and challenges where we would make a few “last minute” adjustments. The workmen on site however were very friendly and organised, and worked efficiently to deal with these issues to get our structure up as fast possible. Without the confident, helpful and professional approach of Vision Development the work to our house would have been far more difficult and stressful and we would not have been able to remain in the dwelling while the work progressed. We highly recommend them.
With most of the external finishes now complete to the property we have been kindly provided with more photos of this striking new home by our Clients.
Take a look at the process from start to finish on our initial blog article on this major extension to a chalet bungalow in Highclere, where you can see the extent of the works to this property, all using our open panel timber frame system.
Many of Vision Development’s projects are extensions onto existing properties where our clients wish to completely transform, or just add additional space to their homes without the upheaval of moving home. If you have initial ideas of extending your home, please get in touch with us on 0118 971 2181 or by email and we can assist with the design stage (dependent upon your location).
