Start on Site: Harrow House Remodelling after Subsidence

Some of our projects are borne not just of preference, but necessity. When our Client in Harrow approached us, they had already spent several years in discussion with their insurers about the reconstruction of half of their house due to subsidence (a row of nearby oaks were to blame). However, instead of rebuilding the ground floor brick-for-brick, which the insurer would pay for, our Client wanted to take the opportunity to remodel the warren-like layout of lots of small living spaces.

We presented options for making the ground floor more generous: squaring off impractically-shaped rooms (e.g. the pre-existing recreation room had eleven walls), creating an open plan living space and kitchen, adding a utility room, and creating a ground floor en-suite bedroom. Whilst the insurers would cover the cost of a matching replacement, our Client would have to pay the difference in construction cost between the original and improved layouts. This made it crucial that our proposals stayed close to the pre-existing floor area, and instead of enlarging the building we reclaimed and enlarged the living spaces by (as usual) reducing corridors and circulation space as much as possible.

Planning consent was granted in 2024, and construction started this month. We are really looking forward to seeing our Clients move back into a very much improved house in 2026.