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162 photographs · All our own work

The photo wall

Our entire archive — not ten best angles. Strip-outs, steels, tanking and trenches next to the finished rooms, because the buried stages are the ones that matter.

Why we publish everything

A builder's gallery usually shows you the last day of each job. Ours shows the other days too — the damp-proof membrane, the pressure-tested heating loops, the excavation cut into London clay — because you can only judge work you are allowed to see.

Each group below links to its full project story. For work near your postcode, ask on WhatsApp and we will send the closest examples.

52 photographs

One extension, every stage

A complete rear extension photographed from first dig to finished kitchen-diner.

Read the story: Anatomy of a rear extension →

Rear garden of a 1930s semi-detached house before extension works begin — Day one — the rear garden

Mini digger and breaker excavating footings at the rear of the house — Breaking ground

Excavated foundation trench in London clay awaiting inspection and concrete — Footing trench, cut clean

Operative compacting hardcore sub-base with a plate compactor — Compacting the sub-base

Operative positioning a red-oxide steel beam over the new opening — The steel goes in

Two bricklayers building blockwork cavity walls off the new footings — Cavity walls rising

Bricklayers raising blockwork walls with materials staged on a board — Blockwork off the line

Operative laying blocks on the boundary wall with paving stacked nearby — Working the perimeter

Insulation boards laid over the flat roof deck before boarding — Warm roof build-up

Operative fixing OSB deck over insulation on the new flat roof — Decking the roof

GRP matting being rolled onto the flat roof deck — Fibreglass matting down

Rooflight upstand opening framed in the new flat roof deck — Lantern opening trimmed

GRP resin being applied around the roof lantern upstands — Upstands sealed

Operative laminating the GRP upstand for a roof lantern — Detail at the kerb

Completed GRP roof edge with trims over the garden elevation — Edge trims on

Cured grey GRP fibreglass flat roof surface — The finished membrane

Aluminium roof lantern installed on its upstand, seen from the roof — First lantern in

Roof lantern glazing against a blue sky — Sky through the lantern

Roof lantern seen from inside the plastered extension — Lantern from inside

Grab lorry removing excavation spoil from the front of the house — Muck away

DPM laid across the new floor area ready for concrete — Damp-proof membrane

Damp-proof membrane dressed up the walls before the slab pour — Membrane lapped and taped

Concrete being pumped over the membrane for the ground floor slab — Pumping the slab

Compacted sand blinding across the extension footprint — Sand blinding, levelled

Red underfloor heating pipe clipped in circuits over insulation — Underfloor heating, zone one

Operatives laying and clipping underfloor heating loops — Circuits pressure-tested

Completed underfloor heating circuits ready for screed — Every loop back to the manifold

Freshly laid screed with levels and straight edge on the floor — Screed struck level

Operatives installing windows in the rendered rear extension — Render to match

New pebbledash render on the extension flank wall — Pebbledash, matched to the house

Rear garden with painted wall before landscaping works — The garden it replaced

Plastered open-plan extension interior with French doors to the garden — Open plan, first light

Plasterer working on fresh boarded walls inside the extension — Boarding and skim

Stud partition and chop saw during first fix inside the extension — First fix carpentry

Skimmed extension interior drying out before decoration — Ready for finishes

Large-format floor tiles being laid with levelling clips — Large-format porcelain

Polished porcelain floor tiles with levelling clips mid-installation — Tiling across the slab

Completed rendered rear extension with French doors and new patio — The rear elevation, finished

New patio and rendered garden walls behind the finished extension — Patio and boundary walls

Finished extension with patio, lamps and rendered walls — Garden handed back

Completed extension rear elevation with double French doors — French doors to the garden

Finished extension with French doors and exterior lighting — Coach lamps either side

White shaker kitchen units being fitted with black metro splashback — Kitchen going in

Black range cooker positioned during kitchen installation — The range cooker lands

Kitchen sink run and units during second fix — Second fix underway

White kitchen with black metro tile splashback and range cooker — Metro tiles, gloss black

Black chimney hood over range cooker in the finished kitchen — Extraction over the range

Completed kitchen run with black worktops and white cabinets — The working wall

Open-plan room with deep ochre feature wall and polished porcelain floor — Ochre feature wall

Polished floor tiles reflecting light from the garden doors — Light off the porcelain

Black granite worktop against the ochre wall in the finished space — Worktop, lit

Finished open-plan kitchen-diner with ochre wall and French doors — The room they wanted

33 photographs

Boutique fit-out

A commercial unit taken to shell and rebuilt with classical plasterwork and a new shopfront.

Read the story: Boutique fit-out, retail →

Stripped retail unit with bare plaster and materials staged — Strip-out complete

Retail unit stripped to shell condition during fit-out — Back to the shell

Operatives working in the stripped retail unit — First fix in the shell

Scaffold tower and partition framing inside the retail unit — Partitions and platforms

Suspended ceiling framing and services above the shop floor — Ceiling grid overhead

Team on scaffold tower installing the ceiling — Working at height

Operative marking out partition walls — Setting out the walls

Paint samples applied to the wall during finishing — Colour tests

Track spotlights and recessed lighting in the fitted ceiling — Track lighting live

Recessed ceiling lights over the shop floor during finishing — Lit for retail

Decorators working under the new lighting scheme — Decorating the floor

Ceiling opening showing services during fit-out — Services above the grid

Decorative plaster mouldings stacked before installation — Ornament, stacked and ready

Ornate garland cornice installed at the ceiling line — Garland cornice up

Gold display arches being assembled against the wall — Arches taking shape

Gold display rails fixed along the boutique wall — Rails at height

Operatives levelling gold display arches — Every arch level

Team fixing gold arch display fittings to the wall — Fixing the display arches

Decorative cornice and Corinthian column head with recessed lighting — Cornice and column

Finished decorative plasterwork above the display wall — Plasterwork, painted out

Decorator finishing ornate plasterwork by hand — Cutting in the detail

Corinthian column capital installed against the wall — Crowning the columns

Finished column and cornice detail in the boutique — The classical line

Decorative cornice corner detail, painted and finished — Cornice returns, resolved

Boutique interior with display fixtures being positioned — Fixtures arriving

New shopfront glazing being installed behind protection boards — Glazing the shopfront

Completed boutique shopfront glazed and lit at dusk — The shopfront, lit

Finished boutique interior with garments on gold display arches — Stock on the rails

Completed boutique interior with dressed display walls — Trading floor, handed over

Gold display arches against white walls under the new lighting — Gold on white

Team completing external works at the boutique frontage — Finishing outside

Operatives finishing the shopfront threshold and paving — Final touches at the front

Steel and blockwork exposed during the boutique structural works — Structure behind the style

10 photographs

Lofts

Roofs opened, steels in, dormers on, bedrooms out of thin air.

Read the story: A loft conversion, start to finish →

Operative working in the stripped loft between rafters — Into the roof

Roof structure opened up with old timbers exposed — The roof comes apart

Stripped roof structure with debris and exposed joists — Strip-out at roof level

New steel and timber structure going into the opened roof — New structure against the sky

New floor joists with insulation laid between them in the loft — Floor built inside the roof

Loft stud walls framed with a Velux rooflight fitted — Studwork and rooflight

Steel beams and joists seen from below during structural work — Steels carrying the floor

Rear loft dormer with Juliet balcony on a brick terrace — Dormer, tiled and glazed

Finished loft bedroom with two rooflights and fitted flooring — A bedroom where the loft was

Fitted white wardrobe in the finished loft room — Storage built into the eaves

21 photographs

Bathrooms

Travertine, dark stone, wet rooms and the tanking underneath them.

Read the story: Bathrooms we have built →

Fitted bathroom with basin unit and chrome towel radiator — Basin and towel rail

Tiled bathroom with bath and chrome towel radiator — Bath wall, tiled

Bathroom with polished black floor tiles and white furniture — Gloss black floor

Wet room shower tray laid flush into black floor tiles — Flush wet-room tray

Dark marble-effect tiled bathroom with wall-hung WC — Marble-look ensuite

Dark stone-tiled bathroom with basin, mirror and towel rail — Dark stone, soft light

Grey large-format tiled shower with concealed mixer — Concealed shower valve

Family bathroom with patterned feature wall and bath — Family bathroom

Compact cloakroom with basin unit over the WC — Cloakroom, compact

Mosaic border tiles being set into a bathroom wall — Mosaic band in progress

Travertine-tiled shower room with glass enclosure — Travertine shower room

Glass shower screen against travertine tiling — Glass against stone

Wall-hung WC in the travertine-tiled bathroom — Wall-hung and warm

Stone-effect wall tiles being set out with levelling clips — Stone-effect walls going up

Blue tanking membrane behind wall tiling in progress — Tanked before tiled

Quadrant shower enclosure in the stone-tiled bathroom — Enclosure fitted

Countertop basin with mirror cabinet in the tiled bathroom — Vessel basin and mirror

Stone-tiled bathroom window wall with towel radiator — Light through obscured glass

Stone-effect tiling running full height in the bathroom — Floor-to-ceiling stone

Completed shower enclosure against stone-effect tiles — The finished shower wall

Chrome towel radiator mounted on stone-effect tiling — Ladder rail on stone

11 photographs

Kitchens

Island showpieces to honest small refits.

Read the story: Kitchens we have fitted →

Cream shaker kitchen with integrated oven, gas hob and extractor — Cream shaker, fitted

Large grey handleless kitchen with island and recessed lighting — Island under spotlights

Cream kitchen with black granite worktops and gas hob — Granite over cream

White handleless kitchen with black hob and wall units — Handleless and lit

Dated kitchen stripped back during refurbishment — The kitchen it replaced

Kitchen walls stripped to bare plaster during refit — Stripped to plaster

Bare plaster and new window during the kitchen refit — Making good around the window

White kitchen units fitted against ochre wall tiles — New units, ochre tiles kept

Washing machine and units fitted in the compact kitchen — Appliances plumbed in

New worktop and sink against ochre tiled walls — Worktop meets tile

Completed compact kitchen with radiator and tiled walls — Small kitchen, finished

8 photographs

Refurbishments

Whole floors taken back and finished to a mirror.

Read the story: A whole-house refurbishment →

Open-plan refurbished interior with polished marble-effect floor — Marble floor, palm light

Refurbished open-plan kitchen with breakfast bar and appliances — Kitchen open to the room

Refurbished lounge with striped sofas and finished decoration — The lounge, finished

Crystal ceiling light on the finished plaster ceiling — Crystal against the ceiling

Completed open-plan living space after refurbishment — The whole floor works

Roof lantern seen from inside the finished room — Lantern overhead

Internal white glazed folding doors dividing living spaces — Glazed folding doors

Original patterned floor tiles in a hallway during refurbishment — The floor worth keeping

10 photographs

Heating & hot water

Underfloor circuits, cylinders and screeds struck to a laser.

Read the story: Heating, hot water and warm floors →

Red underfloor heating pipework laid before screeding — Underfloor heating over insulation

Copper pipework and cylinder during heating first fix — First fix in copper

Boiler and chased pipework during heating installation — Boiler position set

Unvented hot water cylinder installed with new pipework — Unvented cylinder plumbed

Hot water cylinder with copper manifold pipework — Cylinder and manifold

Airing cupboard services during installation — Services in the cupboard

New boiler and expansion vessel installed, child's drawing on the wall — Boiler in a family home

Operative laying screed over underfloor heating by laser level — Screed over the coils

Operative levelling a floor screed in a stripped room — Levelling the floor

Underfloor heating circuits laid across a commercial floor — Commercial underfloor heating

5 photographs

Structure & ground

The unphotogenic layer everything else stands on.

Read the story: Structure and groundworks →

Deep excavation pit showing London clay and existing footings — Down to the clay

Plate compactor on rubble sub-base during groundworks — Compaction in progress

Operative cutting materials on a saw bench outside — Cutting on site

Steel beam being prepared over footings during structural work — Steel over new footings

New extension corner in blockwork and facing brick — Corner rising in block and brick

8 photographs

Finished exteriors

Rear elevations handed back to their gardens.

Read the story: Rendered extensions, four ways →

Yellow brick rear elevation with new windows — Yellow stock, new openings

Brick rear extension with dark-framed glazing and patio — Dark frames in brick

Rendered rear extension with French doors and lantern light — White render, warm light

Cream rendered extension with French doors onto paving — Cream render to the garden

Pink rendered rear extension with French doors — Blush render, new doors

Brick house with French doors and rockery garden — Brick, garden, done

Rendered new build rear elevation with Juliet balconies — New build, rear elevation

Rear extension in stock brick with loft conversion above, North Finchley — Extension and loft together

4 photographs

The streets we work in

Terraces, semis and rooflines across London.

Rear elevations of a London terrace with loft dormers — Dormers along the terrace

London terrace rooflines and chimney stacks at dusk — The roofline we work in

Terraced London street where the team is working — On the street

Bay-fronted terraced houses on a tree-lined street — Bay-fronted London

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