House Extensions in Consett

Consett comes under Durham County Council for both planning and building control. That is where a building regulations application is made and where the inspector who signs the work off comes from. Permitted development limits and a full building regulations approval is what they will be looking for.

Yes. We build to approved drawings routinely and will raise anything that looks impractical to build before work starts rather than halfway through, which is usually cheaper for everyone.

All of them. Around Blackhill and Delves Lane the stock is mostly terraced streets built for the steelworks and the surrounding pit villages, and further out Consett has later housing on and around the reclaimed steelworks site. The right approach depends far more on the age and construction of the individual property than on the town.

Yes. Alongside Consett we regularly carry out house extensions in Stanley, Langley Park, Rowlands Gill and across the wider North East, working from our base in Blaydon-on-Tyne.

It depends on size, ground conditions, roof type, the amount of structural steel and the finish level. We quote in writing after visiting the property so the figure is based on the actual job rather than a rate per square metre.

Yes. We work to the approved plans, book the stage inspections and meet the inspector on site at foundations, damp proof course, drainage and completion.

In most cases yes. There is normally a short disruptive period when the opening between old and new is formed, and we agree that week with you in advance so you can plan around it.

They can. A lot of Consett is built on ground that was worked, tipped or reclaimed, so made ground and variable bearing capacity are genuine possibilities and a trial hole is often money well spent before anyone prices a foundation. We raise it at the quote stage rather than after the digger arrives, so you know whether an investigation or an assessment is likely to be needed.

Possibly, depending on exactly where the property sits. Consett sits well over 200 metres above sea level and Durham County Council applies the same building regulations here as anywhere, but exposure grading for driving rain is the detail that actually changes the specification of a wall. If your property is affected, the design is shaped around that from the start rather than revised afterwards.

We match as closely as the available brick allows and take samples before ordering. On older property an exact match is often impossible, so the usual approach is to choose the closest available brick and use a mortar mix and joint profile that lets the two read together.