Case Studies

Our clients were a family of ex-pats looking to return to the UK after many years overseas. Their journey began by acquiring a large Victorian country house which had previously been occupied by the same owners for nearly half a century. The house provided a wonderful opportunity to blend old and new but needed complete modernisation throughout including some internal structural alterations and an extension to replace the dated conservatory [3].

The process started with a full building survey and report to help inform all subsequent decisions. Following purchase, a measured survey [1] was carried out to identify the building’s full geometry including all door and window sizes and locations.

A detailed planning application followed in what was a very sensitive location, with conservation very much at the heart of the planners’ agenda [2]. Once planning and building control approval had been secured, a robust process to determine specifications was carried out with the clients making the majority of the decisions required involving new flooring, bathrooms, kitchen, heating, plumbing, ventilation, electrics, communications and thermal upgrades, where appropriate. All the windows and doors were also eventually replaced with carefully chosen replacements.

A tender exercise then followed and, after the selection and appointment of the main contractor, the project was delivered over the subsequent 11 months with full Contract Administration services being provided by Dobanti [4].

"Tim Doherty...carried out the survey in a very professional and timely manner, and produced for us a comprehensive report with photographic evidence of works required, which as we are currently living abroad we did find very useful. Tim is easy to communicate and work with, so we are delighted he is now project managing the rest of the renovation of our house."