CD Hood, commercial and domestic builders in Cambridge realise that it’s a sign of the times, that many more households are considering extending their homes into their lofts, by creating that extra bedroom, home study. It’s not only a good way to increase the size of your house, it will also increase the value. 

One of the tricky things with a building project is the time it takes to submit planning permission and so fourth, however when thinking about creating space in your loft, permission is not usually required, as it can be classed as permitted development. But permission is required when you extend or alter the roof space and it exceeds the following limits and conditions:


•    A volume allowance of 40 cubic metres additional roof space for    terraced houses*       •    A volume allowance of 50 cubic metres additional roof space for detached and semi-detached houses*
•    No extension beyond the plane of the existing roof slope of the principal elevation that   fronts the highway
•    No extension to be higher than the highest part of the roof
•    Materials to be similar in appearance to the existing house
•    No verandas, balconies or raised platforms
•    Side-facing windows to be obscure-glazed; any opening to be 1.7m above the floor
•    Roof extensions not to be permitted development in designated areas**
•    Roof extensions, apart from hip to gable ones, to be set back, as far as practicable, at least 20cm from the original eaves

If you have any bats in your roof space, as they are a protected species you will need to have a survey done, before any work starts. 

However CD Hood, commercial and residential house builders in Cambridge, can do all the work for you, either working out whether you need planning permission or helping you apply for it. So if you are thinking of cashing in the space in your attic, then why not give one of our team a call today.

Source: Planning portal

CD Hood Ltd, commercial builders in Cambridge, realise that this can take some careful consideration, and is down to both the school’s individual requirements and needs. If for example there is a leaking roof, then this will need to be repaired or replaced, as well as if a boiler that is nearly 20 years old, then provisions will be need to be put in place for its replacement. 

A building will also need to be checked by a surveyor, who will in most cases provide an appraisal of the buildings condition, to make sure there is no asbestos present, or if the electrical wiring needs replacing or if the structure dates back to 1950’s whether there is any high alumina cement concrete on the site. 

A possible survey of your school might include:

• Geotechnical – making sure the foundations of the building can be determined, taking into consideration historical drawings, any possibility of contamination, the level of the water table underneath and if there are any obstructions.

• Structural – this will explore the type and scope for any structural survey needed, and will be determined by a structural engineer of the design team, these will include electrical and mechanical. • Service below ground – these are harder to complete, and trial holes might need to be necessary to find out where they have been laid.

• Asbestos – there are three main types of asbestos, these include:

Chrysotile, this is a white curly fiber. Chrysotile accounts for 90% of asbestos products. Amosite, this is brown or grey, with straight fibers. Crocidolite, this is blue and has straight fibers, and is a member of the amphibole group
 
• Disability Discrimination Act – the shortcomings in buildings might be quite obvious, such as poor access for wheel chair users, but it will probably be worth obtaining a comprehensive assessment from a specialist. The outcome of this surveyor will enable your school to make choices about what needs to be kept, what can be repaired and what needs to be got rid of.

If you are planning your school refurbishment, then give CD Hood Commercial builders a call, we work throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex and Herts, we have a vast amount of experience in the school sector, which can be the difference between a project going slowly and not, the photograph is part of the development we completed for St Christopher's School - Why not check out some of the other school projects we have work on  @ http://www.cdhood.co.uk/projects

As the economy begins to stabilize and more companies respond to that stability  with plans to develop or revamp their work spaces CD Hood Ltd commercial Cambridgeshire builders are specialist in extensions and reception areas, developments that can make a real impression.  Alongside stability there also seems to be a broader appreciation of sustainability in any kind of build.

At CD Hood Ltd we like to keep an ear to the ground locally as to who is achieving what on the sustainability stake and it is interesting to note that the Hill Partnerships and Cambridge and County Developments are celebrating winning Best Development at the Sustain Magazine Awards. It would seem that Richard Newcombe Court on Histon Road, Cambridge, beat stiff competition to win the most prestigious prize at the industry’s leading eco awards recently.

It’s a carbon-neutral building designed to promote independent living for elderly people. There are biomass boilers, which run on locally-sourced wood pellets and feed under-floor heating, while photovoltaic cells generate electricity which can be monitored by smart metering in each flat. Andy Hill, managing director of Hill Partnerships, said: “Richard Newcombe Court is a pioneering scheme for older people, which successfully combines sustainable, independent living with a strong sense of community. We hope this model will be replicated across the country.”

Whatever the purpose of your commercial building project experienced commercial building specialists CD Hood Ltd are available to talk through your options.

It may not have been as harsh a winter as last year but as we know the winter is not over yet.  February is a good time to be making plans for any work that you might want to have done in the summer.  CD Hood Ltd experienced Cambridgeshire builders are always looking at the technology out there to improve on domestic or commercial building projects in Cambridgeshire. It is interesting to note that Sempatap Thermal insulation for solid wall homes was a massive hit with visitors to Ecobuild last year.   

You might have seen similar products on the likes on BBC 1’s D.I.Y SOS where they have used more and more Eco-friendly products to try and maximize the energy efficiency of the homes they work on.  With the increased cost of fuel and in particular trying to keep a solid wall home warm, everybody is interested in ways to reduce their heating bills.  Sempatap Thermal is the economical solution to insulating your solid wall home and there is now a Application DVD available which demonstrates how easy and quick it is to apply if you want to look it up.  

At CD Hood Ltd our experience as building experts means we are always happy to work with you to incorporate as many new technologies into your new build or retrofit of a building as you can afford or require. Insulating from the outside in is just another possibility to look at in the range of home improvements out there on the market.
 

In order to be most effective, refurbishment projects must adopt a whole building approach and think about carbon reduction as an end-to-end process, from the very beginning with the design team, through to collaboration with the occupier. It can also be useful for an individual to adopt the role of carbon monitor throughout a project to ensure that the different stages fit together cohesively.

Experienced commercial builders, CD Hood Ltd like the whole building approach and have teams of people they can work with to deliver any commercial building needs.

Some of the  key factors involve CD Hood Ltd have noticed are involved are:
• Developers, design teams and contractors working together on the project from the outset.
• Dispelling the myth that a green retrofit is more expensive.
• Translating carbon reduction goals into the language of business metrics by illustrating the value added.
• Investing additional capital expenditure, proving the market valuation and partnering with third party funders.
• Flexible funding mechanisms to overcome unwillingness from organisations to invest in initiatives where the payback is longer than five years.

Almost any successful building project requires a whole building approach so that purpose and design factors can be delivered by reputable builders like CD Hood Ltd of Cambridgeshire.  If your building project requires this kind of approach CD Hood Ltd are happy to form a range of collaborations to help you achieve your aim and talk you through your options of how to achieve it.