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Hoos

London, Greater London, Hackney

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‘19 Certificate of Excellence, 2019

About

We can guide you through the process, getting the perfect costed design through planning, finding and selecting the right builder to assisting with onsite management of contracts.

Good design doesn’t need to be expensive. We aren’t the cheapest architects but we are competitive and we do deliver excellent value.

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5/5

1 customer review

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23 February 2018

Great practice. Chris was friendly & professional & listened carefully to our ideas before coming up with a beautiful design for our home. We were worried about the planning application as we live in a conservation area but thanks to Chris’s gentle yet determined interaction with the planning office it went through without a hitch! Would definitely recommend More...

Reviewed on Google Maps

17 January 2018

We are very thankful to Hoos for helping us obtain the planning permission for the rear extension in North London. Tom is highly professional, detail-oriented, friendly. The quality of his work exceeded our expectation. We will recommend Hoos to anyone we know. More...

Q&As

Most garages are suitable for conversion, it depends on what you want to do with it and its relationship to the rest of the house [and your budget!]. Suitability is determined by planning [are you allowed] and construction/ building control [is it feasible]. Most garages are.

In terms of planning:
- Are you in a conservation area?
- Is your home a listed building?
- Is your home in an area subject to an article 4 direction?

Planning:
If you can answer no to all these questions, in planning terms it is suitable. Even if you answered no, it may require a planning application. This though is nothing fear, planning encourages sustainable development and in the context of a housing crisis, enlarging homes by converting the garage is a highly sustainable thing to do.

Building Control:
In building control terms, it shouldn't be problematic. The conversion will likely require lining the inside of the garage with insulation [walls, floor, ceiling] - but you don't want to be cold and you won't pass building regulations otherwise. The previous opening from the garage to the driveway will likely require strip foundations or similar to support the infilled opening.

Step 01 - Background check to identify whether conversion qualifies as permitted development or requires planning permission.
Step 02 - Measured survey of the garage and connection to main house to identify potential build issues and create sketch proposals.
Step 03 - Appointment of other consultants if required [E.G Party Wall Surveyor, Structural Engineer].
Step 04 - Client sign off of drawings, application for planning or Lawful Development Certificate. Development of detailed tender and building regulation stage drawings.
Step 05- Tender to 3 builders.
Step 06 - Selection of builder and construction.

Most lofts are suitable for conversion. The two most significant questions to ask are:

01 - Do permitted development rights apply to the house?

02 - Is there enough head height to the underside of the existing roof ridge line to allow the conversion? If not, the roof ridge will require to be raised and the conversion will require planning permission. This is not somethin g to fear, most local authorities allow for loft conversions, but it may impact on what you can achieve within the conversion .

03 - To what extent can the existing roof structure accommodate the conversion? Post war properties from the 1950s onwards can often have very economical use of rafters and joists, requiring greater structural work to accommodate a conversion. This doesn't prohibit conversion but it does have to accounted for in the budget.

01 - We establish your ambitions and the brief for the loft conversion. Are you looking for a complete transformation bedroom suite with lux bathroom or something more simple? We establish the budget.

02 - We review the loft space and planning context to establish the feasibility of conversion inline with your budget.

03 - We survey the loft and put together sketch proposals that are developed into the ideal design.

04 - The proposals are submitted to planning or for a lawful development certificate if required and drawn up to tender and building control stage drawings.

Step 05- We tender to 3 builders.

Step 06 - Selection of builder and construction begins.

We really love the feel good factor of the finished project and the transformation of client's homes. A close second is overcoming and problem solving along the way.

As a practice we work across scales, up to apartments buildings and beyond, but we love the detail and personal stories of working in smaller projects. Having our own practice allows us to do this and work with a wide variety of people.

We bring panache and distinction to projects, delivered efficiently throughout the life of the project.

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