Rear Extension & Internal Alterations, Richmond upon Thames SW14
A full design-and-build of a single-storey rear extension and an open-plan reconfiguration of the ground floor of a detached home in East Sheen, SW14, taken from structural design through to completed construction by EMA Structures.
This Richmond upon Thames project is a familiar one for many London homeowners: extend at the rear and open up the ground floor to create a bright, connected kitchen and living space. EMA Structures delivered it as a single design-and-build project, taking it from the first structural calculations all the way through to the finished, constructed home, with one team responsible throughout.
The brief
The owners of this detached property wanted a single-storey rear extension and a reworked, open-plan ground floor with large glazed openings to the garden and roof lights overhead. The challenge is straightforward to describe and important to get right: take out load-bearing walls and form wide openings without compromising the structure above, then build it cleanly.
The structural design
EMA designed the structural scheme for the works, including the new steel beams needed to support the existing structure where internal and external walls were removed, the foundations for the new extension, and the supporting Building Regulations calculations. The steelwork, visible spanning the opened-up rear in the aerial photograph, transfers the loads from above into the retained structure and new supports, allowing the wide sliding doors and open-plan layout the owners wanted.
Foundations and construction
With the design fixed, the same team carried out the build. EMA installed the foundations and groundworks suited to the ground and to the extension's position close to the boundary and existing structure, erected the new structure and steelwork, and managed the works on site through to completion under Building Control. Designing and building under one roof kept the engineering intent and the construction aligned at every stage, with no gap between the drawings and what was actually built.
Outcome
The finished result is a larger, lighter home: an open-plan ground floor flooded with natural light from full-width sliding doors and roof lights, delivered end to end, from first calculations through to completed construction, by a single engineering-led team.
From steelwork to a finished open-plan home
How we delivered this
This design-and-build project drew on EMA's structural design, groundworks and project delivery capabilities, all from one team.
Planning an extension or opening up your ground floor?
Send us your drawings, photos or a short description. We can provide the structural design alone, or design and build the whole project as a single team, from steel beams and foundations to completed construction.