From the Ground Up – #31

Careful Groundworks, a Two-Room Brick Build and a Porcelain Finish

In Burnham, Buckinghamshire, we have started a big orangery and patio build with careful groundworks. In East Grinstead, the brickwork is complete. And in Worthing, the roof is boarded and freshly plastered.

Busy week on site, so let’s get into it.

• This is a really exciting one. It is a big project, so we will be running it as a mini-series over the next few weeks.
• This week we cleared the site for both the orangery and a new patio of over 100sq m².
• Once we dug down, there were plenty of existing pipes to work around. We built an intricate shuttering system for the concrete, so every pipe running through the footings is protected.
• It might look messy at this stage, but that is part of building. Getting the work below ground right is what stops problems showing up years later, and it means the homeowner will not have any long-term issues with those pipes.
• Keep following this one. It is going to be an absolute showstopper.

• The brickwork is complete on what has been a project with a lot of sub-ground work including moving the manhole to make way for the build.
• We have gone for matching brick and fully filled cavity walls, so this will be a proper usable room all year round.
• As you might see from the photos, the brickwork splits the space into two separate rooms. One half will be a utility room and the other a dining room.
• Look out for this one if you are thinking about a multi-purpose space. The design goes beyond the frames on the front. It is also about how the lantern sits against the existing house and how it lets light into both rooms.
• Getting a layout like this right starts at the planning stage, which is exactly what we work through in a free 30-minute consultation.

• The roof is fitted and we have moved on to the plastering.
• The roof was fully boarded out first. This is a critical stage, because a plaster finish is normally only as good as the boarding underneath. Our team are exceptional boarders.
• Our skimmers then came in and did a fantastic job. The client told us it looks like porcelain, which is exactly what we want to hear.
• Because of the size of the box gutter, we fitted additional gallows brackets. These stop the gutter dipping over time and causing problems long term.
• Next step is second fix, and then this job is done. If you already have a quote with us, this is the level of finish we work to on every room.

That’s a Wrap For This Week

That’s it for this week’s round-up! It’s always exciting to see these spaces take shape. From first foundations to final finishes. Whether you’re mid-project, just getting started, or simply gathering ideas, we hope these updates give you a clear view of what’s possible.

👉 Book a free 30-minute consultation with one of our team. We’ll help you explore ideas, understand the process, and see what’s possible for your home.

Check back next week for more real progress from real homes – From The Ground Up.