A Home Reimagined for Life on One Level

When the owners first came to us, there was already an architectural solution on the table. The garage would be converted to create the additional ground-floor accommodation required following the owner's stroke. Our initial role was therefore to cost and construct somebody else's design.

But the underlying requirement wasn't actually 'convert the garage'. It was to create a home in which both owners could continue living comfortably when one could no longer access the first floor.

That distinction eventually became fundamental to the project.

As we approached construction, we undertook further investigation into the structural alterations and existing drainage.

That work identified two significant issues. The drainage beneath the garage formed part of the United Utilities network and showed signs of damage, while the structural work required to properly convert the garage was considerably greater than originally anticipated.

Proceeding with the existing design would have added approximately £30,000 to the project. Finding that before undertaking the work gave us the opportunity to stop and reconsider the design rather than discovering the problem halfway through construction.

Our first response was to move the proposed accommodation away from the problematic garage. We designed a new extension to replace the existing rear conservatory, creating the additional accessible accommodation there instead.

However, the house had already been extended substantially at the rear at first-floor level, and the new proposal wasn't accepted by the local authority.

It would have been easy at that point to return to the original garage conversion. Instead, we reconsidered the entire ground floor.

The breakthrough came from recognising that the property already contained enough space. It simply wasn't arranged around the owners' new requirements.

We reduced the size of the existing living room and converted it into a ground-floor bedroom. At the rear, structural openings allowed the existing rooms to become one larger open-plan living space.

And rather than replacing the conservatory, we improved what was already there — introducing a solid roof and triple glazing so that it could perform thermally as part of the main living accommodation.

The design ultimately required less new space than either of the previous solutions. It required better use of the space that already existed.

The original garage-conversion scheme had been budgeted at approximately £70,000. Once the drainage and structural issues were properly understood, achieving that design would have increased the likely cost to around £95,000–£100,000.

Following the redesign, the new scheme was developed and contracted at approximately £100,000.

During construction, the owners chose to expand the scope further, including works to the driveway and enhanced internal finishes such as level-access flooring throughout the property. The final account was approximately £125,000.

The important distinction is that the movement from the contract value wasn't simply an uncontrolled increase in the cost of delivering the same work. The scope evolved as the owners chose to incorporate further improvements into the completed home.

Once the redesigned solution had been agreed, the OPB project team delivered the structural alterations, new ground-floor bedroom, open-plan living accommodation and conservatory improvements.

Level access and the additional finishing works were incorporated to create a ground floor that worked as one connected environment.

What began as a proposed garage conversion ultimately became a much broader rethink of how the owners could use their existing home.