OPB — The Open Plan Building Co
Modern Open Plan Living Conversion
Projects›Modern Open Plan Living Conversion
Refurbishment◆ Heswall| Full refurbishment

Modern Open Plan Living Conversion

The customer story

The problem

A 1960s detached property in Heswall, newly bought and needing complete renovation. The owners had a clear vision — a modern, contemporary open-plan home suited to a growing family — and needed someone to make it buildable.

What we designed

The brief was specific: clean lines, natural light, current materials, and a floor level inside that runs seamlessly to the level outside so the house feels open when the bi-folds are. That last detail drives the whole build sequence and has to be designed in at ground level. The open-plan layout was found largely within the existing floor plan, with the extension adding where it was actually needed rather than everywhere.

What we built

A full renovation with an open-plan layout reworked inside the existing footprint and a modern single-storey rear extension, finished in K-rend with aluminium windows and doors and high-efficiency glass. A continuous inside-to-outside floor level at the bi-folds. A half-tonne steel craned over the roof to a position 40 metres to the rear, and a previously installed beam found to be wrong and corrected. Plastering rescheduled around the forecast so the K-rend went on in the right weather.

How it improved the way they live

The owners got the indoor-outdoor house they had pictured, delivered with minimum disruption to family life — and came back to book the retaining wall, steps and landscaping as a second stage.

In their words

The client’s own account of the project, published as they wrote it.

When we purchased our old 1960's detached property, we had a vision to create a modern contemporary "open plan" home to suit our growing family and modern lifestyle. Requiring complete renovation, OPB worked with us to turn our vision into a reality by creating an open plan layout within our existing floor plan, as well as adding a modern single story extension to the rear.

One of the key elements that we wanted to achieve was plenty of natural light flowing throughout the open plan area, as well as a layout that was conducive to family living. For the internal and external finish, we asked Paul for a modern look, with clean lines, natural light and using the most up to date materials such as K-rend, aluminium windows and doors and the most efficient glass. One of the key features we particularly wanted was for the floor level inside to blend seamlessly to the floor level outside, so that when the bi-fold doors were open, we had an indoor/outdoor feeling, which Paul and his team were able to do.

During the project Paul noticed that there was a small issue with a previously installed beam and corrected it for us without issue which was very reassuring. His team were always friendly, tidy, on time and knowledgeable. Paul worked hard to ensure that there was minimum disruption to us and our family. One notable occasion was when a large half tonne steel was delivered. Paul seamlessly coordinated the delivery with a crane and operator, overseeing the steel being lifted over the roof of our house to rear 40m away. Paul also coordinated all the additional trades required and project managed these on our behalf, such as moving plasterers jobs around to suit the weather to ensure the exterior was k-rended according to the forecast.

OPB exceeded our expectations and enabled us to achieve the vision that we had in our minds for our home. Paul and his team not only delivered everything they promised professionally and promptly, they also supported us throughout the whole process. We are so pleased with the results that we have booked them in for "Stage 2" of our project which includes a large retaining wall, steps and all the hard landscaping externally. We would recommend Wirral builders OPB without hesitation and look forward to seeing them again at Stage 2.

Gallery

Inside the finished home

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