Background
This five-storey London townhouse was undergoing major refurbishment. The homeowner had originally appointed a design & build contractor to handle everything from structure to finishes, but once works began, the limitations of that approach became clear.
When chimney flues were discovered running through the party walls, the contractor’s engineer revised the structural design: adding £70,000 of steel to solve the issue. Concerned by the scale (and cost) of the changes, the homeowner asked Re-Structured to take a second look.
Our assessment
We reviewed the structural design and quickly identified over-specification across both the steelwork and concrete. More importantly, the design hadn’t adequately accounted for the lateral stability of the existing structure.
We recommended additional investigative work — including a flue survey — to understand where new steel could bear into the party walls more efficiently. With this insight, we were able to redesign the structure and reduce material use significantly.
Around this time, the homeowner also brought in MacLean Architecture + Design, replacing the design & build contractor with a more collaborative team.