Construction drawings in Wandsworth

Homes in Wandsworth and what they need drawn

Only 31.4 per cent of households here live in a house or bungalow, so a good share of Wandsworth projects are flats, maisonettes or conversions. Those jobs need drawings that deal with shared walls, floors between homes and access through common parts, none of which appear in a standard rear-extension pack.

Where a floor is shared, fire separation and sound performance dominate the technical details. We show the ceiling build-up, the fixing of any new beams and the penetrations for services, because the neighbour below is affected by every one of them.

In a house, the stair is usually the hardest element. The national figures are plain: Private stair: rise 150-220 mm, going 220-300 mm, max pitch 42°, 2R+G 550-700 mm, and 2.0 m clear headroom over stairs. We test the stair against the structure before the loft or extension layout is final.

Conservation areas, listing and tree constraints

The borough has 46 conservation areas, so many Wandsworth addresses carry extra scrutiny on materials, windows and roof edges. A construction set for such a house names the brick, the mortar mix, the window profile and the roof covering, giving the contractor a specification to match rather than a choice to make.

There are also 312 listed building entries. Alterations to a listed property need listed building consent, and our drawings for those homes set out repair methods and the treatment of original fabric in terms a conservation officer can read.

The planning record is a useful backdrop. Wandsworth decided 977 householder cases in its latest year and granted 91.9 per cent, with 92.4 per cent in time. Those figures are context, not a forecast for your house, and our planning drawings in Wandsworth cover the application side.

Levies, prior approval and the cost picture

Building cost is not the only charge on a new floor area. The borough's levy schedule is the Wandsworth CIL Charging Schedule, with residential rates of £1,031.39/m² (Nine Elms Residential Area A); £475.34/m² (Nine Elms Residential Area B); £0 (Roehampton Charging Area); £448.43/m² (all other areas). We note the new floor area on the drawings so the liability can be worked out early, before it surprises you at completion.

Householders extending by the larger-home route are covered by prior approval, where the council granted 13 and refused 12 in its latest national return. Nearly half were refused, so an accurate submission matters, and a lawful development certificate in Wandsworth is sometimes the safer way to settle a permitted-development question.

Energy specification is the final cost lever. New elements in existing homes must meet the limits set out as: New elements in existing dwellings, limiting U-values W/(m²·K): roof 0.15, wall 0.18, floor 0.18, windows 1.4 (or WER Band B), doors 1.4. We choose build-ups that meet those figures with the least thickness lost from your rooms.

Getting a set ready for building control

A set that serves the builder should also serve the inspector. Our drawings carry the escape window sizes, the smoke alarm grade and category, and the ventilation rates, so one document answers both. The escape window rule is Escape window: unobstructed openable area at least 0.33 m², at least 450 mm high and 450 mm wide, bottom of opening no more than 1100 mm above floor, and we show it dimensioned on every relevant elevation.

The structural engineer's calculations then slot into the same sheets; see structural calculations in Wandsworth for how that works, and building regulations drawings in Wandsworth for the submission itself. For an overview of everything we prepare in the borough, start at architectural drawings in Wandsworth.