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Richmond upon Thames, London

M&E drawings in Richmond upon Thames

A house in Richmond upon Thames is more likely to be a period semi by the river than a modern box, and its services have to fit around brick, timber floors and sometimes a flood line. We produce M&E drawings for Richmond upon Thames houses and extensions: the fans, circuits, alarms and routes on one set that your electrician and builder can price from. Fixed quote after a free constraints check.

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We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
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    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on m&e drawings

    Four steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Building regulations

      Technical drawings are coordinated with the structural engineer's calculations, the drainage and the planning conditions.

    4. Approval and hand-over

      Building control approval, then a next-steps pack covering the commencement notice, party wall timing and CIL.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

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    Two-storey rear extension under construction on a semi-detached house

    What Richmond's validation checklist asks of services design

    The borough adopted a fresh Local Validation Checklist for All Applications this February, and two of its items land on a services drawing. Item forty-nine is the energy statement. Its trigger is recorded here as: One dwelling or more; non-residential over 100 sqm. That wording catches extensions and conversions as well as new builds, so a modest scheme can still be asked for an energy narrative, with a sustainable construction checklist alongside it.

    The second is drainage. Item thirty-six asks for a drainage strategy with SuDS, and the checklist ties it to this scope: Majors or flood-risk sites; Proforma. It also bars new self-contained basements and basement bedrooms in the higher flood zones. If your project includes a lower-ground room near the river, say so when you ask for a quote, because it changes what the sheets have to show.

    Neither item replaces an M&E set, but the set is where the answers come from. The energy statement needs a heat source, a ventilation strategy and lighting efficiency stated plainly, and the drainage strategy needs the wet routes. Drawing them early means the planning documents and the Building Regulations package describe the same house.

    House extension under construction with scaffolding, new glazed doors and building materials

    Local figures for Richmond upon Thames

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Item 49 Energy Statement: required for new residential creating 1 dwelling or more (new build, change of use, extensions, conversions) and for non-residential over 100 sqm; follow GLA Be Lean/Clean/Green, show Local Plan Policy 4 on-site carbon reduction, and address offsetting. Item 48 Sustainable Construction Checklist also applies.One dwelling or more; non-residential over 100 sqm—richmond.gov.uk, Richmond upon Thames Local Validation Checklist for All Applications (adopted 19 February 2026, in effect 20 February 2026), items 48-49, p.25
    Item 36 Drainage Strategy incorporating SuDS: required for all major development and for other development with fluvial, surface-water, groundwater or sewer flood risk, with the London Sustainable Drainage Proforma completed and a long-term maintenance statement. New self-contained basements and basement bedrooms are not permitted in Flood Zones 2 and 3 (Policy 8).Majors or flood-risk sites; Proforma—richmond.gov.uk, Richmond upon Thames Local Validation Checklist for All Applications (adopted 19 February 2026, in effect 20 February 2026), items 36-37, p.19-20
    Conservation areas85 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries819 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    worldHeritageSites1 World Heritage Sites intersecting the LPA boundary—planning.data.gov.uk
    Households living in a house59.8 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Householder decisions1,302 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted83.3 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    AD F Vol 1 (2021), Table 1.1 intermittent extract, PDF p.16; 2026 edition Table 1.16 l/s—gov.uk
    Building Regulations 2010 reg.12(6A) and (9); AD P (2013) para 2.5, PDF p.14new circuit; consumer unit replacement; additions or alterations to circuits in a special location—legislation.gov.uk
    AD F Vol 1 (2021), Table 1.1 intermittent extract, PDF p.16; 2026 edition Table 1.130 l/s—gov.uk
    AD F Vol 1 (2021), Table 1.1 intermittent extract, PDF p.16; 2026 edition Table 1.115 l/s—gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Councils bordering Richmond upon Thames
    Building regulations, layer by layerPart A: structure: Approved Document A: Structure, 2004 edition incorporating 2004, 2010 and 2013 amendments. Part B: fire safety: All dwellings: fire detection and alarm system minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 (BS 5839-6), mains-operated smoke alarms to BS EN 14604. Part L: insulation: 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. Part K: stairs: 2.0 m clear headroom over stairs. Full plans application: Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writingPart A: structurePart B: fire safetyPart L: insulationPart K: stairsFull plans applicationABCDE

    Building regulations, layer by layer

    The Approved Documents that shape most house projects, from structure to the application itself.

    A · Part A: structure
    Approved Document A: Structure, 2004 edition incorporating 2004, 2010 and 2013 amendments
    B · Part B: fire safety
    All dwellings: fire detection and alarm system minimum Grade D2 Category LD3 (BS 5839-6), mains-operated smoke alarms to BS EN 14604
    C · Part L: insulation
    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
    D · Part K: stairs
    2.0 m clear headroom over stairs
    E · Full plans application
    Building control body must decide a full plans application within 5 weeks, or longer if agreed in writing

    Period houses, listed buildings and where plant can go

    Richmond has 85 conservation areas, 819 listed building entries and 1 World Heritage Site. Those numbers matter to services because most visible plant is external: a boiler flue, a heat pump, an extract terminal or an electric vehicle charger on a front wall.

    In a conservation area we put terminals on the rear or a side return wherever the layout allows, and the drawing marks the alternative route if a rear wall is party or blocked. On a listed house we keep new penetrations out of historic fabric, and we say honestly when a consent question needs to be settled before the sheets are issued.

    The borough's House Extensions and External Alterations SPD is the guidance an officer will have open when your application arrives. It deals with how an extension looks and sits against neighbours. Services affect that more than owners expect: a ridge flue, a rooftop condenser or a row of louvres can undo a careful elevation.

    Ventilation and electrical figures we draw to

    Richmond has a settled housing stock, with 59.8 per cent of households living in a house rather than a flat. Owners of houses tend to refit a whole floor at once, so a new kitchen, a new bathroom and rewiring arrive together.

    Each wet room gets a fan duty from Approved Document F. A kitchen hood venting outside needs 30 l/s, a bathroom 15 l/s, and a separate toilet 6 l/s. In a deep Victorian plan the fan may be a long way from an outside wall, so we test the duct run on the model and move the fan before the plasterer arrives.

    On the electrical side, notifiable work under Part P includes: new circuit; consumer unit replacement; additions or alterations to circuits in a special location. Your electrician certifies and notifies it, and our sheets give them the circuit schedule to work from. We do not certify installation.

    How the Richmond set is built and used

    You receive a lighting and power plan for each floor, a ventilation plan with every fan and duty marked, a consumer unit schematic, an alarm layout and a short note listing the notifiable items. A second technologist checks the set before it reaches you.

    It sits beside our building regulations drawings in Richmond upon Thames, and the same information feeds your builder's price. For the engineering behind heating and hot water, see our MEP design service. Wider borough context is on our page for architectural drawings in Richmond upon Thames.

    Over the latest year the council decided 1,302 householder applications and granted 83.3 per cent of them. A clear drawing set does not decide an outcome, but it avoids delay at validation. Send us your plans and we will quote a fixed fee after a free constraints check.

    What you receive

    Building regulations section drawing showing the construction build-up
    Sample drawing. Building regulations section showing construction build-up for a building control check.
    Brick house being extended, with a wide new opening supported over the ground floor
    Every layer specified
    Move across to open the layers; move down to pick one.

    Other services in Richmond upon Thames

    M&E drawings nearby

    Questions

    Does Richmond upon Thames need an energy statement for a house extension?

    The checklist sets the trigger at one new dwelling or more, and it lists extensions and conversions in that group. A plain householder extension is usually outside it, but check with the case officer, and we can note the services strategy on the sheets either way.

    Can M&E drawings help with the Richmond drainage item?

    Yes. The drainage strategy is mostly wet routes, outfalls and surface-water control. Our sheets show the foul and rainwater routes in the same model, which your drainage designer can build on.

    Where do you put a flue or extract terminal on a Richmond conservation-area house?

    On the rear or a side elevation when the plan allows. The drawing shows the preferred route and a fallback, and flags any case where the front wall is the only option.

    How is the work priced?

    As a fixed quote after a free constraints check. The price follows the number of floors and systems, so we quote once we have seen your plans.

    Sources and dates

    City of London skyline glowing at dusk across the Thames under a dramatic orange sky

    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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