Reda Constructions
Bringing the next room into view.
Reda Constructions
Bringing the next room into view.
An L-shaped dormer cut into the rear of a mid-terrace, hip-to-gable on the flank, a cantilevered oak staircase threading up to the eaves.
Build duration
10 weeks
Floor added
32 m²
Ensuite
Walk-in, skylight shower
Staircase
Cantilevered oak + steel
The brief
Owners of a 1898 mid-terrace wanted a principal suite for themselves and a study tucked under the eaves. The existing roof had enough headroom for a proper floor, but the staircase had to come out of a cupboard that was somebody's favourite place in the house.
The challenge
The existing landing was generous but irregular; the new staircase had to land in a logical place without cutting the floor below in two. The hip-to-gable side also required a mortared party-wall to the neighbour — a delicate matter that required two rounds of surveyor meetings.
How we built it
01
Measured survey first, establishing 2.38m of available headroom — enough for a 2.3m finished ceiling.
02
Steel schedule including a 254x254 UC and twin 178x102 rim beams to pick up new floor joists.
03
Hip-to-gable framed in dry, then mortared to the party wall from within.
04
L-shaped dormer built in two sections to minimise weather exposure, roofed in zinc to match the original Welsh slate.
05
Cantilevered oak staircase made in our Ealing workshop and fitted in three days, with hand-finished steel balustrade.
The outcome
A 32m² principal suite with ensuite, a compact study, and storage eaves behind hand-painted MDF doors. The staircase is the feature — clients' words — and now the cupboard below is a pair of wardrobes.
“We wanted the loft to feel like it had always been there. That's what we got. Two of the neighbours have since used them.”
Gallery
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