Double Storey Rear Extension — Bishop's Hull, Taunton
The clients — a family of four in Bishop's Hull on the western edge of Taunton — approached us with a common challenge: a growing family in a home that had simply stopped meeting their needs. The existing kitchen was too small, they had no dining space, and a third bedroom would transform the home for their children.
After an initial consultation and design meeting, we proposed a double storey rear extension — 22.5m² per floor — that would deliver an open-plan kitchen-diner with direct access to the garden on the ground floor, and a new master bedroom with en-suite bathroom above. The existing master bedroom would then become a third child's bedroom.
Planning & Design
The property is a 1960s detached house in a residential area of Taunton, which meant the extension fell within Permitted Development rules — no planning permission required. However, building regulations approval was needed, and we engaged a structural engineer to design the steel beam requirements for the open-plan layout.
Our in-house designer worked with the family to produce detailed drawings and a specification that maximised the kitchen-diner space, incorporating a large bi-fold door across the full rear width to blur the boundary between inside and outside in the summer months.
The Build
The build programme ran over 16 weeks from groundworks to final decoration. Key stages included:
Weeks 1–3
Strip foundations, concrete pour and block and beam ground floor.
Weeks 4–6
Block and beam first floor, structural steel installation for open plan, external walls to eaves.
Weeks 7–9
Roof structure, roofing felt, batten and tiles to match existing. Bi-fold door and window installation.
Weeks 10–12
First fix electrics, plumbing and underfloor heating. Insulation and plasterboard throughout.
Weeks 13–14
Plastering, second fix joinery, skirting and doors.
Weeks 15–16
En-suite bathroom tiling and fitting. Final decoration. Site clean and handover.
The Result
The completed extension transformed the home. The ground floor now flows from the original sitting room through a wide opening (facilitated by the new structural steel) into a spacious kitchen-diner that opens fully to the garden in summer. The kitchen was installed by our joinery team and features quartz worktops, integrated appliances and under-cabinet lighting.
Upstairs, the new master bedroom looks out over the garden and benefits from a fully tiled en-suite bathroom with walk-in shower, vanity unit and heated towel rail. The existing family bathroom remains available for the rest of the household.
The project was delivered within the original fixed-price contract, on programme, and the family were able to remain in the property throughout the build with only temporary disruption to the kitchen during the structural works.
