Refurbishments & Renovations

Conservation

With more than 4,500 projects completed, Croft Structural + Civil Engineers has without doubt the skills, expertise & knowledge to place it as a leading force in the building refurbishment field. The company has developed an ideology to follow when involved in refurbishment projects:

• Investigate
• Review
• Retain
• Renew

With this approach, all projects whether large or small, obtain the correct level of service. For projects of particularly high conservation needs Croft has a sub consultant who is CARE qualified (a conservation and renovation engineer). There are only around 20 such engineers in the country. The production of drawings for construction work is the company’s core role and all designs from 2012 have been Eurocode-compliant. Before any structural design is completed the brief is reviewed with our clients, site visits and inspections are undertaken, structural calculations are defined for all elements, and only then are the drawings produced.

Residential Refurbishment Approach

People’s most valued asset is their home. Making alterations and changes requires forethought and there is one chance to get it right. Our approach is to help you through the process as smoothly as possible.

The Process

Arrange a site visit to discuss the works, to allow the scope of works to be agreed. During the survey the engineer will discuss various issues:

• Discuss how the structure will be removed, and where will temporary propping be required.
• Consider Party Walls issues and other implications on neighbours.
• Inspect the property to determine whether there are repairs or defects local to the works that should be discussed.

An Engineer will survey the local trees to see how they may affect the foundations and review the geological drift sheets to determine the type of ground expected.

• Produce structural plans either from architectural plans provided or a dimension survey. From these the structural information can be shown.
• Undertake the structural design. Once the information has been gathered a Structural Engineer will spend time considering the implications of the alterations and what new structure is required to allow the loads to flow through to the footings. This process produces a pack of calculations that are used to explain our thoughts to Building control. Once this is completed drawings are produced for the builder to price and construct.
• Make an assessment of the impact of the local ground conditions. First from the geological maps, but it is often necessary to excavate trial pits or arrange for full soil testing.
• Compile and issue information for Part A of the building Regulations
• Help with the tender process. Croft has a large database of contractors.
• Visit site and inspect the works.
• We work for you to ensure the project is designed, run and built correctly.