SARAH BEENY
RENOVATE
DON'T
RELOCATE

WOKING,
SURREY

BetterLivingSpace had the pleasure of providing structural engineering expertise on Sarah Beeny's Renovate Don't Relocate show (series 2 episode 28), advising on a Woking property owned by local resident Irene.

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Irene moved into the property with her husband in 1976. Now living on her own and a grandmother to a pair of lively 3-year old twins and a 7-year old, Irene plays an active role in the daytime supervision of her grandchildren. In order to create the optimal environment for child care, several changes to the property needed to be made. 

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"I used to have a fireplace in the living room and the adjoining kitchen was laid out in a L-shape, making it near impossible for me to keep an eye on the grandchildren while I was preparing food. I was constantly worried about the twins approaching the the fireplace, so I used to barricade around it with cushions to keep them away!"

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With Sarah Beeny providing architectural design services to remodel the existing kitchen and living room, BetterLivingSpace was called in to provide the structural engineering expertise. We supplied both the structural calculations and the design framework to allow Irene to open up the back of her house and obtain a flush finish on each side, using a picture or box frame structure.

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"The day BetterLivingSpace came at my home to film I was absolutely delighted. Being able to walk through my existing home with Ed and talk through how the changes would take place from a structural perspective really brought the designs to life and gave me the full perspective of how the changes would integrate with my existing home."

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Irene's renovation project is now complete and she is delighted with the results.

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"I cannot believe how this renovation has changed my life. Having a spacious, yet cosy, modern environment makes me so happy and relaxed in my retirement years. Better still, I can now bring the grandchildren to my house because the new more open and safer layout makes this possible."

Read more about the transformation of Irene's home in our blog.