Castle Wren Ltd

This comprehensive garden revamp started with a relevelling of the surface to create a single, large area that could be enjoyed by all the family.  We reclaimed around 100sqm for the client and put up a new border fence.  A concrete slab was laid for a large garden building before we laid porcelain paving and an artificial lawn to the customers own design.

Working with a partner developer, we undertook the groundworks, drainage and structural steelworks on this tricky extension to the rear of a terraced property in the heart of Cambridge.

Deep, hand dug foundations were required, and we needed to overcome a variety of access issues to remove spoil and pump concrete from the street some 25 metres away.

The shell and core build of a traditionally constructed scheme of 6 bungalows in the centre of Royston, Hertfordshire.  This highly energy efficient build took advantage of the latest version of building regulations and using the most modern standards of insulation in a traditional build.

The scheme incorporated a number of design themes, including classic clay heritage brick and timber cladding over blockwork.

This major project was undertaken over a year and comprised a wide variety of jobs for a large, luxury home in North Chingford.

The works included a new full width extension, and opening up of the ground floor to create a huge new entertaining space.  A new sunken lounge / min basement was constructed.

In the garden, new decorative brick walls were constructed throughout, new garden buildings were built and a large retaining wall constructed to hold back the large slope at the rear of the garden.  

At the top, a large reinforced raft was built to accommodate a garden building in the future.  Artificial grass was laid throughout, and 120 linear metres of fencing.

At the front of the property, decorative walls were built to the sides and front, and new pads incorporated to accommodate electric gates.  A new driveway in decorative granite and a matching pathway to the side was laid and matched in with the patio to the rear of the house

Working with a development partner, we delivered the enabling works for this extension to a grand, listed property in the Cambridgeshire village of Great Shelford.  The works included the groundworks, brickwork up to DPC, a block and beam floor and drainage, plus the installation of a natural french limestone patio and general landscaping to the large gardens.

A sensitive demolition of a collection of buildings in a historical context as part of King James I's palace complex in the centre of Royston.  Subject to archeological interest, difficult access arrangements and asbestos to remove, this demolition was the first stage in the development of a courtyard scheme for 6 bungalows.  We crushed the demolition arisings and re-used them elsewhere in the scheme, drastically reducing the amount of waste to be taken away from site.

Clearance and remediation of a 3 acre site to enable the storage of cars for a large motor trader.  Job included the construction of large security bunds around the site, as well as the levelling and resurfacing of the ground with recycled hardcore.

Demolition is a core part of our business, and we undertake demolition projects of all sizes not only in our home area of Hertfordshire but right across the south and east of the country.

This straightforward demolition of a traditionally built brick and timber bungalow, was met by stiff neighborhood resistance throughout the lifecycle of the project.  A very narrow road, difficult for large vehicles and plant to use, and a wide number of community issues had to be overcome.  Despite daily resistance from neighbours, we worked closely with the local planning department, building control, the HSE and wider community stakeholders to get it across the line.

Once the asbestos had been removed, we were able to achieve around 98% efficiency re-using materials from the demolition.

This small underpinning solution was required as part of a wider project to build an extension to this traditional property.  Located in the heart of Chigwell, we were able to complete this underpin over two phases.

A mixture of small existing footings, historical footings from earlier structures and gaps where no foundations whatsoever meant that we needed to construct a single, contiguous foundation tied together with steel bars to a uniform depth.

We were able to remove sections of the driveway in order to excavate 1.2m wide pins and on completion, we reinstated the driveway in full without needing to introduce any new paving, reducing the visual impact on site.

Working with a development partner, this project delivered the groundworks and drainage for a new extension to the rear of a grand, listed, Victorian property in the heart of Royston.

During the excavation works, three wells were found in the rear garden which needed to be decommissioned, and the structural design changed to take this into account.  

As part of a larger demolition and groundworks project near Ware, Hertfordshire, we were asked to remove a traditional chrysotile asbestos tiled roof.

The bungalow, which was constructed at the turn of the last century, had been clad in asbestos tiles since the 1950's and these needed to be safely removed and disposed of at a licensed facility before demolition could take place.

We undertake a wide range of asbestos removal projects across Hertfordshire and the local region, and due to the space constraints on site a bespoke risk assessment was required to ensure that our team and the local residents were safe whilst the work was ongoing.

Underpinning is a key specialism for us, and we take on underpinning projects all over the country.  This large family bungalow in Cambridgeshire had been badly damaged by subsidence and we were required to undertake a large scheme which introduced a new foundation around the whole perimeter of the property.  

The engineer stipulated that the scheme be undertaken in four phases, using steel bar to tie new foundations into existing ones, and using a fibre reinforced concrete with anti shrinkage agent to remove the need for dry packing and to reduce the time taken between phases

Due to the position of the site and unstable ground conditions, much of the dig was undertaken manually and smaller concrete lorries and muck grab trucks were used.

As part of a wider small housing development of apartments in Woodford Green, we were instructed to take on the demolition of this building which was built to take advantage of the unusually shaped plot.  

Damaged by fire in the past, the roof structure and much of the internal studwork was unstable and required a detailed risk assessment to ensure that our team and the public were safe.  The location, next to a main road, and used as a key route for people taking their children to the adjacent primary school it required us to take the structure down quickly, safely and to take all of the arisings away without overlapping with the school drop off and pickup times.

We were appointed to take on this large underpinning project on the Herts/Bucks borders by a local property developer, as enabling work for a full height wraparound extension.  The developer wanted to make use of the existing single storey structure, so improved foundations were required.  Alongside the technical groundwork, we took care of a number of other tasks for our client including the creation of improved access to site, renewing the foul and surface drainage for the property, doubling the size of the driveway and the clearance and landscaping of much of the garden.

This project was carried out over 6 weeks over multiple phases.

Site enablement for a large new 4500sqft luxury home in the village of Braughing Friars.  The project included site clearance, footings, brickwork up to DPC, traditional slab oversite, drainage and services provision, including working with electricity, broadband and water suppliers to bring new services to site.