PAYTE
Extension Architect Richmond
Principal Designer & Higher Risk Building Expert
Our Richmond architects have extensive experience in extension architecture, specialising in loft conversions, basement extensions, bespoke extensions, rear extensions, two-storey and single-storey extensions, contemporary designs, double-storey extensions, Mansard roof extensions, and ground-floor extensions.
house extension architect Richmond
Our firm specialises in house architecture in Richmond, most commonly Victorian houses. We take pride in helping our clients enhance their property value while optimising space. We create bespoke designs and contemporary design extensions with interior reconfigurations to maximise natural light and extra space. Our creative design team elevates the planning process to a new level.
As a leading architectural practice, we specialise in helping homeowners navigate the planning process, building regulations, planning permissions, party walls, and building control. Our experienced team handles all regulatory challenges in extension projects, making your home’s transformation seamless and stress-free.
We carry out architectural work for rear, wraparound, side return, or infill extensions to best suit your space and increase its value. We begin with our design process, initial drawings, structural calculations, and 3D visualisations to assist clients in picturing the transformation, alongside a precise scope of work for the building contractor. Let us help expand your floor space and elevate your property’s worth. Our expertise ensures that each project is expertly designed to meet your specific needs.
Being an experienced West London extension architects firm, we deliver bespoke residential design solutions tailored to the character, planning context, and long-term value of each home.
apartment Extension architects
We specialise in providing comprehensive design and architectural services for apartment extensions in Richmond. Our offerings include detailed planning advice, design layout changes, custom joinery, and regulatory drawing preparations. Whether you are looking to completely revamp your apartment’s layout or to implement specific modifications, we manage every aspect of the project.
Our services encompass the entire process, from securing planning permission and building approvals to obtaining landlord consents and the necessary license to alter documentation. We also handle all planning applications ourselves.
Additionally, we offer project management as part of our complete service package. Our architectural service ensures a seamless transformation of your space, enhancing both functionality and aesthetics to create modern, stylish living environments.
As experienced house extension architects, we design thoughtful, well-considered extensions tailored to each property’s character, planning context, and long-term value.
extension conversion package
3 Meter rear extensions package
£60,000.00 INC. VAT
What’s included:
6 Meter rear extensions package
£104,700.00 INC. VAT
What’s included:
At Payte Architects London, our rear extension service is about making it simple to gain more space without losing control of cost or complexity. With over 10 years’ experience on Richmond homes, we offer two fixed‑price packages at three and six metres (including VAT), so you choose how far to extend and we handle design, approvals and on‑site work up to first fix.
You’ll work with a friendly architectural team that actually picks up the phone. All architectural work is carried out by architects registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) or chartered with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), and we coordinate closely with our dedicated extension build team so design and construction stay joined‑up from day one.
We take care of the planning route – from Lawful Development Certificates for three‑metre projects to prior‑approval applications for six‑metre schemes – using our experience with boroughs such as Haringey Council’s planning team, Lambeth Council’s planning service and Brent Council planning to shape proposals around what local councils typically support.
Throughout, we keep communication simple and regular so you always know where your project is and what’s coming next, aiming for a bright, well‑built Richmond extension that quickly becomes the main room everyone uses.
Exclusions
This package is not applicable to property where you need planning permission or listed building consent, or if there is an article 4 on your property.
In addition to the above, the following exclusion applies:
- Party wall award
- Building control fees
- Any specialist consultants
- Asbestos removal fees
- Finishing (sanitary ware, tiling, floor finishing, wall finishing, joinery).
- Party wall award
- Building control fees
- Any specialist consultants
- Asbestos removal fees
- Finishing (sanitary ware, tiling, floor finishing, wall finishing, joinery).
ARRANGE A FREE CONSULTATION
Arrange a free consultation with one of Londons finest architect firms, we offer clients a 30 minute consultation.
FREE NO OBLIGATION CONSULTATION
VIRTUAL CONSULTATION AVAILABLE
ON SITE CONSULTATION AVAILABLE
Innovative Richmond Extensions Crafted with Exceptional Architecture
Our Richmond architects create smart, sustainable extensions that suit your space perfectly.
Wraparound
We specialise in wrap-around extensions. This is a popular way to expand and transform properties. This extension combines a rear and side addition. It creates an L-shape that expands ground-floor space. This is ideal for open-plan kitchens, living spaces, or adaptable rooms that fit modern lifestyles. We handle everything from design and planning permission to construction.
Single Storey
A single-storey extension can really boost space in your Richmond property. It can be added to the back or side of the property. This addition offers more space for a modern kitchen, a living area, or a home office. This extension improves the flow inside and makes the property more practical. Our architectural team makes it easy for you to get great results that suit your property.
Multi Storey
A multi-storey extension in Richmond can provide a lot of space. You can use it for extra bedrooms, bigger living areas, or more bathrooms. Building up on your property lets you make the most of it without losing any garden space. We take care of everything. This includes planning, permissions, and construction. We ensure your extension fits well with the current architecture.
Side Return
A side return extension utilises the unused space beside your home. You often find this add on in Victorian and Edwardian buildings in Richmond. Clients can extend into this narrow area to make a wider, open-plan kitchen. This change will let in more natural light. Our architects are experts in side return extensions. These designs boost functionality and add to the property’s value.
Rear Extension
A rear extension expands the back of your property. This gives you room for an open-plan kitchen, a larger dining area, or a more spacious living room. This is ideal for clients looking to improve their ground floor. These extensions boost natural light and link indoor and outdoor spaces smoothly. We create rear extensions that match your home’s style. They also boost efficiency and value.
Seamless Richmond Home Extensions from Concept to Completion
Our team of architects, designers, and builders in Richmond creates stylish and practical home extensions. We handle each stage, from the first meeting to the final build, with care and precision.
Free Initial Consultation
In your 30-minute free consultation, we’ll discuss your project vision, design choices, size, and budget for the extension. This process ensures that we can align your ideas with the practical aspects of the project with accuracy.
Full Architecture Service
We offer bespoke services for home extensions. This features on-site assessments, detailed drawings, 3D visualisations, planning applications, and tender management. We customise each service to meet your unique needs.
Planning & Permissions
Our Richmond architects focus on extension planning. Our professional practice handles it all, from the initial idea to final approval. We carefully find ways to handle local rules, stay within zoning laws, and meet building codes.
Complete Building Works
We’re a full-service architecture firm that specialises in extensions. We have in-house architects, interior designers, and building contractors. Our team ensure easy collaboration, guiding your project till its delivery.
Local Topic
General information only. Planning and licensing rules change and depend on the individual property. This article is not legal or professional advice.
RICHMOND — EXTENDING AMONG PROTECTED TREES: TPOS AND ROOT PROTECTION ZONES (TREE REGS 2012; BS 5837)
The most important consultee on many Richmond extensions has been standing in the garden for eighty years.
This is London’s leafiest borough by some distance, and the mature oak, plane or cedar beside your plot isn’t scenery — legally and structurally, it’s a stakeholder.
The tree’s legal team
Two protections operate here, and Richmond deploys both liberally. Tree Preservation Orders, made under the 2012 Tree Regulations, make it an offence to cut down, top, lop or wilfully damage a protected tree — and damage includes what an excavator does to roots it never saw.
Conservation area status adds notice requirements for work to almost any sizeable tree. Between them, a large share of Richmond’s garden trees have paperwork, and Richmond’s tree officers are among the most engaged in London.
The phrase that governs design is the root protection area — calculated under BS 5837, the standard for trees on construction sites, as a circle whose radius is twelve times the trunk’s diameter.
Inside that circle, the default answer to digging is no.
Designing with the canopy
None of this forbids extending. It reframes it. An arboriculturist’s report — the Arboricultural Association lists accredited consultants — joins the team early, maps the RPAs, and the design responds: foundations moved outside the root zone, or switched to solutions that bridge rather than sever.
Screw piles and suspended ground beams have saved more Richmond schemes than any planning argument. Site logistics obey the same circle: no skips, spoil or cement washout parked on roots, with protective fencing up before the first delivery.
There’s a structural angle your engineer will raise unprompted: on clay-bearing pockets of the borough, big trees and shallow foundations interact through seasonal moisture movement, so foundation depths get designed against the tree that stays. And against the ghost of any tree that’s removed, because clay swells back for years after a felling.
One habit worth copying: the crown spread and RPAs go onto the survey drawing on day one, and the arboriculturist’s method statement travels to site in the contractor’s folder.
Because the penalty for wilful damage to a protected tree can reach an unlimited fine, and “the digger driver didn’t know” has never once worked.
The mature tree costs your extension some freedom and repays it with the thing no budget can buy: a finished room looking into an established canopy. Design around the trunk like it holds a grudge. It does, and it outlasts appeals.
Richmond Home Extension Planning, Design, and Construction
Feasibility Studies for Home Extensions
Our Richmond property extension architects carry out comprehensive feasibility studies. They look at structural integrity, space potential, and costs. This ensures that property expansions are smart and efficient.
Planning Permission for Extensions
Our team of architects collaborates with local councils. We navigate planning policies, building codes, and zoning laws to ensure smooth compliance. Our expertise simplifies the process, providing a stress-free experience.
Project Management and Contractor Coordination
We monitor construction progress, project timelines, and project quality. This way, we ensure everything operates without issues and according to schedule. We focus on details to ensure everything runs smoothly from start to finish.
Sustainable Extension Materials & Energy Efficiency
Our eco-friendly extension designs and insulation solutions improve property energy efficiency, sustainability, and comfort. Our approach reduces environmental impact and improves thermal performance.
Structural Engineering and Load-Bearing Analysis
We check that extensions meet safety, stability, and regulatory standards. We do this with structural assessments and compliance checks. Our team makes sure that a property extension blends in well, is safe, strong, and built to endure.
Interior To Exterior Extension Flow and Aesthetic Integration
Our architects mix new extensions with the current style. This creates a smooth transition between the old and the new. Our architects respect the original structure while enhancing functionality, aesthetics, and flow.
why work with us?
Fast Turn Around
We deliver swift completion of extensions by leveraging our efficient planning, expert team, and streamlined project management, ensuring a smooth and expedient process.
Fixed Pricing
We provide transparent, fixed pricing for architectural and building services for extensions, offering clients a clear understanding of costs. This approach allows for confident budgeting.
We Maximise Value
We guide clients to achieve the best outcome for extensions, balancing the investment benefits with a comfortable living space. Our expert advice ensures maximum financial value.
Turnkey Operation
We offer a full-service for home extensions, guiding clients from the initial consultation to project sign-off. You will have a dedicated account manager overseeing every detail.
recent EXTENSION projects
Local Topic
General information only. Planning and licensing rules change and depend on the individual property. This article is not legal or professional advice.
RICHMOND — THE DISAPPEARING WALL: ENGINEERING THE SIX-METRE OPENING IN AN EXTENSION (DOC A; GGF)
Every Richmond extension brief now contains the same sentence, worded differently: “we want the whole back to open up.” Six metres of glass sliding away, kitchen and garden becoming one room in summer. The desire is universal.
The engineering behind it is not widely understood, and the gap between the two is where budgets get surprised.
What holds the hole up
A six-metre opening is, structurally, a six-metre absence. Everything above it — roof, sometimes a storey — lands on a beam, and the beam’s numbers grow unkindly with span.
Deflection, not strength, usually governs: sliding doors demand a head that barely moves, because a beam sagging even eight millimetres mid-span can bind a big panel.
So the steel gets deep, or the design gets clever. And this is Approved Document A work for an engineer from the first sketch, including the corner-post question when the opening turns a corner and the frame above wants to float.
The glazing is engineering too. Panels at this scale weigh hundreds of kilos each; tracks need dead-flat, load-rated support and drainage designed like the roof’s.
And the threshold — flush inside-to-out, naturally — is a controlled collision between structure, waterproofing and Doc M-style level access.
It gets drawn in section, not left to site. The GGF’s guidance covers the door systems; the junctions are the architect’s problem.
The honest physics
Thermal candour: a glass wall, however good, loses several times the heat of an insulated one, and Approved Document L makes the extension account for it — usually pushing the rest of the fabric above minimum to pay the glass’s bill.
Orientation decides comfort: west-facing six-metre glass needs a shading plan or August will provide feedback.
And the practical question nobody asks until the first winter: where does the room’s furniture live when one wall is entirely track?
And decide early who cleans six metres of glass. Access for maintenance is a design line, not an afterthought — the track’s drainage wants servicing yearly, like the gutter it secretly is, and the panels want reaching without a tower scaffold.
None of this argues against the wish. Richmond gardens deserve to be let indoors.
It argues for buying the opening properly: engineered early, detailed in section, glazed to specification and priced with its steel showing.
The wall that disappears takes real structure with it — the trick is making sure only the wall goes.
FAQ
Services
We offer a comprehensive suite of architectural services for Richmond, our skilled architects each specialise in distinct disciplines. This diversity allows us to tailor our approach to meet the various facets of architectural design.