Publish Date: 31-May-24
Take a tour of some of J&L Build’s most recent bespoke construction projects.
J&L Build started out in 2002 as a subcontractor for brickwork, providing our services to larger contractors. Whilst that still forms a good part of our business today, we have gone on to become contractors in our own right, working on a wide range of building projects as a professional property development and house building company.
Over the years we have continually added to our expertise. We have built everything from high-end apartment blocks and complete housing developments to bespoke detached houses and commercial office space. A typical project might be a luxury new build, or a full home refurbishment, a large scale extension project or a green energy home.
For us, every building project is treated as one-of-a-kind. On some construction projects we work with a main contractor, others are our own and some are for private clients. Regardless of who the project is for, it is not just about putting up walls and a roof, we can take construction from acquisition of land and initial design all the way through to final walk through. No matter how big or small, we put the same quality of workmanship into every step of the building process, always building homes we would want to live in ourselves.
Bespoke construction is all about custom-made buildings tailored specifically to our client. This can include everything from the plans and materials to unique features and appliances. We work closely with our clients, both commercial and private, on all our bespoke construction projects. Here are examples of some recent projects we’ve been involved in.
This bespoke building project was to build a five bedroom detached family home for a private client. Having no previous experience of designing and building a home, we put the client in touch with an interior designer, and together we were able to advise and help them with some of the tricky decisions involved.
A key feature of this project was making full use of the floor area in the roof space. Here we installed two spacious ensuite bathrooms, complete with bespoke shower enclosures fitted into the vaulted ceiling.
See more pictures of the stunning Broadgates project in our Portfolio.
This was a rather different kind of building project where we worked with Dalkey Developments to build seven apartments in a bespoke design block with underground parking. Regular fortnightly meetings with the client meant we were able to quickly deal with any issues and plan the work ahead, ensuring the project ran smoothly.
Sometimes design concerns only become noticeable at the building stage, which can result in us having to make on-site decisions. One issue with The Causeway was that the architect’s drawings did not make the best use of the space. We know that utilising space is key to a good end product, so following consultation with the client we moved some of the internal studwork, enabling the space to be used to its full potential.
View our Portfolio to see the spectacular results of The Causeway project.
We worked on Fairgreen with Dalkey Developments again, building a three storey, high end bespoke luxury family home. The client used an interior designer for this project, which is always helpful when getting into the details of design. In this case, it was especially useful to have their input early on when it came to the bathrooms. Concealing pipework and positioning fittings can often be a challenge, but on this project we were able to get everything right first time.
See the beautiful results of the finished Fairgreen home in our Portfolio.
Tarnbank was our own building project from start to finish. Literally from purchasing the land and applying for planning permission, all the way through to completion. Tarnbank consisted of two semi-detached family homes with four bedrooms across three floors.
As with many of our houses, we like to make the best use of space. Under the stairs is always an awkward spot, especially if you want to avoid bumping your head! In the Tarnbank houses, not only did we install a full height storage cupboard, we also built pull out drawers into the lower section, perfect for shoes, toys or anything else that can usually end up cluttering the hallway.
You can see more pictures over in our Tarnbank project portfolio.
As well as individual house building projects, we also work on luxury housing developments. As a smaller developer, we take a more individual approach and put a special emphasis on the details and high-end finishes, with our usual commitment to quality of both materials and craftsmanship.
A prime example was the award winning Hunsdon development. This was our own house building project consisting of fourteen new build family homes. There were five different house types, all built in a similar style using the same external materials, but with different interiors.
Our employees are highly skilled in many areas of construction and by using our own experienced groundworkers, roofers, bricklayers and carpenters we always meet our high standards on any building project. Ensuring that the houses are well built makes for easier finishing in the final stages.
One of the biggest challenges with a housing project this size is deliveries. Getting the timing right is quite an art! Whilst to avoid needing to move materials you don’t want things to arrive too early, you also don’t want work to be held up with waiting. This meant some careful planning was needed right from the beginning to ensure deliveries arrived onsite just as they were needed.
We were very proud to receive the LABC Award for Best Small New Housing Development in the central region, for this bespoke project. Take a look in our Portfolio for more pictures of our Hunsdon house building project.
Over the years we have done a lot of refurbishment projects. These are usually full house refurbishments and often include the addition of an extension. We have worked on a few projects with PLG as the main contractor. They specialise in disability adaptations to homes along with the installation of specialist items. A couple of examples of these refurbishment projects are Toki Farm and Broadwalk.
This was a complete conversion of a detached family home. We carried out all the general construction work on this project which included managing the many specialist contractors needed to install items such as ceiling hoists, lifts and a hydrotherapy pool.
Sometimes issues are unknown until you actually begin work. A problem we ran into with this project was that the ceilings on the ground floor weren’t level, something we only discovered once we started stripping them back to the existing joists. A hoist system was being installed which had to run level, so we had to lower the ceiling to ensure there were no deviations and the hoist would run smoothly.
Toki Farm was the LABC regional winner for Best Residential Conversion or Alteration to an Existing Home. You can see more pictures of this beautiful finished home on our Toki Farm project page.
The Broadwalk project was another home refurbishment and extension to make disability adaptations to the existing house, as well as building an external therapy room in the garden. This building project also included the addition of a carers room with its own private access.
View the gallery for pictures of Broadwalk.
Fonthill was a rather different kind of refurbishment project. We were contracted by Dynasty Estates to add a roof extension converting an existing shop and two floors of office space and storage into a refurbished commercial unit and three two bedroom flats.
One of the hardest parts of this building project was the lack of space outside for storing materials. This meant that deliveries had to come in on the same day that the products were needed. Despite this rather demanding challenge, by working closely with Kendall Development Solutions, who were managing the project, and through our excellent teamwork, we actually finished early AND under budget!
You can see pictures of the finished flats in our Fonthill project gallery.
The UK is working towards a goal of net zero, and as part of this, new build homes will need to produce less carbon dioxide and be more energy efficient. This can include installing sustainable heating and hot water systems, adding renewable energy sources such as solar panels and using improved insulation. We are already seeing more house building projects where green energy is high on the priority list for our client.
This new build luxury family home included many energy efficient features: an MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) system, air conditioning, an air source heat pump, a green roof and an electric car charging port.
We worked with specialist contractors to install these. MVHR and air conditioning systems work best with concrete floors where we can drop a metal ceiling below and use the space between to run the duct work. The more space the better when working with these systems.
View this project and some of the energy efficient features in our Framfield project gallery.
We were contracted by a private client to build these two semi-detached, three storey family homes. To comply with planning permission, the local council required that two forms of renewable energy be used in these new build houses, so the client chose to install solar panels and an air source heat pump. Using this with under floor heating throughout the house resulted in an energy efficient new build home, which not only saves on carbon emissions but also has long term cost savings.
The Beech Hill houses are packed with bespoke design features from a walk in wardrobe, to high end flooring and light fittings.
You can see the Beech Hill project here.
If you’ve been looking for a bespoke house building company, contact us today and we’ll be in touch to discuss your plans and ideas.
