Kitchen Extension in Ascot — Open-Plan Kitchen & Dining Project

The Brief

The client owned a 1964-built detached home in Ascot, SL5. The existing kitchen measured just 11 square metres — enough for a table for two but impractical for a family of four. The brief was clear: push the rear wall back, open up the kitchen to the dining space, create direct access to the garden, and bring in as much natural light as possible. The client had already spoken to a kitchen supplier and had units on order; our scope was the full shell and first-fix works. If you're planning something similar for your home — in Ascot, elsewhere in Berkshire, or just across the Surrey or Hampshire border — get in touch and we'll talk through what's realistic for your property.

Our Approach

Pindi visited the property and confirmed the project fell within permitted development rights — the 8m rear projection on a detached home fell within the Neighbour Consultation Scheme, avoiding the need for a full planning application. A pre-application notification was submitted to RBWM and the 42-day consultation period completed without objection. Building regulation drawings were prepared by our structural engineer, covering the strip foundation design, RSJ specification for the structural opening into the existing house, and U-value calculations for the flat roof. Soil investigation on site confirmed London clay at depth — foundations were taken down to 1.2m.

The Build

Groundworks began with machine excavation to 1.2m, followed by 300mm concrete strip foundations poured and inspected by RBWM Building Control. Drainage was diverted around the new footprint with a new inspection chamber installed. The cavity brick and block superstructure rose to DPC level, then full cavity fill insulation (Rockwool RWA45 slabs) as the outer leaf of facing brick and inner leaf of 100mm dense concrete block went up. The structural opening into the existing kitchen was formed using a 203x133 UC section RSJ carried on padstones — the temporary propping was erected, the opening cut, the steel dropped in, and the props removed over a single day. The flat roof was framed in 195mm C24 timber joists at 400mm centres, insulated with 150mm PIR board (achieving 0.14 W/m²K), with a laid-up GRP fibreglass deck. Two 1000x1000mm fixed rooflights were installed centrally. The bi-fold doors — a 3.6m three-panel aluminium system — were installed to the rear elevation. First-fix electrics were run for the new kitchen layout including island pendants, under-cabinet circuits, and two double sockets on each wall.

Materials & Specification

Facing brick: Ibstock Anglian Mixture to match existing 1960s brick. Inner leaf: Lignacite 7N dense concrete block. Cavity insulation: Rockwool RWA45 full-fill. Roof insulation: Kingspan TR27 150mm PIR. Roof membrane: laid-up GRP fibreglass system. Structural steel: 203x133 UC section, hot-dip galvanised. Bi-fold doors: Origin OB-49 in anthracite grey. Rooflights: Korniche 1000x1000mm fixed flat roof lights.

The Result

The finished extension added 24 square metres of open-plan kitchen and dining space, connecting to a new 45 square metre south-facing garden terrace via the bi-fold doors. The lantern rooflights flood the space with natural light from above. The structural opening removed the entire rear wall of the original kitchen, creating a single uninterrupted space from the front hall to the garden. The kitchen supplier fitted the units four weeks after handover.

Project Photos

Foundation excavation and strip foundations — kitchen extension Ascot

Brickwork superstructure and RSJ structural opening — Ascot kitchen extension

Completed open-plan kitchen extension with bi-fold doors — Ascot SL5

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