Site-truth · we built this / we redrew this

Detail teardowns

The details that fail on site — and the fix we drew instead. Learn from our scars, not yours: each one is a mistake we've already paid for, so it doesn't land on your next set of drawings. A new one every month.

[ Site photo / 1:5 detail — Vlad to add ]
Loft · thermal

The eaves junction that failed the Part L check

Drawn: A standard dormer eaves with insulation shown 'continuous' but no room for the specified depth where the rafter meets the wall plate.

On site: The insulation pinched to half its depth at the eaves — the exact spot a thermal-imaging survey would flag — and there was nowhere for the cold-bridge break to land.

The fix we built: We raised the wall plate detail, ran a rigid insulation upstand and used an accredited eaves detail so the line of insulation is genuinely continuous. The psi-value passed without upgrading everything else.

For your next drawingDraw the eaves at 1:5 with the real insulation depth in place. If it doesn't physically fit, it won't pass — resolve it before it reaches site.
[ Site photo / 1:5 detail — Vlad to add ]
Extension · glazing

The level threshold that let water track inside

Drawn: A flush bi-fold threshold to meet Part M, drawn hard against internal engineered oak with no external drainage.

On site: First heavy rain, water sat at the track and wicked under the floor. The 15mm upstand alone doesn't keep a fully-glazed elevation dry in a London downpour.

The fix we built: We set a channel drain immediately outside the threshold, fell the external paving away, and used a proprietary weathered cill so the flush look survives the weather. Oak floor stayed dry.

For your next drawingA level threshold is a drainage detail as much as an access one. Draw the channel and the external falls on the same section as the threshold.
[ Site photo / 1:5 detail — Vlad to add ]
Loft · structure

The loft steel that landed on a party wall the wrong way

Drawn: A ridge beam bearing onto the party wall with a nominal padstone, no note on the neighbour's side.

On site: The bearing brickwork was soft London stock, and cutting the pocket needed a Party Wall award that hadn't been served — a fortnight's delay mid-programme.

The fix we built: The SE sized a spreader padstone onto sound brick, we served the s.2 notice at the end of Stage 4 next time, and photographed the bearing before boarding. No delay on the following two jobs.

For your next drawingAny steel bearing on a party wall is both a structural and a legal detail. Note the padstone AND the Party Wall trigger on the drawing, and serve early.

A new teardown every month. Got a detail you want us to pressure-test? Send it over — we’ll build the answer.

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