Polypipe provides complete product range for residential extension

An unassuming three-bed semi-detached house in Doncaster was once built to match the rest of the estate. But, after seven years in the property, the owners decided to take the plunge and make the most of their oddly shaped corner plot, turning their cut and paste house in to something more unique.

The Brief 

First on the owners’ wish list was enlarging the box room to give the house three good-sized double bedrooms. This meant creating a double height extension to the side of the property, which also gave the owners the opportunity to add a utility room and downstairs bathroom to their footprint. 

Second on the list was a large, multi-purpose open living space. By adding a single height rear extension, the homeowners got their wish and created a large kitchen/diner/snug, finished by 6m wide bifold doors to offer a view of the garden. 

The owners and builders needed a whole host of building products to make the vision a reality, and Polypipe provided end to end systems for the entire extension project.

Our Solution 

Polypipe Building Products was able to offer products for every stage of the build, beginning with plot drainage and ending with plastic plumbing systems.

At the start of the project, the drains were re-sited to accommodate the new footprint. The builders relocated two inspection chambers and accompanying pipework, and needed to factor in drainage from the kitchen sink. 

As the homeowner had added a new utility, downstairs toilet, sink and shower; as well as repositioning the kitchen sink, a new soil stack and a large amount of waste water fittings were required. 

Polypipe provided a low-level drain water trap to fit beneath the shower tray, alongside a sink bottle trap for beneath the w/c sink and a combined sink and appliance trap to service the kitchen sink and washing machine.

For the new doors and windows, Polypipe’s WCMulticor was used to insulate the cavities. As the insulation has grooves to indicate different widths, the builders were able to simply cut the product to the required cavity width on site and use the plastic casing to tack the product in to place.

The addition of new rooflines required additional guttering, downpipes and associated fittings. The homeowners chose black sovereign gutter profiles and square rainwater pipe from Polypipe to match the aesthetic of the rest of the street.

The extensive renovation works also necessitated a new boiler, and the owners decided to overhaul their home heating with underfloor heating throughout the ground floor. Polypipe Overlay® Plus was chosen so that the new floor could be built up to the height of the existing floor and the system could be fitted in one go. 

The homeowners chose Polypipe’s new auto-balancing manifold to optimise the hot water needs of the system and avoid heating more water than needed. This also meant the installer wasn’t required to undertake the time-consuming task of balancing the underfloor heating system themselves. 

The auto-balancing manifold was paired with Smart Plus controls, which allowed them to pair their upstairs radiators to their downstairs UFH system, and control their whole home heating via Polypipe’s mobile app. 

Finally, Polypipe’s PolyMax range, compatible with copper or polybutylene pipe, was used for the extension’s hot and cold water requirements.

Results

Polypipe Building Products' holistic solution has significantly improved the home’s heating system, reducing the homeowners’ heating bills and their environmental impact. It has also allowed them to redecorate as they wished, without working around bulky radiators, and create bespoke comfort zones throughout the different areas of the home.

Client Testimonial

The homeowner said, 

“Despite its fairly modest scale, it’s hard to overstate the difference this extension has made to the way we live in our house. I keep changing my mind about my favourite part.

“It has provided simple, practical, pleasures like not having to traipse through the muddy garden to the freestanding garage on a winter’s evening to get to the freezer or clothes dryer because there just wasn’t enough space for them indoors. And our new side door straight in to the utility and downstairs shower means I no longer have to drag a muddy dog through a clean house to wash him down after walks!

It is truly wonderful to come home to a warm house, settle down in the new snug and admire the view of our garden.”