Kitchen and living room
The open main space is labelled 27.07 m² on the drawing. The fitted kitchen sits along the rear wall, leaving the garden-facing area available for living and dining.
HARPENDEN, HERTFORDSHIRE · ONE-BEDROOM ANNEXE
A garden annexe
for family living.
A separate bedroom. A fitted kitchen. A place close to family.
Costi and the TRJ team built this cedar-fronted SIP annexe in Harpenden, creating a separate garden home for the customer’s family. A bright kitchen and living room sit alongside a private bedroom, shower room and built-in storage.
- Location
- Harpenden, Hertfordshire
- Internal area on plan
- 40.85 m²
- Layout
- One bedroom · kitchen · shower room
- Exterior
- Red cedar · grey render
01 / THE BRIEF
A home of their own.
Family nearby.
The project created a self-contained annexe for the customer’s family, with the facilities needed for day-to-day living in one garden building. The customer’s review describes the design and build as meeting their needs and those of their parents.
The stepped layout provides a separate bedroom and shower room while keeping the kitchen and living space open. Wide garden-facing glazing and an opening rooflight bring daylight into the main room.
Red cedar gives the garden frontage a warm finish. Grey rendered elevations, an extended entrance canopy and a composite platform complete the exterior, with the photograph collection following the project from groundworks to the furnished annexe.
02 / ORIGINAL FLOOR PLAN & DESIGN
Separate rooms.
A connected living space.
The supplied area drawing shows an 8.5 m overall width and a stepped depth of 5 m to the main section and 6 m at its deepest point. The drawing labels the internal total as 40.85 m².
Bedroom and shower room
The bedroom is labelled 10.97 m² and the shower room 2.92 m². Internal partitions and doors give these spaces privacy, with built-in cupboard space also recorded in the order.
The area figures are the labels on the supplied design. The signed order separately lists 47.5 m² against the SIP kit; that figure is not presented here as the internal floor area.
View the original three-dimensional design
This cutaway illustrates the proposed arrangement of the bedroom, shower room and kitchen/living space. The photographs show the finished project.
03 / SPECIFICATION & DETAILS
A fitted kitchen.
A practical home.
TRJ supplied and fitted the Clerkenwell Gloss Dove Grey kitchen units. The customer supplied the worktop, sink, tap and appliances, with TRJ undertaking their agreed installation and service connections.
The enclosed shower room includes a rectangular shower, vanity basin and WC, with an obscure-glazed window, extractor and heated towel rail.
SIP structure and foundations
The signed specification records 125 mm SIP floor panels, 100 mm wall panels and 150 mm roof panels. Screw-pile foundations were upgraded with longer 1,550 mm and 2,000 mm piles.
Cedar, render and roof
The agreed exterior includes a red cedar upgrade, grey K-render, an EPDM roof membrane, black guttering and ground skirting. An extended 1 m canopy shelters the composite entrance platform.
Glazing and opening rooflight
uPVC French doors, 1,600 mm × 2,100 mm, sit between two 800 mm × 2,100 mm fixed side panels. The bedroom has a high-level obscure window and a casement window; the shower room has obscure glazing. Frames are anthracite outside and white inside. The 1,000 mm × 1,500 mm rooflight was upgraded to motorised opening.
Shower room
The order specifies a 1,200 mm × 800 mm slimline tray, sliding shower door, Triton 8.5 kW electric shower, basin and WC combination unit, thermostatic chrome towel rail, timed extractor, LED light and vinyl flooring. The signed amendments record customer-supplied wall tiles and materials.
Interior and storage
Plastered walls and ceilings are finished in Pure Brilliant White matt paint, with MDF pencil-round skirting. Flooring and the agreed internal and cupboard doors were supplied by the customer; TRJ fitted the agreed linings, hinges and handles. Soft-close kitchen fittings and a 10-litre Ariston water heater form part of the specification.
Comfort and services
A 3 kW Wi-Fi-enabled LG inverter unit serves the living room. The bedroom amendment provides wiring for a heater rather than an installed radiator. Dimmable lighting, power sockets, TV and internet points, smoke and heat detectors, four external downlights, a mini sewage pump and a soakaway were included in the agreed scope.
04 / THE BUILD
From the garden site
to a family annexe.
01 · FOUNDATIONS & SERVICES
Preparing the garden
The early photographs show screw-pile installation, drainage trenches and the sewage pump chamber before the insulated floor and walls were assembled.
02 · THE SIP SHELL
Forming the rooms
SIP panels and roof supports establish the stepped building shape. The collection follows the shell, rooflight opening, glazing and internal partitions through the fit-out.
03 · READY FOR FAMILY LIFE
Completing the interior
The finished photographs show the kitchen, dining and living space, furnished bedroom and enclosed shower room, followed by the landscaped garden approach.
05 / CUSTOMER REVIEW
A family space
built around their needs.
“We would recommend him to build any Annexe or Out Building.”
Mark’s five-star review describes Costi’s involvement from design through completion and praises the team’s attention to detail. It explains how the annexe provides the facilities the family needed for their parents.
Mark · Trustpilot · Updated 3 August 2022
06 / PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHS
Explore the annexe.
Follow the full build.
Select a photograph to see the complete image. Browse with the arrows, then choose Back to page to return.
View the remaining project photographs
07 / PROJECT QUESTIONS
A few useful answers.
Where was this annexe built?
This annexe was built in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, with a separate bedroom, fitted kitchen and enclosed shower room.
How is the annexe arranged?
The stepped layout combines an open kitchen and living room, a separate bedroom, an enclosed shower room and a built-in cupboard. The supplied area drawing labels the internal total 40.85 m², with an overall width of 8.5 m and a maximum depth of 6 m.
What kitchen items did TRJ supply?
TRJ supplied and fitted the Clerkenwell Gloss Dove Grey kitchen units. The customer supplied the worktop, sink, tap and appliances, with TRJ carrying out the agreed installation, plumbing and electrical work.
What heating and rooflight were agreed?
A 3 kW Wi-Fi-enabled LG inverter air-conditioning unit serves the living space, and a 1.0 m × 1.5 m rooflight was upgraded to motorised opening. The signed amendment provides electrical wiring for a bedroom heater rather than an installed bedroom radiator.
YOUR NEXT PROJECT
Plan a home
close to family.
Considering an annexe in Harpenden or elsewhere in Hertfordshire? Tell us about the people who will use it, the rooms they need and the garden available. We can discuss the layout, services and access for your project.
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