What the houses are like

Wolverton was built for the London and Birmingham Railway works, and the housing is Victorian terrace on a tight regular grid with almost identical frontages street to street. Solid nine inch walls rather than cavity, sash or replacement windows, rear yards, and party walls on both sides of most houses. Later development at Greenleys, Stacey Bushes and New Bradwell sits around it.

Planning authority: Milton Keynes City Council

Steel beam installed under existing floor joists with padstones and props still in place

Terraces and party walls

On terraced property the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 frequently comes into play, for example where work involves cutting into a shared wall, building up to the line of junction, or excavating close to a neighbouring building and below its foundations. Where it applies, notice generally has to be served well in advance, and the notice periods run from the date of service rather than from when you would like to start.

Whether it applies to a particular project is worth establishing early, because it is one of the more common reasons a job starts later than the owner expected. A party wall surveyor can confirm the position for your property.

What tends to work on these houses

Rear extensions and side return infills. The yard behind a Wolverton terrace is often big enough to create a proper kitchen and dining space without swallowing the whole garden, and because the front elevation is untouched these schemes generally attract less attention than anything visible from the street. Opening the front two rooms into one is the other common move, and that is a straightforward structural job with a steel and a pair of padstones.

One point specific to this stock: the walls are solid rather than cavity, so a new opening needs a lintel arrangement suited to a nine inch wall, and any insulation upgrade wants thinking through properly so it does not create a cold bridge and a condensation problem behind it.

Conservation area considerations

Wolverton is one of the 27 conservation areas in the borough, and the uniformity of the terraces is a large part of why. Street facing alterations, windows, doors and roof coverings therefore tend to attract closer attention, and permitted development rights can be narrower than elsewhere. The position varies by property and is worth confirming with Milton Keynes City Council before drawings are commissioned.

I am very pleased with the result. They came on time. Very friendly and efficient with their work. They were tidy and cleaned up after themselves. The result of the job was great. Very pleased and intend to use them for future jobs.

Carl CampbellGoogle review