Hucknall, five miles up the road
Hucknall sits about five miles north-west of our base, so homes in Butler's Hill, Westville and Beauvale are all within easy reach. It grew fast as a colliery town, with pits working from 1861 until 1986, and it is still growing: Persimmon's estate on the former Rolls-Royce land off Watnall Road is planned to reach more than 900 homes.
Small partitions that make a big difference
Some of the most useful stud walls are small ones.
Boxing in. Soil stacks, waste pipes and heating pipes running up a corner can be enclosed in a slim frame, boarded and skimmed so they all but disappear. If there is a valve or rodding point inside, an access panel is built in so it can still be reached. It is also a chance to wrap insulation round a noisy waste pipe, which helps when a bedroom backs onto a bathroom.
Cupboards and alcoves. A short frame across the end of a hallway or a bedroom recess, with a door lining, gives you a proper built-in cupboard.
En-suites. An L-shaped partition can take a shower room from the corner of a large bedroom. The wet side gets moisture-resistant board, and the pipework is a job for a plumber. A new shower room also needs an extractor fan, wired by a qualified electrician along with any lights.
Knee walls and loft rooms
In a loft room, short stud walls under the slope of the roof, called knee walls, square the room up and leave storage space behind. Turning a loft into a habitable room is a bigger project that needs building regulations approval for the structure, stairs, insulation and fire escape, and usually several trades. Once that side is in place, we can frame and board the knee walls and partitions and skim the whole room. Metal studs are worth considering up there: they are light to carry up the stairs and stay straight over long runs.
Before you decide
Ashfield District Council lists a conservation area for Hucknall town centre. Its rules are about the outside of buildings, so an internal partition won't normally be affected unless the building is listed, in which case listed building consent is needed. Building regulations are worth checking whenever a wall creates a new bedroom or changes how you would get out in a fire. And if your home on the newer Watnall Road estate is still under its new-build warranty, read what it says about alterations before booking any work.
Ring 07877 353120 or use the enquiry form to tell us what you have in mind. We work seven days a week, 7am to 5pm.
