Renovated home is better than a new house

Patricia and Mark Preston are hosting a big family dinner soon…to see if their grown up sons recognise their old home.

The house where they grew up in Carlisle has had a total makeover, thanks to Colin Aimers and his team at Kingmoor Consulting.

The Prestons were debating whether to move house when their sons had moved on.

“But we like the area where we are, and we didn’t need to move to get bigger bedrooms,”

said Patricia, a business development analyst.

Instead they decided on a massive programme of improvements to the whole house, which included creating a big kitchen/diner by knocking three rooms into one. They also had the attic ceilings plastered, a new bathroom installed, an open staircase created, and new double glazing. “It’s like a completely new house now,” said Patricia.

Colin’s team stepped in to prepare the structural plans for the local authority permission. The joinery/house renovations firm SB Services called in experts in various fields to help with the work.

Patricia said:

“We are absolutely thrilled with the result.  The rest of the family haven’t seen it yet so we’re planning a big family dinner in our new dining kitchen.”

Colin Aimers said:

“We are finding that people don’t really want to move and by re-arranging internally we can help them create the space they want to use better within their home.”


Kingmoor Consulting specialises in civil and structural engineering and geotechnical related services across Cumbria and Southern Scotland. Working with domestic and commercial clients, Kingmoor has delivered a range of diverse and challenging projects from domestic properties to energy infrastructure schemes. The company thrives on working on projects that demand the highest possible standards of design and innovative solutions.