Sheet A-03.4 · Renovation and restoration

Work around
what is standing.

Structural renovation and refurbishment of offices, schools and places of worship. The difficulty is rarely the construction. It is doing it without stopping the building from being used.

Completed 3 renovationsAlso 6 churches built newSince 1992
The difficulty

Three things make
renovation harder.

The building is still in use

A renovation is rarely handed over empty. Offices are worked in, schools are taught in, churches hold services. The programme is built around that from the start, agreed before we begin rather than negotiated once the noise starts.

You are working with what is there

Nobody knows exactly what is behind a wall until it is opened. We survey before pricing and tell you what we found, rather than issuing a variation after the fact and calling it a surprise.

Making good is the whole job

On new build, finishes go onto clean work. On a renovation, the standard is whether the new work is indistinguishable from what was already there. That is a harder test and it is the one that matters.

What the contract covers

From survey
to making good.

SurveyWhat is actually there, recorded before anything is priced or opened up.
Structural repairRepair or replacement of structure that is no longer sound, with the building propped where it needs to be.
RefurbishmentScreeds, plaster, joinery, tiling, painting and fittings, matched to what stays.
Services renewalElectrical and plumbing renewal, with three-core wiring and proper earthing throughout.
Working occupiedPhasing, dust control, and site security so the building keeps functioning around the work.
Making goodThe test is whether new work reads as part of the original, not as a patch.
The record

Three renovations,
and the work behind them.

A short list, listed honestly. The wider record matters here too: thirty-four years of building the same kinds of structure is what tells you whether a repair will be done properly.

See all 37 projects →

What clients ask

Before they commit.

Can we keep using the building while you work?

Yes, and most of our renovation work has been exactly that. The phasing is agreed before we start rather than negotiated on site, and it covers dust, noise, access and security for the part of the building still in use.

What if you find something once the walls are open?

We survey before pricing so there are as few surprises as possible. Where something genuinely unforeseen appears, you are told what was found and what it means before any further work is done on it.

Do you handle places of worship?

Yes. Ecclesiastical work is a substantial part of the record, including the renovation at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School in Sabo Yaba, and six churches and chapels built from the ground up.

Is there a minimum size of renovation?

Send the brief and the office will tell you plainly whether it is work we are suited to. You get an answer within one business day either way.

The five disciplines

Most jobs need
more than one.

Sheet B-00 · Next step

Talk to the people
who will build it.

Send the brief and we will price it, or reach the office directly. Either way you hear back within one business day.

Evaluating us first? Get the Donkem company profile →