Front Porch Extension in Thame | Case Study

The brief

Ashmore Builders was approached by a couple living in a detached house on a quiet residential street in Thame, Oxfordshire. Their existing front door opened directly onto a narrow path with no shelter, no lobby and nowhere practical to leave coats, boots or the collection of shoes that seemed to multiply every winter. They wanted a small but properly built front porch extension that would create a useful entrance lobby, provide bench seating and concealed storage, and look as though it had always been part of the house rather than a later bolt-on.

The proposed porch was modest in footprint but detailed to a high standard. It was to be built in a warm, multi-coloured Oxfordshire brick with a pitched roof and a stone threshold. The clients also wanted a new hardwood front door and side glazing to bring natural light into the hallway beyond. Because the house sat close to the pavement, the works had to keep the footpath clear at all times and protect the small front garden from damage. The couple had lived in the property for several years and were keen to avoid the project dragging on through the summer, so a fixed six-week programme was written into the contract.

Ashmore had worked with Star Hawk on several Oxfordshire extensions before, so they sent us the architect's small-scale schedule and asked us to price the full structural and insulation pack. The key was not just the materials but the logistics: everything had to arrive just before it was needed, because there was almost nowhere to store it on site. We priced the job within 24 hours, confirmed that every structural drop would travel on our own delivery lorries, and assigned a named scheduler who would handle the account for the full six weeks.

• Client: Ashmore Builders
• Location: Thame, Oxfordshire (OX9)
• Project: Front porch extension
• Duration: 6 weeks
• Star Hawk material cost: £14,800

The challenge

Three overlapping constraints shaped the porch build from the very first site visit, and each one had a direct impact on the supply schedule.

1. Footpath access. The house fronted directly onto a public footpath with no front garden of any size. There was no room for a skip at the front, no space for a pallet of bricks to sit overnight, and no tolerance for blocking the pavement. Deliveries therefore had to arrive just before they were needed and be carried straight through to the side of the house, where a narrow strip of driveway gave the team a tiny amount of working space. Any material left on the footpath would have been a safety issue and a council complaint waiting to happen.
2. Brick matching. The original house was built in a warm, multi-coloured Oxfordshire brick that had weathered over several decades. Ashmore's client was clear that the porch should not look like an afterthought. We sourced 10,624 Hampton Rural Blend Bricks that offered a close colour and texture match, then arranged sample panels on site so the homeowner could approve the blend before the full order was placed. Getting the sample signed off took a few days, but it avoided the far greater cost and delay of re-ordering a mismatched brick.
3. Roof integration. The porch roof had to tie into the existing main roof without disturbing the gutter line or the verge detail. That required careful cutting back of the existing verge, a bespoke lead soaker detail and close coordination between the bricklayer, roofer and lead worker. The fall of the new roof had to match the existing pitch exactly, and the valley line had to be trimmed so rainwater would run cleanly into the existing gutter.

A fourth practical factor was timing. The clients were away for two weeks in July, which gave Ashmore a window to get the structure weather-tight before they returned. That meant our deliveries for the first three weeks had to land exactly when promised, because there was no opportunity to make up lost time. The site also had a narrow side passage that made scaffolding awkward, so the fewer large vehicles that needed to reverse, the better. Ashmore also had to coordinate with the neighbours, because the shared driveway meant that any blocked access would have delayed both households.

Materials we supplied

Ashmore sent us the architect's small-scale schedule and we priced the full structural pack as one Star Hawk account, then split it across several phased drops to keep the site clear:

• Sub-base and concrete: 8 tonnes of MOT Type 1 Aggregate, 23 tonnes of 20mm Ballast Aggregate, 5 tonnes of Building Sand and 160 bags of General Purpose Cement for the foundation pads, floor slab and all mortar on the job.
• Walls: 1,456 Aircrete Blocks for the inner leaf and 10,624 Hampton Rural Blend Bricks for the outer leaf and for matching repairs to a short boundary wall that had to be rebuilt at the same time.
• Openings: 16 Standard 100mm Cavity Lintels for the porch opening, side window and internal door.
• Insulation: 86 sheets of Cavity Insulation Slab and 64 sheets of PIR Insulation Board for the cavity walls and the solid floor slab.
• Fixings: 14 boxes of Galvanized Nails and 2 boxes of High Performance Wood Screws for the roof carpentry, joinery and general site work.

The brick order was split into two drops so the front path was never blocked by a full load. The first drop covered the walls up to damp-proof course level, and the second drop arrived the morning the bricklayer was ready to start the outer leaf proper. The block delivery came first, followed by the brick drop, then lintels, then insulation, then the final fixings pack. This phasing kept the working area clear and meant the team never had to guard wet materials overnight or move pallets twice. The 23 tonnes of 20mm ballast was the largest single bulk item, so it was booked to arrive just as the groundworker finished the excavation and was ready to blind and pour. Any earlier and it would have blocked the drive; any later and the concrete pour would have been delayed.

Delivery and logistics

Porch builds on busy frontages need to be tidy and predictable. We structured the Thame deliveries around three rules that Ashmore's foreman and our scheduler agreed before the digger arrived.

• Just-in-time drops. The first drop of blocks and foundations materials arrived the morning the groundworker started. Bricks arrived the day the blockwork reached damp-proof course level. Insulation arrived once the roof structure was in place. Each drop was deliberately sized to be used within a few days.
• Footpath protection. Plywood sheets and temporary barriers protected the footpath during unloading. The driver never left materials on the pavement unsupervised, and the vehicle always pulled away as soon as the offload was complete.
• Small loads. Because storage space was limited, we delivered in smaller, more frequent loads rather than one large dump. That kept the site tidy, the neighbours happy and the public footpath fully usable.

Ashmore's foreman confirmed each drop the evening before by text, and our scheduler updated the plan on Friday afternoons for the following week. The result was that no delivery arrived early enough to sit in the rain, and no delivery arrived late enough to stop a trade. Our smallest 3.5-tonne rigid handled most of the palletised drops, while the bulk aggregates came on a 7.5-tonne tipper that could tip neatly onto the driveway without reversing onto the footpath.

We also made sure that every delivery note was emailed to Ashmore's office within an hour of offload, so the costs could be tracked against the project budget as the build progressed. The fixed six-week programme meant there was no slack, so the discipline of confirmation, delivery and paperwork had to be tight from day one. On the one occasion that a delivery slot needed to move because of rain, Ashmore's foreman called before 8am and we rebooked the load for the following morning without affecting the rest of the week's programme.

The build

The build ran for 6 weeks, with a clear weekly rhythm that matched the delivery schedule.

• Week 1: Foundations. The front path was lifted carefully and stacked so it could be reinstated later. Foundation pads were dug and poured using the ballast, cement and sand supplied on the first drop. A damp-proof membrane was laid and the floor slab insulation was placed.
• Week 2: Blockwork and brickwork. The inner block walls rose to roof plate height, followed by the outer brick skin. The brick match was checked against the house as the work went up, and the sample panel was left in place until the client signed it off.
• Week 3: Roof structure. A small pitched roof was built and tied into the existing verge. Sarking felt and battens were fixed, and the lead soakers were cut and dressed ready for the roofer.
• Week 4: Tiling and leadwork. The roof tiles were laid and the lead soakers were dressed into the existing gutter line. By the end of the week the porch was weather-tight, just before the clients returned from holiday.
• Week 5: Glazing and door. The side window and hardwood door were fitted. Internal plasterboard and insulation were completed, and the first-fix electrics for the porch light and socket were connected. The clients commented that the hallway was already noticeably warmer because the old draughty front door was no longer the only barrier between the house and the outside air.
• Week 6: Finishing. The floor was tiled, the threshold stone was bedded and the front path was reinstated. Ashmore handed the porch back to the clients at the end of the week, with only minor snagging left for the following Monday.

The programme held firm, helped by the fact that every structural and insulation drop arrived when it was supposed to. The clients returned from their break to find a weather-tight, secure porch rather than an open building site. Ashmore's foreman noted that having one supplier accountable for the structural pack made it easier to keep the six-week promise than on previous jobs where materials had come from several merchants.

The result

The finished porch gives the house a proper entrance for the first time. There is space to leave muddy boots and coats on the bench, the storage cupboards hide recycling bins, and the pitched roof ties in neatly with the existing house. The brickwork blend is close enough that the porch reads as original rather than added, and the extra insulated lobby has improved the thermal performance of the front wall.

Ashmore billed the homeowners £38,000 for the extension. The Star Hawk structural and insulation pack came to £14,800, leaving the remainder for the roof tiles, door, window, floor tiles, electrics, decoration and labour supplied by other partners on the same site. The couple later told Ashmore that the porch had made a disproportionate difference to how the house felt day to day, simply because there was now a proper transition between outside and in. From a supplier perspective, the job demonstrated that even a small porch benefits from the same careful scheduling as a larger extension, because the consequences of a late delivery are just as serious when the site has no storage.

What we don't supply on an extension

On a front porch extension like this one in Thame, the following items sit outside our range:

• Roof tiles, slates, ridge tiles, lead flashings and rainwater goods — supplied by the roofing contractor.
• Windows, doors, door furniture and thresholds — supplied by joinery or glazing specialists.
• Floor tiles, adhesives, grouts and sealants — supplied by the tiler.
• Electrical work, lighting and heating.
• Decoration, blinds and internal storage joinery.
• Scaffolding, skip hire and final site cleaning — arranged by the builder.

Everything else — the sub-base, cement, aggregates, blocks, bricks, lintels, insulation and fixings — stays on the single Star Hawk account for this Thame renovation.

Cost transparency

The materials Star Hawk supplied came to £14,800 and broke down as follows:

Category	Materials supplied	Cost
Bricks	10,624 Hampton Rural Blend bricks	£6,900
Blocks	1,456 aircrete blocks	£2,900
Aggregates & sub-base	8 tonnes MOT Type 1, 5 tonnes sand, 23 tonnes ballast	£2,100
Insulation	86 sheets cavity insulation, 64 sheets PIR insulation	£1,650
Cement & mortar	160 bags cement	£1,280
Lintels & steel	16 cavity lintels	£960
Fixings & hardware	14 boxes nails, 2 boxes screws	£1,010

The remaining £23,200 covered the roof tiles, door, window, floor tiles, electrics, decoration and labour supplied by other partners on the same site.

Why Thame builders choose Star Hawk

We are 15 minutes from the OX9 postcode district and our round covers Thame, including Tetsworth, Towersey, Long Crendon and Haddenham, for extension projects. From Thame we also deliver to Aylesbury, Bicester, Oxford and High Wycombe on the same day for extension work.

Most of our Thame customers are builders working on small extensions, porches and renovations who need a supplier that sends manageable vehicles and respects a tight frontage. They want the same contact each time, a price back the same day and deliveries that do not block the pavement or inconvenience the neighbours. If that is you, send your drawings through the quote builder and we will come back the same business day with a fully priced structural pack.