Haven Lodge, St Albans

Project Year

2023

Project Cost

£300,000 - £400,000

Country

King Harry Lane, St Albans, Hertfordshire

We overhauled a slightly tired home built in 2005 to introduce light and create fully-functional and welcoming, open-plan spaces.

It now works beautifully as a modern family home with technical mod-cons. We moved the existing kitchen and living room, and created a new open-plan kitchen/dining/living room with modern appliances, lighting features and technical details perfect for family living.

Built-in storage hides the clutter and a new living room with a stunning media wall makes for the perfect adult space

— We started with

Vision & Concept Development

Every architectural project starts with a strong concept. We collaborate closely with clients to understand their aspirations, needs, and site potential. Our team conducts in-depth research and feasibility studies to develop a unique vision that aligns with modern architectural trends while respecting historical and cultural contexts.

— The Fundamentals

Sustainable & Eco-Friendly Design

Sustainability is at the core of our architectural approach. We integrate: Energy-efficient materials to reduce carbon footprints Passive design strategies that enhance natural lighting and ventilation Renewable energy solutions, such as solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems Green spaces and biophilic design to promote harmony between built environments and nature.

— Product Design

Functional & Efficient Spatial Planning

The success of an architectural project lies in its spatial organization. We focus on: Optimizing space utilization for maximum functionality Seamless circulation flow for comfort and accessibility Flexible layouts that adapt to evolving needs Zoning and connectivity to enhance user experience From residential layouts to commercial masterplans, our designs prioritize efficiency without compromising aesthetics.

"What Our Clients Say "

I cannot speak highly enough about Andy and the team at ACR who recently completed a full home renovation for us. This included relocating the kitchen to the other side of the house, fitting extra large windows across the back of the house, adding a flat roof, building an outside patio, knocking through rooms to give a more open plan feel and a larger bathroom, fitting a Rako smart lighting system, upgrading the plumbing and making the whole house look amazing! From the first meeting with Andy, I was impressed with his level of communication and engagement, and this continued throughout the 6 months project and after completion. Andy was always on hand to answer any questions I had or suggest alternative solutions for something that wasn’t quite right. His attention to detail is second to none, so much so that he put right the snagging list before I had even given it to him! He managed the project from start to finish and made my life very easy. He works with a very talented team of tradesmen, and I can honestly say that everyone was a highly skilled specialist in their field and did an excellent job. All of who went the extra mile to ensure that their work was to the highest standard and were a pleasure to have in my home. I cannot recommend Andy and the ACR team enough, all my friends and family comment on how my house has been transformed and how amazing it looks, which is down to their hard work. And they finished on time…. even though I added additional work part way through the project! This is the fourth home project I have done and I have never had a builder before Andy who has not gone over their time schedule by several weeks or months. Thank you Andy and the whole team!

Melanie Kerr St Albans

We engaged Andy and his team to reconfigure the downstairs layout, remove a chimney breast, install a small ensuite, and redecorate our house. This was the first time we had undertaken a project of this scale so it was a steep learning curve. The majority of the work took place February to July 2022 and was finally completed in October 2022 because we were waiting for a particular internal door set to come back into stock. From the start Andy was very communicative and interested in our project, answered a lot of questions, and provided a lot of detail in his quote. There were some challenges along the way, which is to be expected when working with an existing building, but these issues were resolved to our satisfaction. Andy’s immediate team were great and he and his team worked well with our kitchen supplier. Andy is committed to maintaining a long lasting relationship with his clients and has remained available to resolve post construction issues including a recent, albeit minor, problem that arose well after the bulk of the work was completed. Overall, we are very pleased with the end result.

markferguson2513 -Kipton

ACR Build, led by Andy Ryder, have enabled us to radically transform this 1972 house into a contemporary, spacious, light and energy efficient home with full solar array and excellent insulation. An awkward side door, step and narrow hallway has been changed into a welcoming, step free, front entrance with wide hallway. A carport and garage, both too narrow for a car, have been demolished and with a rear extension, a large open plan kitchen, diner, lounge has been formed. Full height sliding doors and architecturally interesting 5m long roof light, all with solar glass to prevent the greenhouse effect, give a light airy feel and easy inside-outside living. A new front lounge, new utility room and new washroom complete downstairs. By careful changes to window openings and internal walls upstairs, the four bedrooms, ensuite and family bathroom are all improved spaces, enabling better layouts. Outside improvements now allow the parking of three cars instead of one and at the back a sun trap patio, level with the inside floor height is enhanced by a now level lawn. On this sloping and tight site, ACR Build achieved the depth of foundations the structural engineer required and the team of different trades people they brought in for specialist work were experienced, professional, honest and helpful and worked to a high standard. Andy Ryder was fair in his pricing and gave us honest advice when we faced unexpected issues. He helped us save money where we could. We are enjoying the transformation of the house ACR Build and Andy Ryder have brought about.

Jane -Harpenden

From start to finish I was in safe hands. Andy, was honest all the way through and kept his word as the project progressed. He is extremely knowledgeable and was proactive in making suggestions that would improve the build. It really felt that Andy cared about doing a great job, and that it mattered to him that we were happy too. His team were friendly, helpful and considerate throughout. They always turned up as agreed and worked to schedule. Andy managed my expectation on costs all the way through and provided frequent updates. It came as no surprise that the project was finished on time, on budget and with an excellent finish. Over the years I have worked with several building companies and this was honestly the best experience I've ever had.

Ash -St Albans

ACR added a kitchen extension to the house we have lived in for thirty years. We stayed in situ throughout. At all stages we found Andy and the guys positive, good humoured and considerate. The quality of the work was excellent, and even when they hit the unexpected, which will always happen in a period house, they were pragmatic and worked through the issues. Andy is repeatedly described as trustworthy in these reviews. I got that impression when deciding to use ACR and it remained to the end of the project.

NS247 -Nic, Ayot St Lawrence

Andy and his team took our tired 1950’s house and completely refurbished it. They made it feel light, bright, more modern, making the spaces feel so much more liveable. We think the kitchen is now our favourite room as it was tired and old fashioned and now is a brighter beautiful space. Andy supported and helped us make decisions with his expertise, which we appreciated not having taken on a project like this before.

Tina Borrett -St Albans

Andy and his team were a pleasure to work with. Andy is reliable and trustworthy and he has a great team of skilled tradespeople to call upon. He was always focused on delivering to our expectations and went the extra mile to ensure that these were met. Throughout the project Andy was always quick to respond to queries and the team were unfailingly polite, professional and personable. We are delighted with the results and would not hesitate to recommend ACR Build.

Tom & Allie -Harpenden

Andy and the team did a brilliant job with a kitchen extension and ground floor refurbishment of our Victorian semi. Excellent communication prior to and during the build meant complete transparency about costs and no nasty surprises. Andy has a great network of tradesmen who are happy to go the extra mile to ensure things stay on schedule and to make sure you get the quality of finish you want. Can't recommend them highly enough.

Jon Mills - Harpenden

I have collaborated with Andy on various building and interior design projects. Andy is a true professional, his work is of the highest quality. Andy is reliable and trustworthy, and very personable. ACR build is my builder of choice, and I will always recommend Andy and his team to my clients.

User - Lime Interiors St Albans

I had the whole house redone from top to bottom: loft access created and made accessible, new insulation, new windows, replastering, repainting, rewriting, new kitchen, new bathroom and new flooring and carpets. What a fabulous experience from start to finish. Andy, was always easy to get hold of and direct and easy to deal with. No problem was too small for his wholehearted attention. He came up with ideas and was helpful throughout. He is clearly very experienced and was able to give me options and suggestions which I found very helpful. His team were also unfailingly polite and a very cheerful bunch. At the end he cleared up the final few items very promptly and has also been helpful regarding the next steps such as bookshelves and the garden. I highly recommend Andy and the ACR team.

Karen Young -St Albans

I have collaborated with Andy on various building and interior design projects. Andy is a true professional, his work is of the highest quality. Andy is reliable and trustworthy, and very personable. ACR build is my builder of choice, and I will always recommend Andy and his team to my clients.

User - Lime Interiors, St Albans

Working with Andy on our extension and full house renovation has been a pleasure. Even from the very beginning stages where we were just gathering quotes and asking a lot of questions, Andy was quick to respond and easy to communicate with. Throughout the project Andy has worked really collaboratively with us, including us in important decisions and keeping us informed of progress. Andy has a great team that he works with and he is hardworking, knowledgeable and has an eye for detail which I really appreciate! He has also provided us with a lot of much needed advice along the way. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend ACR build.

Shona54- Harpenden

Andy took our house that hadn't been touched since 1963 and turned into a home compatible with modern living. He and his team built us a modest extension to increase the kitchen and fitted a new one in its place, converted the garage into a room, new porch, replaced a warm air system with central heating and reconfigured the bathroom. Plus lots of little extras that naturally happen during a project like this. He's got a great eye for detail and quality, is timely and stuck to his quote. The big plus is how he conducts himself; very personable and conscientious which was important to us as we have elderly neighbours and we were dealing with a 1 year old at the time so having someone we c...

C Goff- Chris Kings Langley

Andy completed the project on my house during 2020 lockdown, adding a bay window and porch at the front, a small extension at the rear, and transforming the ground floor into an open plan living space. I couldn’t be happier with the work Andy did. He uses the best specialist contractors, and the quality of work is excellent. All the challenges met along the way, as happens in all projects were dealt with, and managed. I’d highly recommended Andy, he’s easy to work with and results are worth every penny.

vwing- Victoria St Albans

We are extremely pleased with the outcome of our single storey rear extension. The project went very smoothly despite the recent difficult circumstances. Although not the cheapest quote, ACR Build bought ideas to the table that others did not, whilst listening carefully to what we were looking to achieve. They gave us alternative design and layout concepts which were presented in a way that gave us options at relevant decision points and made us feel comfortable and in control of the project, which ultimately gave us the confidence to deliberately extend the scope and achieve a significantly improved end result. Our initial concern that various aspects of the project were being outsourced proved completely unfounded, partially due to the quality of the overall Project Management by Andy Ryder (transparent cost control and strong communications), but also because of the performance of each of the different tradesmen working on the project. Without exception, each did an excellent job, were highly skilled and conducted themselves at all times in a professional and appropriate way. The performance of ACR Build on this project has led us to re-evaluate what a building project should be like and we have absolutely no hesitation in recommending ACR Build as a top performer in the local building industry.

Brent May -Harpenden

We used ACR build for a kitchen and bathroom renovation involving some structural work, and really happy with the results which are of high quality. Andy and his team were professional, knowledgeable, open, responsive and gave helpful advice and opinions. We encountered a number of unexpected issues during the build and Andy always offered reasonable solutions and made sure we were happy with the end result.

Jessica Gordon - Ricksmansworth

Very professsional, flexible and personable. Renovated and updated an 1890's house to create a modern, airy and spacious interior. Sound advice on issues and managed project while we were out of the country for several weeks.

Josephine Wilkinson - Harpenden

I had Andy and his team complete a detached garage for me at my home watford. We had several contractors look at the project and found Andys ideas to be the most considerate of the surrounding landscape and general feel of the site. He constructed a 30m2 detached garage, high levels of insulation and quality brickwork to match existing. The project was on time throughout and additional jobs were added by us which Andy happily handled for us. ( we paid additionally for these) From architect drawings through to materials selection and project completion we were kept informed or any changes and complications that may arise. Overall me and my wife are very pleased with the final result and would happily use Andy again in future. One of those builders you wish you had met years ago! Thank you Andy

User -Daniel, Watford

What an incredible build team! Andy and his team are talented, dedicated, trustworthy and we love the family home they’ve created for us Our house was an extensive renovation, with most of the walls being moved, new roof, windows, stairs, flooring, kitchen, bathrooms, patio, drive etc Andy’s quote was a fair price for the work, and he gave options where he thought we could reduce cost and/or create a better design. He has a great attention to detail, and kept us informed and engaged throughout We’d highly recommend Andy and his team for any build

Chris Allen -Harpenden

We are delighted with our new kitchen that Andy and his team reconfigured. The process of plumbing, electrics, plastering, flooring and fitting was slick, efficient and of an exceptional quality. Their hard work and professionalism clearly shows with the final product being awesome!! Andy was always on hand and communicated daily throughout the whole job with great ideas to achieve the kitchen of our dreams. We would recommend Andy and his team 100% and will be having him back for future projects. Thanks again.

Chris Burgess - Luton

Andy and the team at ACR Build have carried out several major projects for me over the past 10 years - all to an exceptionally high standard, with impeccable attention to detail. The most recent project involved entirely renovating my house, including reconfiguring and installing a new bathroom. Andy is super at coming up with solutions for even the most complex aspects of a project, and the results are impressive! I would only ever work with ACR and genuinely cannot recommend Andy’s work highly enough.

User -Terry, Watford

This is the second time we have used Andy. The first time was 3 years ago to do an knock through with a new kitchen and sliding doors to the rear of the house. More recently we needed a wall water proofing, utility room reconfigured and alterations to our hall and porch. Andy has always been very professional and provides a high standard of work. He keeps you informed and update on the project at all times. One of the things that I have most liked about Andy is that he gives his honest opinion and will try his hardest to think of alternative ways to make things happen. I would highly recommended using Andy and the people that work with him.

Lorna Evans -Marlow

Very happy with the extension Andy & his team constructed at our house. All the work has been carried out by specialists to an exceptional standard. Very good communication from Andy throughout the build. Andy was flexible to our requirements, as we chose the details during the job. We would very much look forward to working with Andy again for any projects carried out on our house in the future.

Martin Richardson- Harpenden

Re ACR Builders: We are so pleased with our new extension, and the building work was to a very high standard. Andy is very conscientious and has a great team around him who were always cheerful, considerate and competent and that made such a difference. I also liked the fact that we were not left builder less for large amounts of time when there was work to be done. Thanks Andy.

helen148 -St Albans

Andy was extremely reliable, professional and a good communicator. We were able to gut our kitchen and rebuild it in record time. He also rewired a significant portion of our electrics and fixed our heating issues. Last but not least, his budget was realistic. We'd highly recommend him.

Teresa Chick-Hammersmith

We had some small electrical work done by Andy Ryder at our large family home on Cassiobury Estate, Watford 2 years ago and had no hesitation in bringing them back in to put in underfloor heating and to sort out quality lighting, dimmers, spots etc in our new apartment on Nash Mills Wharf, Hemel Hempstead. Neat, tidy and highly professional at an affordable price.

Bruce Oliver -Hemel Hempstead

Andy and his team at ACR Build did a fantastic job on our renovation and extension and we are really impressed with their work. Andy in particular was a dream to deal with. He was always available to discuss our plans and had helpful design ideas, many of which we took on board. Andy also made it his priority to ensure we were happy with the end result - if there was something we didn't like, he fixed it. Exceptionally high standards combined with a professional and reliable team make ACR Build an easy recommendation.

Stacey Cross -Harpenden

I have had the pleasure working with ACR Build on many different projects and I couldn't recommend them enough. Always professional and reliable which is key in the building industry.

Richard Wolfe -Harvey Jones Kitchens

Andy came back to compete phase 2 of our downstairs renovations and did another fantastic job. As ever Andy has really good communication and great ideas to get around problems. Also the people that Andy works with are really friendly. Couldn't recommend Andy's work highly enough. Andy did a fantastic job with our knock-through and new kitchen. He was meticulous in his quote which meant that there were no surprises. He was also very flexible as things evolved around planning consent. We would highly recommend Andy's work and would use him again without hesitation

markevans123456 - Marlow

Andy undertook our kitchen refurbishment this January. Andy is pleasant, friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. He quoted for the job in detail and stuck to these costs. I have no problem with recommending Andy and ACR Build for any house renovation work you have planned.

Isabel Lipsett -Harpenden

We have worked with Andy on several building projects. He is an extremely reliable and trustworthy individual. He has managed our projects with the utmost professionalism being very transparent throughout. Andy being very hardworking and focussed has always taken on full responsibility for our projects which meant minimal supervision was required from our end. This was a great positive for us as both of us work long hours and have very little time to focus on these projects. Knowing how much the projects meant to us and how little time we had on hand Andy ensured they were completed to our satisfaction. This meant we could go on for weeks without having to really worry about the work being done or visit the site and be rest assured it was in good hands. He constantly updated us on the developments and reminded us on tasks ahead . Our neighbours have also passed compliments on Andy and his team on several occasions mentioning that they have not met such hardworking builders. He is very resourceful and well networked with various distributers ,etc.. and has enabled us to buy building materials at better prices . In the end we have always been very pleased with the results. You can always tell that he has put his heart and soul into the job. We would recommend Andy and would always go back to him for future projects.

shipra_guha -Ricksmanworth

We've known Andy a few years now, and we've worked on numerous projects together, some ours, some his. An electrician by trade, and a very good one at that, and a very good and competent project manger. You may think that one building company recommending another is a bit of nepotism, but in our business it seldom occurs, and when a recommendation is due, it's due. Would highly recommend!

Hamilton