SHT 00 · Featured build · Live on site

A £50k garden annex,
built from the ground up.

I'm Tasif Ahmed — a construction management graduate (BSc Hons, University of Greenwich, 2:1) — managing every stage of this build myself, from digging the foundations to the final finishes. Scroll down to see the build.

Explore the build

SHT 01 · Featured project

Annex extension — full-cycle build

Rev C · 2026

The whole build, managed from day one

On site — in progress

Looking into the annex through the door opening — cavity walls rising off the tanked substructure

$Site cleared and substructure brickwork rising to DPC off strip foundations$

Cavity wall detail — block inner leaf, full-fill insulation batts, brick outer leaf

Blockwork at wall-plate height with bricklayer working

A complete garden annex, managed from first drawing to final finish — a ~£50,000 build with a 45.6m² footprint, built with proper cavity walls: brick on the outside, insulation in the middle, block on the inside. I drew up the floor plans (an office, an open-plan kitchen and lounge, two bedrooms and a shower room), collected and compared quotes from contractors, and organise the trades on site day to day — as well as getting stuck in myself on the groundworks. Careful comparing of quotes and materials saved about £4,000.

Role: Project manager — full delivery
Scope: 45.6m² footprint new-build annex, concept → third fix
Value: ~£50,000 · £4k procurement savings
Structure: Brick / 150 insulated cavity / block · steel & timber roof
Layout: Office · kitchen-dining-lounge · 2 beds · shower room
Sign-off: Building control inspections passed at every key stage
Tools: AutoCAD, MS Project, Excel cost tracking

Build programme — 24 weeks · March to August 2026

Today · wk 21

Groundworks

Foundations

Superstructure

Roof structure

First fix

Second fix

Third fix & handover

Wk 1Wk 8Wk 16Wk 24

Complete In progress Planned Today

Sheet A-02 · Interactive layout

From layout drawing to lived-in space

Hover or tap a room

Office (private garden entrance)	5.1 m²
Kitchen / dining / lounge	10.5 m²
Bedroom 1	7.2 m²
Bedroom 2	7.2 m²
Shower room	2.4 m²
Landing	1.5 m²
Internal area (GIA)	35.4 m²

GARDEN ANNEX — INTERNAL LAYOUT · SHEET A-02
TASIF AHMED — PROJECT MANAGER · 2026

SHT 01A · Build diary

The build, stage by stage

Photographed on site

$Substructure brickwork and footing blocks rising off strip foundations$

Stage 01 — Groundworks & foundations

Marking out and foundations

Marked out the building's footprint, dug the foundation trenches and poured the concrete, then built the below-ground brickwork up to damp-proof level. I worked hands-on with the groundworks team on the digging and site preparation.

Cavity walls rising, black tanking dressed at the base, materials staged inside the footprint

Stage 02 — Substructure & oversite

Damp-proofing and rising walls

The black damp-proof layer went on before the walls started rising — it's what keeps moisture out of the finished building. With no vehicle access to the back garden, the floor area doubled as our storage space, so I timed the deliveries so bricks, blocks and sand arrived just before the team needed them.

Close-up of cavity wall — block inner leaf, full-fill insulation batts, brick outer leaf over DPC

Stage 03 — Cavity superstructure

Building the insulated walls

The walls are built in three layers — brick on the outside, a 150mm gap filled with insulation fitted as the walls went up, and block on the inside. Fitting the insulation alongside the bricklayers meant no second visit and no cold gaps anywhere in the walls.

Blockwork at wall-plate height, timber wall plate bedded, joists stacked ready

Stage 04 — To wall plate

Walls finished, roof ready to start

Walls built up to full height and topped with level timber plates, ready to carry the roof. The roof timbers were delivered and stacked in advance — I booked the carpenters to start the morning after the bricklayers finished, so no days were lost in between.

Roof structure from below — timber joists over a steel beam with OSB deck

Stage 05 — Roof structure

Steel beam, timbers and boarding

The roof is built from timber joists sitting on a steel beam, boarded over and ready for its insulation and waterproof covering. Everything was checked and signed off by building control before we closed it in.

Photo to follow — first & second fix

Stage 06 — Fix stages · in progress

First fix through to completion

Now running the inside works — wiring, plumbing, internal walls and plasterboard — before the final finishes and decoration. This entry updates as the build completes.

SHT 01B · Site footage

Walkround — flank walls rising

Blockwork to wall plate

Roof structure — steel & joists

SHT 02 · Problems solved on site

Challenges & how I dealt with them

Real issues · real fixes

Drainage

Manhole inside the footprint

A drain inspection chamber (manhole) sat exactly where the annex needed to go, and building over it would have blocked access to the drains. I weighed up the options and moved it — dug down to the existing pipes, set a new chamber outside the building, re-laid the pipework with the right slope so everything still flows properly, and had it inspected before covering it back up.

Levelling

Site levels across the footprint

The garden sloped across the build area, which would have left the base sitting on uneven ground. I set a fixed level reference point and dug the whole area down to a consistent level, adjusting the foundation depths so the building sits on firm, even ground — and checked back against that reference at every stage.

Structure

Concrete reinforcement

The ground conditions meant plain concrete on its own wasn't enough. I added steel mesh reinforcement into the concrete — properly overlapped and lifted on spacers so it sits in the right place in the pour — making the foundations strong enough to carry the building without cracking.

Site efficiency

Trades timed in unison

A back-garden site, reachable only through a narrow alleyway, with nowhere to store materials. I planned the work so every trade followed straight after the last — carpenters starting the day the bricklayers finished — with deliveries timed to match. Comparing quotes properly saved about £4,000.

Building control

Inspection-ready at every stage

The build needs council building control sign-off at set points — foundations, damp-proofing, drainage, structure. I built those inspection dates into the programme and kept the site ready for each visit — trenches open, drains on test, paperwork to hand — and kept the inspector in the loop throughout, so every stage passed without holding up the build.

SHT 03 · Capability schedule

Skills & technologies

What I bring to a project team

Construction management

Planning and running the build

Programme scheduling
Construction planning
Contractor coordination
Cost management & procurement
Stakeholder communication

Contracts, quality & risk

Keeping the project safe and compliant

Contract administration — NEC & JCT
Quality control & defect prevention
Risk management
Health & safety compliance
UK Building Regulations

Digital construction

The tech behind the build

BIM — coordinated digital delivery
Navisworks — 4D simulation
AutoCAD & Revit
Microsoft Project — programming
Microsoft Excel — cost tracking

SHT 04 · Education record

Education

Verified on request

2023–2026

BSc (Hons) Construction Management — Upper Second-Class Honours (2:1)
University of Greenwich, London · Best results: Construction Management Practice (83%), Project & Risk Management (77%), Contract Law (74%)

Degree

A £50k garden annex,built from the ground up.