Most jobs in Observatory, Woodstock and Sea Point follow the same order. What changes is how long each stage takes and how much the existing building decides for us. Below is the sequence I work to, with the points where clients usually need to make a call.
Stage 01
Site measure and brief
I measure the rooms myself, note door swings, ceiling heights and where the damp sits. The brief gets written down in plain terms: what stays, what goes, and what the household actually does on a Tuesday evening. Expect two visits before anything is drawn.
Stage 02
Measured drawings
Existing plans and a section through the main volume, drawn at 1:50. This is the document that shows whether the wall you want to remove is load-bearing and where the wet core can realistically stay. It is also the base for every later drawing.
Stage 03
Spatial options
Two or three layouts, each with a short note on what it costs you in light, storage or circulation. No renders at this point. A plan and an axonometric tell you more about how a room will feel than a styled image does.
Stage 04
Material and joinery boards
Timber samples, tile modules and paint swatches laid out together, with the joinery drawn to scale. Tile layouts get set to full modules so the cut edge lands where nobody looks. This stage usually takes the longest to settle.
Stage 05
Working drawings and site
Setting-out plans, sections and joinery details for the contractor, then site visits at the framing and first-fix points. Changes on site are normal in older Cape Town stock; the drawing set is what keeps them small.
Stage 06
Handover and record
Final site photography and an as-built set, so the next change to the house starts from something accurate. Trade clients and studios can ask for a drawing review at this point if they are picking up the work later.
Every job starts with a conversation and ends with a folder you can hand to a builder. The steps below are the same whether it is a Woodstock warehouse bay, a Sea Point flat or a cottage in Observatory. Timelines shift with council approvals and how quickly decisions get made on finishes.
We meet on site, walk the rooms and talk through what is not working. I measure the existing footprint, note the ceiling heights and check where the walls actually sit. You leave with a written brief and a list of the constraints that will shape the rest.
Existing plans and sections get drawn up at scale, usually 1:50. This is where sloping floors, odd door positions and the real depth of a boundary wall show up. Nothing gets designed until the base drawing is right.
Two or three layouts, sketched in plan with a section through the tricky junction. We compare them on light, circulation and how much structural work each one needs. You pick a direction before anything is detailed.
Timber samples, tile modules, paint swatches and hardware laid out together. Joinery is drawn as an elevation so the proportions are settled before a carpenter quotes. Tile layouts are set to full modules where the edge stays visible.
Plans, sections, elevations and an axonometric of the joinery run, issued as a single package. Enough information for a builder to price the work and for the electrician to place points without guessing.
I visit at set points during the build to check the set-out, the joinery and the finishes against the drawings. At the end you get the as-built set, the material record and photographs of the finished rooms.
If you want to see how these steps look across built work, the project pages show the brief, the constraint and the finished room side by side. For a drawing review or a studio visit, reach out through contact.