HMO conversions · Yeaman Street, ST4

5-bed HMO conversion — Yeaman Street, ST4

An end terrace stripped back to the studs and rebuilt as five rooms

Location: Yeaman Street, ST4

The front elevation of Yeaman Street, a rendered end terrace on a sunlit street of red brick houses

5
Lettable rooms: 100%
Rewired and replumbed

The brief

A rendered end terrace to be converted into a five-bedroom HMO. The property needed taking back to the structure — new partitions throughout, a full rewire and replumb, and a fire strategy designed in rather than added on.

The challenge

Working around the existing services while forming new room divisions. The boiler and pipework were boxed into a purpose-built stud enclosure so they stayed accessible for servicing without eating into a lettable room.

The result

Five finished rooms, each with a feature panelled wall, fitted wardrobe and wall lights either side of the bed. The before-and-after above is the same room at first fix and on completion.

Before & after

Drag the handle.

Same room, same angle. This is the part that's hard to argue with.

The finished bedroom, with a deep burgundy panelled wall, wall lights, a fitted wardrobe and new carpet

A room at first fix, with new timber stud partitions, insulation between the joists and bare boards

What we actually did

Back to the structure

New timber stud partitions throughout, insulation between the joists, and the whole house rewired and replumbed before anything was boarded. That’s the expensive, invisible part of the job and it’s the part that decides whether the house is still lettable in ten years.

The photographs of the first fix are here deliberately. Most builders only photograph the finished rooms. What’s behind the plaster is the bit worth judging us on.

The boiler

The existing boiler sat where a room needed to be. Rather than move it — a significant cost — it was boxed into a purpose-built stud enclosure with a removable panel, so it stays accessible for annual servicing without taking a chunk out of a room somebody is paying rent for.

The rooms

Each room got a panelled feature wall, a fitted wardrobe built into the recess, wall lights either side of the bed instead of a single pendant, and a socket layout designed around where the furniture actually goes.

The two finished rooms shown here are the same specification in different colours. Doing them as a set keeps the cost down and stops the house feeling like five separate flats.