Rotterdam-West
Building converted into five homes
Work carried out: an entire building remodelled inside and out into five self-contained apartments.
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Service area Vlaardingen
Renovation contractor in Vlaardingen
Rotterdamse Bouwbedrijf handles complete remodelling and renovation projects in Vlaardingen. From a post-war family home in Westwijk or Holy to a building by the old harbour, with one dedicated team that knows the local stock: tight floor plans that call for a new layout, timber pile foundations in the older districts, and flats where the owners' association has a say.
5.0review score
500+ projects delivered
10+ years of experience
- Our own team of 20 to 30 craftsmen
- One price, no surprises for extra work
- 1-year guarantee on the renovation
Why Rotterdamse Bouwbedrijf
A contractor who knows the reality of renovating in Vlaardingen
One dedicated team
Our own craftsmen run your project from start to finish. No rotating subcontractors.
Familiar with Vlaardingen's districts
From the post-war floor plans in Westwijk and Holy to the older buildings around the harbour and the centre.
A clear price up front
A clear quote and a realistic schedule. Any additional work is always discussed first.
Our services in Vlaardingen
How we can help you in Vlaardingen
From a new layout and bathroom to a home tackled as a whole. In Vlaardingen it usually comes down to winning space within a tight floor plan. Click through to the service you are looking for.
Full Home Renovation
From teardown to turnkey by one dedicated team.
View serviceHome Extensions
More living space, from foundation to finish.
View serviceRoof Extension
A full extra floor.
View serviceBathroom Renovation
Complete and fully watertight.
View serviceKitchen Renovation
From design to installation.
View serviceDormer Installation
More space and light in your loft.
View servicePlastering & Finishing
Walls and ceilings plastered smooth or ready to paint.
View serviceWindow Frames, Insulation & Energy Efficiency
Better comfort and a better energy label.
View serviceOur work
All projects
Work in comparable homes
We carried out these projects in Rotterdam, a quarter of an hour from Vlaardingen. They involve the same kind of housing as here: post-war and pre-war properties in which the layout was set out afresh and the services replaced in full, from structural shell to finish.
Rotterdam-Noord
Home from structural shell to finish
Work carried out: new layout, bathroom, kitchen, bedrooms and complete finishing.
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Middellandstraat · Rotterdam
Block redeveloped into homes
Work carried out: an entire block converted internally into apartments and studios, façade work included.
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Reviews
What our clients say
5.0average rating
How we work
From intake to handover
01
Intake & design
We visit, listen and think along with you about layout, materials and budget.
02
Quote & schedule
You receive a clear quote with a clear price and a realistic schedule.
03
Teardown & shell work
Stripping out, structure and shell work. The foundation of your new home is in place.
04
Services & finishing
Services, bathroom, kitchen, plastering, floors and painting.
05
Handover & guarantee
We walk through everything together and hand over turn-key, with a guarantee.
Curious what's possible in your home?
Request your free renovation planLooking for a renovation contractor in Vlaardingen?
Arrange a free, no-obligation consultation. We come to you in Vlaardingen, look at what is possible in your home and draw up a plan with a clear price.
Renovating in Vlaardingen
What makes renovating in Vlaardingen different
Vlaardingen was built in two waves: an old harbour and fishing town around the Grote Kerk, and around it the districts that were added at speed between 1950 and 1975. Which of the two your home stands in determines nearly everything: the floor plan, the foundation and the rules you will be dealing with.
Westwijk and Babberspolder: tight post-war floor plans
The post-war homes were built efficiently and laid out small: a narrow kitchen separate from the living room, a bathroom of a few square metres, and three bedrooms of which the smallest barely takes a bed. The gain here is not in adding square metres but in rearranging: merging kitchen and living room, enlarging the bathroom at the expense of the smallest bedroom, and bringing the loft into use. That nearly always means work on a load-bearing wall, which we have calculated by a structural engineer first.
Holy and the expansion of the 1960s and 1970s
Holy holds family homes with a cavity, a shallow roof pitch and often a flat-roofed extension. Here the obvious combination is a dormer together with insulating the roof and the cavity: more usable space upstairs and a noticeably lower energy bill, in one project. At the rear a dormer is often permit-free; at the front the council assesses the design.
The old harbour and the centre
Around the Grote Kerk, the Westhavenplaats and the old harbours stand narrow, deep buildings, often split into a lower and an upper flat. Parts of this area are a protected townscape and there are listed buildings among them. Inside there is usually a great deal you can do; for the façade, the window frames and the roof the council assesses the plan. We agree that in advance and handle the planning permission.
Timber pile foundations in the older districts
Vlaardingen sits on peat and clay, and the pre-war buildings here stand on timber piles. Those only last as long as they stay under water; if the groundwater level drops, the pile head dries out and the timber rots. Tilting, jamming doors and cracks above window frames are the signals. Before a complete home renovation in such a building we have the foundation assessed first, because repair always comes before finishing.
Walk-up and gallery flats with an owners' association
Vlaardingen has a great deal of stacked housing from the 1950s to the 1970s. In those blocks material has to go up a narrow staircase or a small lift, there is no storage space on the landing, and sound towards the neighbours weighs heavily. We plan deliveries day by day, work with smaller batches at a time and take the deed of division into account when building up the floor.
Energy upgrades: envelope first, then the system
In a post-war Vlaardingen home the biggest gains come from roof and floor insulation and better glazing. Only once the envelope is sorted does a heat pump make sense; the other way round it runs at high temperature and delivers little. Because the walls and ceilings are open during a renovation anyway, that is the cheapest moment to include insulation and ventilation. Grants are available for insulation work in the Netherlands; which ones apply at the time goes into your quote.
Common mistakes in Vlaardingen
- Ordering a heat pump before the roof, the floor and the glazing have been dealt with.
- Opening the kitchen into the living room of a post-war home without having the load-bearing wall calculated.
- Starting on a façade or window frames in the old centre without checking whether the protected townscape applies.
- Having the foundation of a pre-war building investigated only once the finishes have been chosen.
Considering a renovation in Vlaardingen? Take a look at our complete home renovation, bathroom renovation or window frames and insulation, browse our projects or arrange a no-obligation consultation. Besides Vlaardingen we also work in Rotterdam, Schiedam and the rest of the Randstad.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about renovating in Vlaardingen
Are you a Vlaardingen-based building company?
We come from Rotterdam and work from Doklaan, about twenty minutes from Vlaardingen via the A20 and the Beneluxtunnel. Vlaardingen is a regular service area for us and our own team runs the projects here, without hired subcontractors.
Our home in Westwijk is small. What can be done about the layout?
In these homes, rearranging usually delivers more than building on. The most common steps are: removing the wall between kitchen and living room, enlarging the bathroom at the expense of the smallest bedroom, and adding the loft to the living area via a fixed staircase and a dormer. Because the wall between kitchen and living room is often load-bearing, we always have that step calculated.
What about the foundation of a pre-war Vlaardingen building?
As a rule it stands on timber piles. As long as the groundwater is high enough that is fine; if the pile head dries out, rot sets in. If in doubt we have a foundation inspection carried out with an inspection pit before we start, so you know whether repair is needed before money goes into finishes.
Can you install a dormer in Holy?
Yes. The roofs in Holy suit a full-width dormer, which makes the loft usable as a bedroom or study. At the rear this is often permit-free, provided the dormer keeps enough distance from the ridge, the eaves and the sides. At the front planning permission is required and the council also looks at the dormers already in the street.
Our building is in the old centre. Do extra rules apply there?
Parts of the area around the Grote Kerk and the old harbours are a protected townscape, and there are listed buildings among them. Inside there is usually a great deal you can do; for the façade, the window frames and the roof the council assesses the plan. We agree that in advance and handle the planning permission.
We own a flat with an owners' association. What can we decide ourselves?
Inside your own flat, a lot: layout, kitchen, bathroom and finishing. The moment you touch the structure, the façade, the service risers or the shared parts, you need the association's consent, and the deed of division nearly always sets requirements for the floor. We supply the technical case for the members' meeting and agree working hours with the other residents.
What is the smartest order for upgrading a post-war home?
The envelope first: roof insulation, floor insulation and better glazing, with draught-proofing. Then ventilation, because a tighter house needs more fresh air supplied. Only after that does a heat pump make sense, and preferably with heat emitters that work at low temperature. Do it the other way round and you are paying for a system that cannot hold on to the heat.