Zwartjanstraat · Rotterdam
Two homes and 20 m of dormers
Work carried out: two homes rebuilt from strip-out to finishing, including twenty metres of dormers in total.
View project
Service area Zoetermeer
Renovation contractor in Zoetermeer
Rotterdamse Bouwbedrijf handles remodelling, dormers and complete renovations in Zoetermeer. From a home in Meerzicht, Buytenwegh or Seghwaert to a house in Rokkeveen or Oosterheem, with one dedicated team that knows the Zoetermeer house comes out of a building system: cast-concrete walls, hollow-core floors and a plan that repeats down the whole street.
5 starreviews from our clients
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 Zoetermeer
One dedicated team
Our own craftsmen run your project from start to finish. No rotating subcontractors.
Familiar with system-built housing
From cast-concrete homes in the new-town districts to the younger housing in Rokkeveen and Oosterheem.
A clear price up front
A clear quote and a realistic schedule. Any additional work is always discussed first.
Our services in Zoetermeer
How we can help you in Zoetermeer
From a dormer or a new kitchen to a home tackled as a whole. In Zoetermeer it usually comes down to more space and to components that are worn out after thirty to fifty years. 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 with the same kind of interventions
We carried out these projects in Rotterdam, around half an hour from Zoetermeer. The work is the same as here: homes tackled from strip-out to finishing in a single project, dormers on an existing roof, and rooms where every centimetre has been planned.
Middellandstraat · Rotterdam
New living space under the roof
Work carried out: an entire block remodelled internally, with a new living floor under the roof and roof lights.
View project
Kralingen · Rotterdam
Cloakroom under the stairs
Work carried out: a compact space replanned, with mosaic tiles, a patterned floor and a concealed cistern.
View project
Reviews
What our clients say
5 starreviews from our clients
Would you like a result like this at home?
Tell us what you have in mind. You get a free quote, usually within one working day.
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 Zoetermeer?
Arrange a no-obligation consultation. We come to you in Zoetermeer, look at what is possible in your home and put together a plan with a clear price.
Renovating in Zoetermeer
What makes renovating in Zoetermeer different
Zoetermeer went from village to a hundred thousand residents in thirty years, district by district, built in series. That has one big advantage: we usually know how your house is put together before the first visit. And one constraint: these homes were erected with a building system, and a system does not simply bend to a new plan.
Cast concrete: why an opening works differently here
In large parts of Meerzicht, Buytenwegh, Seghwaert and Rokkeveen the party walls, and often the internal walls too, are cast concrete with hollow-core floors on top. That is a different matter from a masonry wall: there is reinforcement in it, the wall bears along its full length, and forming an opening calls for wet cutting, dust extraction and a calculation of what remains. It can almost always be done, but it is not half a day of demolition.
The same floor plan in the whole street
Because the homes were built in series the same question keeps coming back: the kitchen is narrow and separate, the living room is closed off and the store room stands against the rear wall. The standard answer is to open the kitchen up and replace the store room with a full-width extension. The advantage of series building is that whatever was worked out at a neighbour's house usually applies here too, including the structural solution and whether it can be done permit-free.
Bringing the loft into use
The roofs in the new-town districts are shallow and the loft is normally handed over as storage. A full-width dormer adds headroom and daylight. For a proper room you also need a fixed staircase, an insulated roof, an escape route and enough floor capacity. At the rear a dormer is often permit-free; at the front the council assesses the design, including how it sits alongside the dormers already in the row.
Rokkeveen and Oosterheem: younger, but not finished
Rokkeveen dates from the 1980s and 1990s, Oosterheem came out of the ground after 2000. Structurally there is little wrong, but the shortest-lived components are now due: kitchen, sanitaryware, silicone joints, window hardware and the mechanical ventilation unit. Because the kitchen and the bathroom come out anyway, this is the cheapest moment to adjust the layout and update the electrics.
Sound between homes in system building
Concrete party walls block airborne sound reasonably well, but impact sound travels through them easily. A hard floor without decoupling, a staircase fixed to the party wall or a pipe touching it will be audible next door. In a renovation we watch those details: a floating screed, no rigid fixings into the party wall and pipes packed loose. That does more than a thicker underlay.
Upgrading a new-town home
These houses have a cavity and usually some insulation, but rarely enough. The order that pays off best is: check the cavity and top it up where needed, insulate the roof, insulate the floor from the crawl space and improve the glazing in the existing frames. In a cast-concrete house the junction between the concrete wall and the façade is a known cold bridge, which we deal with while the façade is open anyway.
Common mistakes in Zoetermeer
- Forming an opening in a cast-concrete house without calculating what remains of the wall.
- Ordering a dormer at the front without checking what the local zoning plan allows there.
- Laying a hard floor on a concrete floor between two homes without decoupling.
- Fitting out the loft as a bedroom without a fixed staircase, insulation and an escape route.
Considering a renovation in Zoetermeer? Take a look at our dormer installation, extensions or complete home renovation, browse our projects or arrange a no-obligation consultation. Besides Zoetermeer we also work in Rotterdam, The Hague, Voorburg and the rest of the Randstad.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about renovating in Zoetermeer
How far is Zoetermeer from your base?
About half an hour by road. We are based on Doklaan in Rotterdam and travel via the A12 or the A13. Zoetermeer is a fixed part of our service area; our own team runs the projects here and no hired-in subcontractors are involved at any stage.
Our internal walls are concrete. Can we still make an opening?
In most cases yes. There is reinforcement in the wall and it bears along its full length, so an opening needs a calculation, wet cutting and good dust extraction. Often a steel portal frame or trimmer goes in to carry the load around the opening. What is possible depends on the position and the width of the opening you want.
Our neighbours renovated the same house. Does that help?
Often it does. In series-built housing the structure is identical, so what was calculated and permitted for a neighbouring house usually applies to yours. We ask about that at the first visit and use existing drawings or calculations as a starting point. It saves survey time, although we still verify it ourselves.
Is a dormer in Zoetermeer permit-free?
At the rear it often is, provided the dormer keeps enough distance from the ridge, the eaves and the sides of the roof plane. At the front, or on a roof plane facing public space, a permit is required and the council also looks at the dormers already present in the row. We check that in advance and handle the application.
We can hear the neighbours. What actually helps?
In these homes it is mainly impact sound travelling through the structure: footsteps, a door closing, a staircase fixed to the party wall. What works is a floating screed, a suspended ceiling that does not hang from the concrete floor, and decoupling everything that touches the party wall. A thicker underlay on its own rarely solves it.
What is due after thirty years in a Rokkeveen home?
Normally the shortest-lived components first: kitchen, sanitaryware, the silicone joints in the shower, window hardware and the mechanical ventilation unit. Because the kitchen and bathroom come out anyway, this is the logical moment to adjust the layout and update the electrics and consumer unit.
Can you do the extension and the dormer at the same time?
Yes, and it is usually the most practical route. Both involve scaffolding and strip-out work and both touch the finishes of the same rooms. In one schedule that means one round of disruption, one setting-out exercise and one finishing pass through the house instead of two separate projects.
Is your question not listed?
Call or message us. You will speak to someone who does the work himself.