High-Rise &
Mansion Block
The Service
Your neighbours will never know we were there.
Refurbishing an apartment inside an occupied building is an entirely different discipline to working on a standalone house. There are residents above, below, and on both sides. There is a freeholder, a managing agent, and a set of building rules that govern when you can work, how you deliver materials, and how much noise you're allowed to make.
Most contractors treat these constraints as inconveniences. We treat them as the brief. Melner has delivered full apartment refurbishments across some of London's most prestigious mansion blocks, portered buildings, and high-rise residences — on time, within the building's rules, and without a single complaint from the neighbours.
The logistics of mansion block work are as critical as the construction itself. Materials need to arrive in narrow delivery windows. Waste needs to leave without blocking shared corridors. Wet trades need to be waterproofed to protect the apartment below. Noisy works need to happen within approved hours — and only after the building management has been properly notified.
We manage all of this as standard. Before the first day on site, we submit a detailed method statement to the freeholder or managing agent, introduce ourselves to the immediate neighbours, and establish a clear communication protocol that keeps everyone informed throughout the programme.
In a mansion block, the corridor is your first impression and the goods lift is your only access. Get the logistics wrong and you lose the building's goodwill before you've laid a single tile.
Building types
Every kind of multi-unit building.
Period Mansion Blocks
Victorian, Edwardian, and interwar mansion blocks across Kensington, Chelsea, Belgravia, and Marylebone. Often portered, with strict building rules, shared access, and period common parts that must remain undamaged throughout the works.
Modern High-Rise
Contemporary apartment buildings and tower blocks with concierge, goods lifts, and building management systems. Delivery scheduling, fire compartmentation compliance, and coordination with the building's FM team are standard practice.
Converted Houses
Flats within converted period houses — often the most complex, with no goods lift, narrow staircases, shared gardens, and freeholder consent required for almost every intervention including windows, flooring, and plumbing routes.
Penthouse Apartments
Top-floor units with unique structural considerations — roof access, terrace waterproofing, and often the most exposed position in the building. Crane access and scaffold licencing managed where required.
Garden & Basement Flats
Lower-ground and garden-level apartments with their own challenges — damp, waterproofing, tanking, light wells, and garden access that often requires coordination with upper-floor residents.
New-Build Developments
Snagging, defect rectification, and bespoke fit-out within newly built apartments where the developer's standard finish doesn't meet the buyer's expectations. We upgrade without voiding the building warranty.
The difference
Logistics as important as craftsmanship.
At Pembroke House on Chesham Street in Belgravia, we delivered a full 80 square metre refurbishment in three months — within an occupied mansion block with a single goods lift, restricted working hours, and a freeholder who required weekly progress reports and pre-approval of every material delivered to site.
The master suite was reconfigured from a single bedroom into a walk-through dressing room and ensuite shower — requiring structural alterations, new plumbing routes, and waterproofing, all within a party-wall structure shared with the adjacent apartment. Zero complaints. Zero overruns.
At Park Street in Mayfair, a four-bedroom penthouse refurbishment within a Grade II listed building required coordination with the freeholder, the managing agent, the conservation officer, and four neighbouring apartments — simultaneously. Materials were pre-booked into 30-minute delivery slots. All waste removal was scheduled for early morning before residents left for work.
These projects demonstrate that mansion block and high-rise work is not a reduced version of house refurbishment — it's a different discipline entirely. The craftsmanship is identical. The logistics, communication, and building management are what separate a contractor who can do the work from one who can do the work without disrupting everyone else in the building.
How we manage it
Building-first programme management.
Full scope
Apartment refurbishment within building rules.
Every mansion block and high-rise project includes the full range of construction works plus the building-specific logistics that this type of property demands. The scope below covers both.
- Freeholder and managing agent liaison
- Method statement and risk assessment
- Building rule compliance
- Neighbour notification and communication
- Goods lift booking and corridor protection
- Delivery scheduling and waste management
- Full strip-out within party-wall constraints
- Structural alterations with party wall consent
- Waterproofing to protect lower apartments
- Full M&E replacement
- Bespoke joinery and fit-out
- Tiling, flooring, and finishing
- Noise and dust management
- Common parts protection and reinstatement
- Building management sign-off
- Aftercare and maintenance
