Portfolio
A new modern house development overlooking the sea near Mevagissey in Cornwall. Features include a passenger lift to the second floor, where the living room and kitchen are situated. Photovoltaics (converting sunlight into electricity) will produce power to run the ground source heat pump for the underfloor heating and hot water systems. The eaves trim is finished in mirror polished stainless steel.
An Art Deco style build in Carlyon Bay. The architect for the original house was Marshall Sissons and it was built by Staverton Building Co. of Dartington in 1932. The present owners and architechts www.alanleatherassociates.co.uk looked into expanding and re-modelling the house, but due to its lack of cavity walls and associated damp problems, it was decided to re-build, keeping the Art Deco style but with a modern twist.
A double garage has been added to the lower ground floor along with the main entrance. This leads into an exciting hallway featuring a staircase with cantilevered oak treads (if you have armfuls of shopping, you can take the lift) leading to galleries overlooking a full height void and window. Set in flush to the plastered wall is a 7 metre high by 20mm LED - an exciting strip of light, very sexy!
The finished project was a regional winner of an LABC (Local Authority Building Control) award for building excellence in delivery of outstanding construction and workmanship.
A lovely cliffside house in Fowey has a garden above a cove. The land is liable to subsidence due to deep fine subsoil on the 45 degree angle of bed rock sloping towards the sea.
Four years ago the garden suffered such a slip taking the septic tank with it. It was decided to stabilise the land above the cove with 64 piles, all with 3 metres drilled into the bed rock and anchored back with rock anchors.
The garage on stilts to the left of the cove was becoming unsafe due to its age, so it was decided to rebuild it with the space underneath utilised as a fitness suite, complete with aqua trainer and hot tub at floor level. Covers which can be used for floor space can also be raised into the ceiling when use of the aqua trainer and hot tub is required.
The basement underneath houses the plant room, some storage and the under side of the aqua trainer and hot tub.
The neighbouring property required a car space and garden, the two projects progressed together with great practical benefits.
This project was a regional winner of an LABC (Local Authority Building Control) award for building excellence in delivery of outstanding construction and workmanship.
A new four storey house overlooking the river Gannel, Newquay replaces a 1970's house on a steeply sloping site. The new house will have fantastic views from a terrace or balcony on each floor and one of the many interesting features will be a pedestrian bridge from the car parking area to the top floor.
A patch of waste ground overlooking Polzeath beach from the top of a wooded valley was the ideal spot for a house to take advantage of the views. The 'L' shaped foot print wrapped itself into the plot and a five metre cantilever sailed out over the wooded valley.
A heavily engineered ground floor construction of reinforced concrete anchored the steel beams supporting the cantilevered structure. Made up ground under the tipping point was trenched out and filled out with 40 cubic metres of concrete to find a solid foundation. The steel frame structure of the first floor helped to brace the cantilever and allow plenty of glass facing in the direction of seascapes and country views.
This project was the winner of the Cornish Building Group Award for Design.
A 1970s house, in a fantastic location overlooking the Fowey river estuary is being replaced with a triple gabled home, complementing the shape of the Victorian terraces in the area.
It has plenty of glass with sliding, folding doors facing the views and sunshine.
Inside are vaulted, painted, tongue and groove timber ceilings, giving a hint of New England style to the living area, which is on the first floor.
There is even a goods lift for the groceries direct to the kitchen! Central vacuum and heat recovery ventilation.
This large barn conversion project is situated near Newquay. It involved the complete renovation of two large barns and the construction of a central link. The completed project is a spectacular residence with landscaped gardens, offering practical accommodation and stunning views of the Cornish countryside.
Delabole stone adds character and distinction to any building. The subtle, natural colour is pleasing to the eye and compliments any architectural style.
When a barn was slowly collapsing nearby to a farmer's cottage, it was decided to renovate the barn and link it to the cottage. The result was a high quality matching of the two, fully in sympathy with the local landscape. This barn is situated a short distance from a farm cottage. It was decided to renovate and link the barn to the cottage to make a beautiful new home.
Until recently, there have been stringent restrictions for the conversion of barns to residential use. In 2001 however, with the devastation of foot and mouth disease, the Rural Development Agency has recommended a relaxing of these restrictions. This enabled farmers to sell their barns for this purpose. In addition to residential use and that of holiday homes, barns can also make desirable offices and workshops, which are actively encouraged by local authorities.
It was established that much of the walls were unstable and had to be rebuilt. On dismantling, the stones were so friable that they crumbled in our hands. There were not enough usable stones we could use to rebuild.
Reinforced lime concrete beams were cast in a continuous beam over ground floor windows and doorways to stabilize the walls. We then used mass thermolite blocks with lime mortar to repair and tie in to the existing walls which had the added benefit of lightening the load of the remaining ground floor walls. The thermolite blocks were rendered with lime and the remaining stone walls were pointed by trowelling on and brushing off lime mortar, as the joints were too small to point individually.
We tried to re-use as many of the original materials and features, such as relaying the slate floor and the cobbles in the courtyard.
Materials brought in included reclaimed wide floor boards from a Victorian warehouse, local green oak for lintels and rag slate for the cottage roof. To gain enough height in the first floor, we had to use a steel ridge beam to support the rafters.
Interesting features include the two storey fire place which is overlooked from a window in the bedroom above the lounge. The original joists were built in between the new structural joists as a reminder of the past.
A complete overhaul and alterations of a farmhouse near Bodmin, Cornwall including refitting the slates, replacing the rendering, taking out a partition, installing central heating and replacing the lean-to with a conservatory.
