Best house on the street?
Even if we do say so ourselves this could not have been a more spectacular transformation. Having not been touched for some time, and in need of major TLC, Buckwell is now a beautiful home for its owners Neil & Kate and their family
The Journey
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
Buckwell wasn't always what you see above. Follow the journey in restoring her to her former Victorian glory.
In the beginning . . .
Although with period charm Buckwell had seen better days
Back to basics . . .
To help visualise the new space we make it simple with masking tape!
Digging Starts
Clearing the ground and ivy from the front of the property
Ready to start foundations
Truck loads and truck loads of 'muck' are taken away
Work starts on the inside
The first couple of days reveal that the joists are rotten and some of them not even supporting the floor below
The site mascot
All hi-vizzed up Jack is part of the merry crew!
Work progresses
We start to clear the back
The rear of the house is on a slope and excavations need to consider this
Out the ground
We start to see the footprint of the new extension and the slab poured
Well underway
Things start to move on with the walls being formed for the new laundry and kitchen area
Work progresses on the inside
As part of the re-furb we convert an old bedroom into a new en-suite for the master bedroom
The ivy is removed
We were all hoping for some lovely brickwork under the grotty paint but what we find is a very sorry state of affairs!
New rear porch and roofing
Busy, busy with getting the roofs on for the extensions
The final push
Re-vamping the front facade
We engage a specialist steam jetting company to strip the paint from the front facade but what it reveals is not what we were hoping for. What to do?
New windows throughout
What a difference replacing the old metal windows that were falling out makes
Warming up
We lay the underfloor heating in the new en-suite
Helen designs the new kitchen
With a nod to the history of the house but with a modern twist
Feature surround for the Aga
As part of the kitchen design we plan and build a reclaimed brick surround
A big day!
The new Aga is installed
On the home run?
Total transformation
The planners won't let us render the front to hide the awful brick work so we engage a specialist company to put it right
Painstaking work
Our specialist contractors remove all of the old mortar and re-point with lime. It looks a million dollars!
Second fix is on a roll
Laying the 'wood effect' porcelain tiles in the kitchen area
Taking shape
Classic white metro tiles laid in the new en-suite
A new retaining wall built at the back
The old wall gave way during excavation for the new rear porch so a new retaining wall is formed
New steps
The old steps were positively dangerous and so we build a new set of steps with retaining walls