April 2012 – We have just got a fairly large extension and remodelling project started on-site. The house is in one of the most favoured areas of Haslemere and was built in the 1960’s in the “Georgian” style popular in those days. Demolition and excavation of foundations is where we are at and, with the rain, we seem to have a “Somme” situation already as we are in the famous “Haslemere Clay” – did you know that what is now called Weyhill, was originally called Clay Hill and had a number of brickworks using the local clay?
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Feb 2012 – In 2006 we renovated and extended a farmhouse and got consent to convert its’ stone barn into residential accomodation. Overall the barn was in pretty good shape – for a barn but not for habitation! – so we had to consider how to stabilise and strengthen the existing structure in a way that would be acceptable to the planners, at a reasonable cost and which would allow a successful and useable conversion to take place. We decided that a new internal steel frame was the solution which would entail bracing the existing internal corners of the barn with steel strapping, forming a new structural framework within the building in each corner and other strategic intermediate positions.
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Due to finances the works are being done done in phases, beginning with the new structural system. New concrete bases have been formed internally (they actually extend outwards under the existing walls) supporting new steel columns with new steel beams in-between, which are fixed to the stonework. This means that the existing, historic footing below the barns walls are not compromised and a way is provided to tie the walls back to something stable as they have “moved” outward and also cracked at corners over the lifetime of the barn - previous repair strapping can be seen in the left-hand picture which will enlarge if you click it and the right-hand picture shows part of the new framing. This phase of the work is now completed and we simply await further instruction from the client to say they have the monies to carry on – so wtach this space.
