Project 6

When you have found the perfect location, the existing house on the site might not be ideal so in this case in Hertfordshire we simply took down the old house and built them the house that they wanted.

Virtual Tour
After the floors have been screeded the house can now be finished.
The high quality finish to the Master bedroom.
After the floors have been screeded the house can now be finished.
After the floors have been screeded the house can now be finished.
After the floors have been screeded the house can now be finished.
After the floors have been screeded the house can now be finished.
Whilst the inside is being finished we are decking out the garden with a unique oriental finish.
Whilst the inside is being finished we are decking out the garden with a unique oriental finish.
Whilst the inside is being finished we are decking out the garden with a unique oriental finish.
Whilst the inside is being finished we are decking out the garden with a unique oriental finish.
Whilst the inside is being finished we are decking out the garden with a unique oriental finish.
This shows the pumped liquid screed being lain to the levels set by the laser beams.
The floor screed is mixed on site in the lorries and then pumped into the house and laid to the laser recorded levels. The whole house was completed in 3 hours.
The floor screed is mixed on site in the lorries and then pumped into the house and laid to the laser recorded levels. The whole house was completed in 3 hours.
Underfloor pipes in the lounge prior to screed being laid.
This shows the underfloor pipes in the sun room.
Paul lays and tests the underfloor heating to 8 bars of of pressure before the screed is laid.
Paul lays and tests the underfloor heating to 8 bars of of pressure before the screed is laid.
Keith meantime is laying and taping the Kingspan floor insulation....
Rab and his team screw the 15mm plasterboard to the frame before it is taped and jointed prior to painting.
We close up the inside by adding Rockwool insulation to the Kingspan insulation and then seal with polythene.
The Villovent, a heating and ventilating power pack is stowed in the loft and the lagged aluminium flexible hoses go to all the rooms of the house. Air is continually filtered, circulated and heated where appropriate.
Paul the plumber is starting his first fix and linking the under floor heating to one of the manifolds.
Peter and John, our experienced electricians, can now complete the first fix of lights and sockets where the customer has chosen the postion.
Whilst the bricklayers and the roofers are busy on the outside the inside walls have been built by the carpenters.
Once the roofers have finished it is then safe for the bricklayers to start all the way around the house, building to the roof line.
Fritz’s skilled bricklayers are working closely with Dave’s roofers to ensure a watertight finish to the walls where the hung tiles overlap the brickwork.
The roof tiles are laid first to provide an even weight distribution then the tiles are hung vertically around the dormers.
Keith is staining the already treated wood for soffits and facias with at least 2 coats of the chosen colour.
Mark, one of our leading carpenters is fixing batterns ready for tile hanging after fixing the soffits and facia boards.
The Kit has been completed and the structure watertight so the roof is battened ready for the tilers.
The 4000sq ft house kit is nearing completion. Amazingly it has only taken Dennis and his 2 very experienced team mates 10 working days to complete the shell erection and one of those was in very heavy rain!
First the ground floor external panels are fixed together and then the internal load bearing walls are built to allow the first floor panels to be lifted into place by the crane. In this large house there are 2 steel RSJ beams.
The base is surrounded by scaffold to allow the panels to be erected and each panel is fixed to the ‘sole plate’ on the base and to each other in numerical sequence.
The whole house is arriving in kit form made of preformed, insulated and weatherproof panels
Simon demonstrates the huge depth we had to dig to for the rainwater harvester that will collect all the water from the roof to be used by our clients to water their garden, top up their pond, wash their cars and flush all their toilets and provide clean water to the washing machine.
This shows the waste pipes and manholes from the kitchen, utility and downstairs toilet. In the centre at a slight angle is the supply from the rainwater harvester.
When all the beams are precisely in position they are inlaid with special blocks before being slurred over to form the base on which the timber frame kit will sit, together with the insulation, u/floor heating and the floor screed.
James carefully lifts the pre determined reinforced concrete beams into place. In the foreground can be seen double rows of beams to give added strength to the floor of the integral double garage.
This image shows the lounge area with the chimney detail on the left.
Pete and Sean use the laser to ensure the correct height is achieved for the brick and block wall off the foundations. When all complete they will be infilled with cement.
Correct ‘setting out’ for the new house is essential to ensure the timber frame kit sits exactly on the foundations. It took 3 men 2 days to achieve this.
Every site has an independent soil survey to determine the depth of the foundations. In this project most of them were one metre deep.
We took away 26 container loads totaling almost 500 tons!
We took away 26 container loads totaling almost 500 tons!
To ensure that we do this responsibly it is done in stages to ensure that all parts of the house are re-cycled. Separate skips for timber, metal, brick and concrete.
We need to demolish the existing house, takeout the old foundations and build the new home as shown in this sketch in a prime location in Hertfordshire.
The existing house.