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Tumbledown Farm
Phase 1
This listed building dates from the 16th century and was a hall house; a house with a public hall with private living accommodation attached which was built from the medieval period onwards.
Phase 1 of this project included the installation of two new bathrooms, a kitchen, utility room and laundry room, a new central heating system and rewiring the electrics to modern standards whilst applying the brief of not making holes through the existing fabric of the building unless a hole existed there already.
Some wattle and daub panels were damaged and rotten mainly due to woodworm in the wattle. These were replaced completely where necessary and repaired if they could be saved using the same materials. Lots of areas of lime plaster needed replacing and again this was done using traditional lime plaster to match the existing used. All timber once exposed was treated for dry rot, woodworm and other forms of beetle infestation.
We also removed a 1960s round bay and replaced it with a square bay which was in keeping with the original style of the house, at the same time underpinning the main structural timber post and the adjacent wall which had suffered movement due to a defective drain undermining its original foundations. Uncovering some more recent modifications to the building uncovered some 'bodged' structural repairs and new openings, these were dealt with in the course of the works to the structural engineer's guidance.
Internally the complete house was decorated using traditional paints and techniques.
Phase 2
This project involved converting the existing listed stable block at Tumbledown Farm into habitable accommodation.
The brick built stable block is situated in a low lying area that has been subject to flooding in the past; the water table is high and the building is located very close to a natural dew pond. In addition, the stables are built into a small slope with the rear wall semi-retaining giving a finished floor level about 400mm below the external ground level. The existing external walls are damp but must remain as part of the planning consent and require new foundations to support them.
Because of its location and previous problems with flooding, the building needs to be waterproofed effectively from the wet ground and to deal with rain penetration through the existing wall structure.
First we removed the existing slab and replaced it with a new structural raft slab built off piles to support the existing walls.
Next a Type C cavity drain system incorporating pumped drainage to the existing rainwater system or to the existing dew pond will be installed. Due to the area involved, there are to be two sumps and pumps sited outside the building. Underneath the main slab, in the anti-heave layer, is a ring of 110 mm drainage with 50mm collection ports to collect any water entering the structure at the base and rear side walls. These will have rodding access points for future maintenance and cleaning. An anti-lime coating will be added to stop the build up of limescale in the system due to the free lime which will be present because of the large amount of new concrete in the floor slab.
After this the stables will be rebuilt and upgraded to comply with the latest building regulations and fitted out to create habitable accommodation, comprising three bedrooms, kitchen, lounge and wetroom/shower toilet. Only 68% was allowed to be converted and the remainder was rebuilt in the same way to provide a log store, large shed and a tractor shed/garage. This project is due to be finished late Summer 2011. |