Replacement of bay window

The brief

Replace the existing metal windows in the front bay with windows that can be safely opened, that keep the flat warmer and that better reflect the heritage and age of the property.

The property

The property is the first floor flat in a 1840s terraced house located in a conservation area in central Brighton. The flat has masonry rendered walls and the windows in the front bay are steel Crittall, which will have replaced the original timber sliding sashes. The Crittall windows detract from the visual appearance of the property, they have very poor thermal performance and they had come to the end of their usable life (it was difficult and potentially dangerous to open and close the windows).

The solution

Replace the Crittal windows with double glazed, timber double hung vertical sliding sashes matching the pattern of original timber sash windows in the street.

The result

The new windows match the age of the property and significantly improve its visual appearance from the streetscape. The windows can be easily opened and closed, they are wind and watertight and there is a marked improvement in the heat retention in the flat.

“Martin McCurdy was recommended to us by a neighbour when we needed an architect urgently, having been let down by someone else. He did a wonderful job preparing and submitting the plans for our window replacement, and thanks to his efficiency we received planning permission from the Council in very good time. We would absolutely recommend Mr. McCurdy to anyone requiring architectural services.”

David and Gretchen Smith

Refurbishment & installation of solar panels

The brief

The clients wanted to improve the thermal comfort of their property while reducing their contribution to climate change by investing in eco-energy.

The property

The property is contained within a Grade 2 listed terrace house in Kemp Town Brighton. The ground floor and basement have been converted into separate flats and the property is the top maisonette consisting of the 1st and 2nd floors.
The building is a solid masonry construction with timber windows, a ‘butterfly’ pitched roof (orientated south/north) to the main part of the building and a rear outrigger with a flat roof. Much of the original structure remains intact or is in evidence in the building and the windows in the main part of the property are the original traditional timber sliding sashes. An office located in the rear outrigger is a later addition to the property and is accessed half-way up the stairs over the original kitchens below. The exterior walls of the office are single skin masonry, the window was a single glazed softwood casement and the roof flat is finished with roofing felt with no insulation at all. The property is listed and any works needed both Listed Building consent and planning approval.

The solution

The office was unusable in the colder months and it had a detrimental impact on the thermal comfort in the rest of the property. The solution was to install internal wall insulation (IWI) to the external walls and to the ceiling of the office and fit a new double glazed timber casement window. The IWI was a 100mm PIR thermal insulation board, finished with plasterboard, a 5mm plaster skim and then painted white.
The south-facing slope of the ‘butterfly’ pitched roof allowed the installation of eleven 0.8m x 1.6m photovoltaic (PV) panels. The PV panels were fitted to the roof slope in the same plane as the roof tiles and are not visible from the public realm.

The result

The office is warm and usable and its improved thermal performance has had a significant and positive impact on the comfort of the whole property. The PV panels have reduced the client’s energy bills, they have given them a return on investment of approximately 10% per annum and the clients are contributing to the reduction in global warming.

“The work in the back room has drastically improved the way we live in our flat. In winter months the flat is now comfortable in every room and is sunny and airy through summer. We are also extremely pleased that Martin’s work meant it was straight forward to install PV solar panels across our roof. We really enjoyed working with Martin and would not hesitate to work with him again.”

Jackie & Mark, Brighton

Low-Energy Rear Extension

The brief

As the owners move towards a time in their lives where they want to use their home to follow their passions their brief was to create a studio, an office and a storage room in the large rear garden. The extension should be integrated with the current property, future-proofed and encompass triple glazed windows and doors as used in the existing bungalow.

The property

The property is a 1950s detached bungalow. It had a dilapidated garage to the side, and a small front and a large rear garden. The hipped roof is tiled on all four sides, the walls yellow bricks at the base with pebble dash above. Previous work to the bungalow included internal refurbishment, a new porch and the replacement of all the windows and doors with triple glazed PVC units.

The solution

Demolish the garage and replace it with a large (28 sq.m.) single–storey extension following the line of the northern boundary. The extension is linked to the bungalow and has direct access to the rear garden. The level floor runs through from the bungalow to the extension and the wide doorway from the existing to the new allows easy access. A drop in ceiling height in the link marks the boundary between the domestic and the working space.
The AECB Silver standard was used as the benchmark for the detailing and thermal efficiency targets for the extension. The extension has a warm flat roof, PVC triple glazed windows and sliding doors, minimal thermal bridges, good air-tightness and thick cavity walls allowing for 200mm of cavity insulation.

The result

The extension provides a large, light and airy studio, office space, and a big storage room and much of the sunny rear garden remains. Internally, the original space flows through to the extension but is distinct from the residential parts of the property. The AECB Silver Standard keeps the extension warm, in the winter and cool in the summer with very low heating costs. Externally the extension is clearly an addition but the link connects the old and the new and unites the domestic with the workspace. Through the use of matching materials the extension both compliments and reflects the existing form and there is visual harmony.

“We are very grateful to Martin for showing us what’s possible in terms of thermal insulation in a new-build property. Our annex requires surprisingly little heating in winter and, despite being south facing, it doesn’t get overly hot in the summer. He provided impressively detailed specifications for the builder, and when the work was in progress he visited the site regularly, forming a good professional relationship with the builder to facilitate the achievement of what had been planned. We found Martin to be reliable, easy to contact and communicative.”

JS & BM, Brighton

Rear Kitchen Extension

The brief

Solve a kitchen crisis. The clients had lived in the house for many years and had extended it to accommodate their needs, but the kitchen remained an unresolved issue – as the estate agent told them “the kitchen was just too small for the house”. The brief was to create a kitchen space suitable for the family. The challenge was to achieve this within the constraints of the site.

The property

A big detached house on a large plot, but with a very small kitchen and only a breakfast bar. The house sits on a sloping site, close to the boundary on both sides, with a short, steep driveway up to the road at the front and an expansive garden sloping quickly away to the rear.

The solution

Planning restrictions to the frontage, the need for a drive-through driveway, and the slope up to the road severely limited the potential for an extension to the front. To the rear, the slope of the land and the clients’ wish to retain the character and balance of the house also limited the potential for an extension.

The solution was to extend at the front and at the back. This entailed pulling the garage forwards by a metre or so and adding a small glazed room to the rear of the existing kitchen, matching an existing extension. The result changes the external appearance very little, but inside the kitchen has been transformed into a workable space.

The result

A full-size kitchen, including space for an American fridge-freezer and eating space for six people. The kitchen has been transformed from a cramped space into a room when the clients can cook and eat and enjoy the views into their delightful garden.

Basement flat and loft conversion

The brief

Take advantage of the enormous development potential offered by the property’s loft and the basement, converting the latter into a separate two-bedroom flat with an enclosed private patio to the rear and the loft into additional living accommodation.

The property

The house was a 1930s semi-detached house in a conservation area. It is subject to an Article 4 Direction and the proposed work required detailed liaison with the council’s planning department.

The unused loft space was one of the largest I have ever seen in a normal house and would have lent itself to conversion to a small flat on its own. The basement covered the rear three quarters of the house’s floor plan, with an old garage taking up much of the usable space.

The solution

Extend the basement flat to the rear, creating a new kitchen and living room for the flat and a new balcony for the house above (accessed from the rear ground floor) with steps down to the garden.

Conservation-style roof lights and windows were the only allowable visible alteration to the front. To the rear, the planners were happy with proposals that copied similar examples in the street of the rear dormers and the rear basement extension.

The result

In the basement, the conversion and rear extension create a two-bed flat with bi-folding doors to the rear patio, with a light-well providing light and ventilation to the front bedroom.

The new stairs to the loft rooms follow the line and detailed design of the existing and they flow up to the second-floor landing. The new landing gives access to the spacious bedroom with its large relaxing space, an en-suite bath and shower room and an office.

Kitchen extension and room in the roof

The brief

Increase the ground floor living area of the house and provide another bedroom with a WC/shower room in the unused loft space.

The property

A two-bed, two-storey terraced house. Its location in a conservation area in Brighton required planning approval for the proposals, which had to be sensitive to the existing house and the surrounding area.

The solution

Extend the ground-floor area into the outside space at the side of the existing galley kitchen, opening up the inside of the back of the house to create a combined living, dining, kitchen area flowing from one living space to another.
Roof lights in the extension and glazed doors to the rear open out to the garden and allow light to flow into the living area.
With a staircase spiralling off the first-floor landing the unused loft was turned into a neat bedroom with a WC/shower room. Roof lights on both the front and back roof slopes let light into the new bedroom from the west and east.

The result

A light, spacious house that works superbly as a family home. The client decided to do both jobs at the same time using different builders. It was a hard couple of months for the clients, but the result has made it worthwhile.

Refurbishment of Grade 2 Listed Flat

The brief

Refurbish a damp, dark, poorly laid-out basement flat in a Grade 2 listed building. The clients bought the property knowing they would have to carry out substantial work to bring it up to a good habitable standard. They wanted a warm, modern flat they could either live in or rent out.

The property

The flat is in the basement of a four-storey listed terraced house with its own access and a rear walled courtyard. The property was last refurbished in the 1970s. The rooms had been partitioned, there was no fixed heating, the damp proofing had failed and almost all the original features had been lost.

The solution

Remove the 1970s partitions, change the internal layout of the flat to simpler more usable rooms, which better reflect the original layout, whilst retaining the flat’s essential character. Renew all windows and doors, lay a new insulated floor, address the damp, provide fixed heating, and install a new bathroom and kitchen.
As it was a listed building, all the proposed work to the interior and the exterior required listed building consent in addition to the usual planning consent, and details of all the planned works were made in close liaison with the conservation team. At the front, the most important elevation, the stone steps, cast-iron railings and other existing features were retained and repaired. The new front window matches the style and pattern of the original and the front door is a new four-panelled timber door.
To the rear the rotten floor-to-ceiling windows were replaced with sliding doors, maximising light and usable space in the flat and opening it up to the rear courtyard.

The result

A modern, light and warm one-bed flat in the centre of Brighton with the luxury of its own secluded outside space.