Belinda Street
Before Photos
This architecturally designed re-structure by Stephen de
Jersey Architect, is placed in a unique position near the river looking over
the park.
It was largely managed by Stephen de Jersey and naturally our scope of work was
a product of that brief.
A project of this kind can only be done to the high degree required by having
open, professional relationships with the architect and owners.
The original house footprint was largely the same with a small extension to the
SE that was to include the main entrance foyer and access to the upper level.
The house itself was very much an older style rectangular building cladded in fibre
cement not too dissimilar to the early DHA buildings. They were functional but
relatively unattractive.
Stephen de Jersey Architect did a great job in the design
transforming an ordinary building into something with a contemporary finish; glass
being made one of the main features. The glass provided an outlook over the
local park and across to the Ross River. The finish featured tiles subway
patterned right throughout the lower level and tiles floor to ceiling in
bathroom.
The upper level was mainly polished timber floors where
quite a significant portion of the old floor had to be replaced due to damage
or areas that were obsolete eg the old internal staircase. Obtaining timber
that matched closely to the existing and in particular sizing it in such a way
that it looked close to the original build was difficult but achievable.
It concluded with a great finish.
The extension on the South-East corner offered a high level of difficulty
due to the design where the upper level interfaced with the new space.
There was cantilever construction that had a high level of difficulty behind the scenes.
One of the problems with this cantilever area was a portion of the floor which
also had a roof loading; it tended to affect the floor between the lounge and
the external al fresco area arching the floor in a way that would have affected
the glass installation.
Much of the glass in the extension was extremely large panels being 20mm thick
to protect against possible wind loadings.
Although not evident at first glance the interface between
the foyer and internal stairs with the upper and lower level spliced into the
al fresco area was tricky and demanded the need for innovative solutions around
aesthetic finishes, waterproofing and practicalities.
The property also featured wrought iron work on the upper
level and around the pool. Although the pool was existing there was a
significant amount of work involved in removing an old structure and providing
a contemporary interface between the house and the pool/garden area.
The quality of the fixtures and fittings are evident in a walk through.
The cabinetry is of exceptional standard
throughout particularly the kitchen, designed for entertaining large numbers.
The glass fixtures throughout are of a commercial level of construction and
would stand out as one of the highlighting features of the build.
The bathrooms, in the same way, are well
finished although it could be described as "clinical”.
They have a very clean, crisp finish.
Nixon Build prides themselves on delivering value for money within
budget and pre-determined time-frames, with margins that promote continuity of
work. We certainly improved the
aesthetic appeal of the property by the end of the project from its initial
look to the complete satisfaction of the owners.