The Lookout
Project:
The Lookout
Category:
New Build Houses
Location
South Hams
Client
Private Client; Family Home
Contract Value
£634,000
Duration
52 weeks
Background
Crispin and Hannah Waterhouse gave up top jobs for a change of lifestyle and took on an old family plot and the running of a waterside marina on a stunning stretch of the Salcombe estuary. They were able to obtain a rare planning consent for a new home in the field alongside their new business, but after a painstaking design process were at an impasse – having gone out to competitive tender with 5 local building contractors the prices had come back some £300-500k above their maximum budget of £650k. Feeling dejected, they reached out to Rory Watson who kept a mooring at their marina Port Waterhouse. Rory had recently moved to Devon having sold a highly successful London building contractors, and was just considering setting up a local building company. He spent several weeks appraising the design intent and drawings and proposed that he could build the house for just over £600k, if they were willing to enter a collaborative contract where he was assured of his margin on top of whatever the final cost would be (known as a ‘Prime Cost Plus’ contract). In the event with over £89,000 of Variation Works being added to the property, through very careful management and procurement, the job was completed for £634,000, over 4 weeks ahead of the original schedule. Moreover, working with the clients a number of sustainable improvements were made to the original design.
Site:
The site was a gently sloping bare field that had been used as a parking area for members of the adjacent marina. The field was bordered by native trees and sat directly above the beautiful Salcombe estuary.
Brief:
The brief was to build a 2 storey 4 bedroomed family house with covered terrace and a rear veranda, slate roof and vertical slate clad walls, to be based on a reverse living concept: large open plan vaulted living room and kitchen on the first floor accessed via an exterior timber bridge; and 4 no bedrooms and 2 bathrooms as well as a plant room to be located on the ground floor. The property was designed to have a timber clad element to the outside along with ‘dry stone’ locally quarried facing stone to all of the ground floor. An open airy feel, clean lines and spaces, and as much natural light as possible were the main thrust of the design. The clients wanted the house to blend in seamlessly with the landscape, and echo local buildings with a simple rectangular shape and vertically hung slates which were traditionally used in local architecture to protect from the driving prevailing wet weather and wind of the winter months.
Technical
Challenges
Welstead identified three principle key aesthetic and practical building challenges:- the winter months posed a serious potential risk in terms of delays and spiralling costs as a consequence of slowing down works; the clients wanted to maximise the feel of space and light in the first floor where a vaulted ceiling had been imagined, but wanted to get away as much as possible from use of steel and concrete; and there was a desire on both the part of Welstead and the clients to work as sustainably as possible and use new methods where it was smart to do so.
Solutions
No ideas were off limits as far as Welstead were concerned; to avoid having to unravel the whole of the structural philosophy and the previous work of project engineers, PCA Consulting - who had based their original design around a traditional concrete block building with steel supporting structure for the roof - Welstead accepted that the ground floor should remain as concrete block cavity walls and concrete foundations. Some of these walls formed a retaining structure, and the ground floor blockwork would create a really solid durable base for the new building; the floor deck to the first floor was agreed to be hollow core concrete planks as these could be assembled and laid by crane in a single day once the ground floor walls were ready, and then workers below first floor would essentially be protected from wet weather. Above this deck Welstead transformed the original build philosophy and introduced Ovolo Interiors as a specialist subcontractor to provide a simple glulam beam ridge and purlins, with the rest of the first floor walls and roof to be made up of SIPS panels (Structural Insulated Panel System) , all of which could be installed with robust waterproof breathable membrane in under 2 weeks. This was a neat answer to the potential long term weather risk as well as a way to improve on program and sustainability credentials, and was embraced by the clients. The cladding at ground floor level would be traditional Mill Hill quarried stone from Cornwall; and the first floor would be predominantly clad in Spanish slates, with the utility room ‘extension’ at first floor level to be clad in Siberian Larch, Tongue and Groove jointed, timber. The windows were a key element of the build and after vetting 5 local suppliers, a decision was made based on cost, and aesthetic; a large package of aluminium ‘Origin’ Sliding Doors and Windows in anthracite colour was agreed with Aspect Windows.
Journey
Welstead set up as a consequence of this first project. The clients had a severe problem – based on tender returns they did not have the money to commence their project. Welstead responded by Value Engineering the scheme based on their knowledge and expertise without harming the original design intent. In fact the building was markedly improved. They employed a hugely experienced local site manager who has now become an inherent part of their offering, Steve Pengelly who had built a long list of very prestigious local homes, predominantly designed by Harrison Sutton Partnership, local award winning architects.
Completion
In the event, despite the hugely disruptive Covid pandemic which occurred during the build, Welstead completed ‘under budget’. Via their detailed monthly cost forecasting and seeing that they were improving on final projected cost forecast, this allowed a number of additional items to be incorporated such as corner-less sliding doors to the first floor living room; and parquet flooring to all of the first floor living area. They also completed in 48 weeks having initially anticipated a contract duration of 52 weeks.
Walkthrough
Now some four years old, the house still effuses quality. The surrounding Devon hedgebanks created by Welstead are amok with native species of hawthorn, beech, oak and holly, and the house with its unobtrusive slightly sunken profile, nestles into the side of the estuary as if it has been there for many years. The glass exterior balustrading and large sliding windows which reflect the nearby trees act almost like a mirage. On entering via the timber front bridge from the parking area, one gets an overriding sense of space and light, and the simple isolated section of wall between kitchen/diner and living area maintains a sense of unity at first floor while providing separation. The snug in the corner now leads to a separate birch clad study nestled in the end of the roof, which was built retrospectively by Welstead at the client’s request. There is a central log burner with long chimney sleekly rising up through the apex which is supported by impressive glulam ridge and purlin beams. A contemporary but warm feel suffuses the ground floor which is linked by a beautiful floating concrete staircase with cantilevered timber clad stair tread. This was built by Welstead on site with only a sketch idea from the client, and their expertise and input. The ground floor plant room incorporates a Ground Source Heat Pump fed by 3 no. 50m trenched arrays dug and laid by Welstead’s subcontractor, and the pump is powered by inset solar roof panels that also feed a Tesla Battery neatly stowed outside against an end wall. The first floor benefits from both morning and evening sun traps – a covered terrace to the front corner of the building; and a rear wrap around terrace to the rear opposite corner, connected to the dining room via corner-less large sliding glazed doors.
