Meadow's Edge Case Study Paper Example

Introduction to the Site

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Meadows Edge is a three and ahalf bedroom detached residence sitting on a narrow, long piece of land in a market town a population of roughly 6000in South Eastern UK. The house takes the shape of the piece of land on which it sits, and is also long and narrow, with the longer elevations facing East and West while the shorter elevations face North and South. Notably, the plot also runs North-to-South. The exercise to be carried out on the structure calls for meticulous handling because there have multiple refurbishments on the structure spanning half a decade between the 1950s and the 2000s.

In light of the fact that all these changes were made to a structure that was originally erected at around 1750 as a workers cottage, one can understand why the propertywhich is not listedis in need of and has undergone a series of reparations are noted above. The above reason can also be given as the cause for the local planning authority disallowing planning and construction of a second story on the residence. It is worth noting that the property has a garage located at the North end of the piece of land. The garage is too small for a family car, but allows a great view of the countryside. In the same light, the Western and Southern elevations gets a lot of sunshine, a fact that that must be considered in the design and evaluation of the refurbishments to be made.

A Review of the Existing Building

Meadows Edge is currently in need of a number of significant changes by virtue of the limitations of its original design as well as the inadequacy of the changes made in the 20th century. Some of the key features of the house include:

Floors

The ground floor is made of concrete while the top floors are made of timber. Needless to say, the installation of floor heating as requested by the clients is going to be particularly technically for the house because different approaches have to be used for the ground floor and the upper floors. Currently, the house is heated using heating oil. Perhaps, with different approaches being needed for floor heating, mains electricitywhich also services the water pumping and drainage to septic tankwill be a key consideration.

Walls

Like the floors, different parts of the walls have different materials. The original cottage around which the rest of the house was built has walls consisting of brick. The walls are 1.5 and 1 bricks thick in the upper and lower sections respectively, with a sale damp proof course in both sections. The rest of the house has terracotta block and cavity brick walls. As is the case with the floors, extensions or alterations in the walls will call for the use of multiple construction materials, which again will complicate the process.

Roof

Unlike the walls and the floors, the roof of the property is homogenous across all sections of the house. The roof of the house is comprised of tiles fixed on timber trusses. The roof is insulated by 25 millimeters of mineral wool that, by any standards, does not serve its function well because it is old. In that regard, insulation is a factor to consider in the refurbishment process. In addition, the top floor of the house makes an attic since the ceiling is partly accommodated in the roof space.

Windows

As is the case with other features of the house, the cottage has different windows from the rest of the house; the cottage has single glazed, crittle-type windows while the rest of the house has timber and PVC double glazed windows.

Existing Floors Plans and Elevations

There are two floors plans and four elevations for Meadows Edge. It must be noted that the floor plans for the first and ground floors are different because the ground floor having some features that are not on the first floor. As described in the sections below.

Floor Plans

Existing Ground Floor

The floor plan for the ground floor includes a porch, living room, kitchen, study, the hall, the dining room, the shower and its adjoining water closet (WC). Entry into the house from the porch is through a Northwest-facing door. The porch opens into the kitchen on whose right there is a door to the living room. On the left is a door into the hall, and directly opposite that a door into the study. Down the hall is the dining room, which features a door on the left that opens into the yard. Across from the dining room entrance is a set of PVC double windows. Immediately before the dining room at the end of the hall is a corridor with a door into the dining room on its right and another one to the WC directly ahead. The WC opens into the shower on the right. The living room features double doors with two windows to the east.

Existing First Floor Plan

The first floor features four bedrooms, a landing, a CPD, and a bathroom. From the landing, the Bedroom 3 lies to the immediate right, with Bedroom 4 lying directly in from of the landing. Bedrooms 2 and 4 have 2 and 3 windows respectively. Directly opposite Bedroom 1 to the South is a window and the CPD. To the right is the hall opening into Bedroom 2 immediately to the left and Bedroom 1 further down the hall. Both bedrooms have North-facing windows, with Bedroom 1 having an extra window facing Northwest. At the end of the hall is the bathroom, which features one window facing South. Under the window is a sink and to the right the bathtub. Sink No. 2 is fitted into the Northwestern wall.

Elevations

Existing Northwestern Elevation

The Northwestern elevation, drawn to the scale of 1:50, features the living room and Bedroom 1. The elevation captures the Northwest-facing dormer window for Bedroom 1 and the two windows for the living room. Also, the elevation captures the Northwest-facing door into the porch and captures the roofs for the porch, living room, and the attic above the dining room. There is also the dormer window for Bedroom 1. The elevation also two chimneys above the two open fires in the living room and the study respectively.

Existing Northeastern Elevation

From left to right, the lower half of the Northeastern elevation details the two windows on the Northeastern study wall, the single window in the hall, single-unit crittle window on the porch, and the single windows on the Kitchen and Northeastern living room walls. These is for the ground floor. The upper half of the second elevation features the single windows on the landing, hall, and the bathroom when viewed left to right. Also, this side facade details the chimneys in the living room and the study.

Existing Southeastern Elevation

The Southeastern elevation features two windows in the facade captured. This elevation indicates the Kitchen chimney, the Southeastern study window and the door opening out of the dining room into the yard. The elevation indicates the position of the casement window, which is directly above this door. Also, the Southeastern window to Bedroom 3 is indicated in the elevation, along with the quoins at the top of the window.

Existing Southwestern Elevation

This arguably the most detailed elevation of Meadows edge. From left to right, the elevation features the double doors opening out of the living room into the backyard. Above these doors, a single-unit crittle window is captured. Behind the window above the slanting roof is the kitchen chimney. The elevation also indicates the four window units in the dining room wall, as well as the Bedroom 2 window. To the right, set in the slanting roof are the windows for Bedrooms 4 and 3 respectively. Below the latter, there is the door opening into the yard from the study.

A written description of the proposal including materials and design feature

According to the tasks outlined by the client, the house needs renovations in different areas, which means that various materials will be needed for these changes. Correspondingly, design features will vary according to the different changes being made on the house.

List of requirements

The list of materials needed for this task will include the following:

Like for like replacements, mostly PVC and crittle single-unit windows

One of the rules of the renovation is that the appearance of the front facade remains the same. In the event where any part of this facade has to be changed, the same type of brick and windows that have been removed will have to be replaced.

Lime-putty mortar and lime-hemp plaster

Cold air infiltration in the vents needs to be blocked, and lime-putty mortar is the best material for this function. Also, the best insulation for the timbers in the walls against cold air infiltration and the escape of war air from the house is limp-hemp plaster (Bickell, N.d. p. 9).

Brick

As in a. above.

Wooden floorboards

The client has requested for heated floors, which means that parts of the current first-floor will have to be removed in order for heating equipment to be inlaid. That being the case, new floorboard will have to be procured to replace those that have been removed.

Stone tiles for the floor

Unlike the first-floor, the ground floor is made of stone tiles. The laying of heating apparatus will obviously necessitate the removal of stone tiles in specific areas, which means that in the even where the stone removed is too damaged to be re-used, new stone tiles will have to be used.

Electrical cable and inlaid heating apparatuses

These are necessary for the installation of heated floors.

Insulation-backed plasterboard

This should be used for insulating the roof and ensuring that the cold air does not seep into the attic through any fissures in the roof.

Power-saving bulbs and other fixtures

In light of the requirement that the energy efficiency of the house must improve, every single installation that uses power must be replaced with one that consumes less power as long as such a replacement is available. LED bulbs are a particular area of focus for this action (Brickell, N.d. p. 11). The water closet will also be replaced to a newer model that uses less water to flush for the sake of improved water use (environmental performance). Also, a chimney balloon for the unused fireplace in the living room should be considered (Bickell, N.d., p. 10).

Reflector panels

There is need for some of the heat from radiators such...