Long Drive

Water damage repair and renovation 

Built-in good faith by an unlicenced builder in the early 80’s the home had begun to leak and had some structural shortcomings. It was also an extremely difficult house to work on being unconventional in design. 

The original cedar that formed 40% of the external cladding leaked on virtually every junction of the envelope. Due to lack of maintenance, the weatherboards had become cupped and split rendering them not fit for purpose. The remaining cladding consisted of sand and cement render on galvanised lathes and building paper. Again the damage was evident on each junction of the envelope. 

The double garage doors were removed and a new single steel beam replaced the two timber lintels. The deck was completely demolished. The internal Giboard ceilings and walls were also removed to expose any water-damaged framing. 

Once The demolition and repair work was completed we were able to commence the re-build which began in earnest. The previous direct fixed cladding was replaced with a cavity system using vertical cedar and 200 x 25 rusticated Align finger-jointed, pre-primed, H3.1 weatherboards. Double glazed aluminium joinery replaced the aging single glazed exterior joinery. The original decking was replaced with a re-designed floating front deck with a glazed handrail and Vitex watershed decking replaced the old membrane deck and solid handrail.

It became evident during the renovation that the iron roof had reached the end of its purpose and a decision was made to install a new colour steel roof cladding. 

The front entrance was completely remodelled. This includes a new 2.2M high entrance door digital locks and tiled steps and entry. Internally The home had become very dated. The kitchen and bathrooms were re-designed with extensive use of tiles and mirrors. 

The internal staircase was upgraded incorporating glass handrails. The previous owner's preference of rimu timbers and finishes replaced with painted surfaces giving the area a “lift”. 

The original carpet that was put into storage during the rebuild was again fitted and newly tiled floors were laid in the foyer and wet areas, 

Three Air Conditioning units, a water heater, and garage cabinetry were also installed. We also undertook to replace the front fence much to the delight of the neighbours and also plaster the dated bare blockwork. 

In conclusion, the re-build was very successful in both bringing a dated building into the 2020s and providing the owner with a stress-free investment for the future.