Freemans Bay Villa Reno

Our Projects was involved in the full renovation of this protected heritage house in Freemans Bay, Auckland. This was a major year-long project that presented some challenges and required careful attention to detail. Operations Manager Ryan Strawbridge ran the project, managing the scheduling, organising the subcontractors, overseeing quality control, and solving onsite issues as they arose.  The century-old house was lifted and a two-bedroom self-contained flat added underneath. The rear of the home was extended with a spacious lounge that opens out onto a large deck and pool.  All the existing windows were replaced with new timber double-glazed sash windows in the style of the originals.  A key challenge of this project was retaining the protected villa’s heritage characteristics. To meet council town-planning regulations to preserve the character of the area, the street-facing façade had to be maintained in the specific style of the building. This was also the case with the chimney. The original brick chimney was removed and the roof was strengthened. To maintain the home’s character, a replica chimney was built and mounted on the roof. The original bricks were all labelled and individually re-laid to look exactly like the 100-plus-year-old original. The fretwork on the front façade was replaced with the same design, and inside the dado rails were also preserved.  The house sits on a narrow inner-city street, which had to be closed off for a number of days for the delivery of the retaining posts – an added complication for Ryan to contend with.  While it retains its beautiful villa character, this renovation includes all the features you would expect to find in a modern home: high-end finishes, full insulation, double glazing, concealed air conditioning throughout, and under-floor heating.  This was a really interesting build and the end result speaks for itself. It was a pleasure for Your Project to be part of the team that restored and enhanced this home.