History

The workshop is at 12 Back Newton Grove in Chapeltown. It is a brick-built coach house building formerly attached to 12 Newton Grove, a later Victorian terrace of 3-storey town houses over a basement storey. The stable is thought to date from the 1870s and is a Grade 2 listed building.

The building was originally divided into 5 rooms: gig-house, stable, groom’s room  on the ground floor, with the attic space  divided into two spaces separated by a  brick arch and wall. The original hay-loft  door survives, along with the feed chute.  Originally, there was laddered access but  no staircase.

The stable and grooms ‘bothy’ were originally at a slightly higher level and will have been separated from the gig-house by a wall, which may have been of timber. The original floor of the stable was of small fired clay bricks. The internal walls of the  stable area were lined with glazed ceramic bricks originally and much  of this internal surface survives.

The building was used by a milkman in the 1950s and a mechanic in the 1970s but had been empty for many years and was derelict before it was renovated from 2008-2010.

Renovation

The building was renovated throughout. In planning the renovation, advice was sought from specialists in historic buildings, energy efficiency and eco-architecture. The renovation had several aims:

• To retain the historic character of the building
• To use reclaimed, recycled and natural materials, and to result in a building that is highly energy and resource efficient.
• To involve volunteers in the renovation, giving them the opportunity to develop construction skills.
• To result in an attractive, practical and accessible training workshop, meeting all relevant building regulations.

The conversion to a workshop took 18 months and involved contractors, LATCH staff and 30 volunteers. Volunteers were a key part of the project and had the opportunity to attend training, develop construction skills and gain experience.

To download a leaflet about the renovation, click here.

Exterior before and after

The existing roof was collapsing and causing structural damage. It was renewed, reusing the existing slates and ridge tiles where possible. Existing gutters and fall pipes were reused where possible, and reproduction items were used otherwise. To increase natural light on the first floor four roof lights were installed.

Structural repairs were carried out to external and internal walls. The building was repointed using lime mortar to match the original.

The ground floor was originally split level and was levelled to maximise the available space. Some of the original clay bricks were removed intact and used to make the hearth for the wood burning stove. A new concrete floor was laid.

The building is constructed from solid brick, with no existing plaster or insulation. Timber framing in the walls and roof was constructed and  200mm of Thermafleece installed on the inside of the walls, with Celenit mineralised wood wool boards. The internal walls of the stable area were originally lined with glazed ceramic bricks and these were left exposed along the internal wall and part of an outside wall as an original feature.

Clay plaster was used over half of the first floor and lime plaster was used on the other walls as it retains a degree of flexibility once set, necessary in an old building which is subject to some structural movement. Natural plant based paints were used to decorate throughout.

A new staircase was designed to contribute to the aesthetic of the building, with a central steel box section stringer, open treads constructed from local timber with contrasting reclaimed mahogany nosings, steel newel posts and balusters with glass infill panels.

The building had one existing tap but no sink, sanitation or internal drainage. The groom’s bothy was converted into a WC, a Belfast sink installed downstairs and a sink installed in the kitchen area upstairs.

A wood burning stove was chosen as the main heating source, this is located on the ground floor and heats the first floor through heat convection via the stairwell.

Reclaimed pitch pine floorboards were fitted to the first floor and all second fix joinery was manufactured from the same timber and oiled with plant based oil.

The training room on the first floor is available for occasional hire for groups of up to twelve people.

First Floor before and after

Key Sustainability Features

The building is well insulated, double glazed and heated by a woodburning stove. Reclaimed, recycled and natural materials have been used where possible.

Minimises energy demand

The decision was made to focus on energy conservation rather than energy generation, partly due to the unsuitability of the building for renewable energy and partly to demonstrate that on a small building reducing demand is more important than generating energy. The building walls and roof are insulated with 200mm Thermafleece, held in place by timber framing. One wall has been left uninsulated to display the original ceramic faced bricks. There is 10mm Celotex in the concrete floor and in the timber panel replacement for the stable door. All windows are double glazed with 6/20/6 units or 9.4/20/6 in the case of the laminated units in the doors. Clements Conservation rooflights with 24mm argon filled units were used in the roof.

Other Energy Efficiency measures

Lighting – compact fluorescents with high frequency ballast and T5 tubes were installed. Light switches were designed to allow flexibility, maximise use of natural light and reduce electricity use by enabling lights in different areas to be switched independently. PIR operated lighting in the bathroom was installed to ensure lights are not left on unnecessarily.

Extractor fans – Heat recovery units with up to 70% heat recovery were selected to provide ventilation in the workshop and WC.

Appliances - Energy efficient appliances were installed. The refrigerator is an AEG SU96000-6l, which has an A+ rating and is CFC/HCFC free. The kettle and toaster are from the Morphy Richards ecolectric range, and are respectively 24% and 34% more efficient than standard alternatives.

Electricity is supplied by Ecotricity, a green energy supplier who invest in new sources of renewable electricity.

Water heating - Due to the sporadic end use of the building, it was decided that the hot water source should be instantaneous to avoid keeping water unnecessarily hot for long periods of time. As the property has no gas supply an electric water heater was installed and with a low minimum flow rate of 1bar, suitable for low water use taps.

Heating

The building is heated by a Clearview 650 woodburning stove, DEFRA approved for use in Smoke Control areas. Convection through the stairwell means that the whole building is heated by one stove. Naturally seasoned wood is sourced from a local tree surgeon to minimise the carbon footprint of the fuel.

To provide heating in the WC a wall mounted infrared bathroom heater was installed to provide instant heat when required, thus avoiding energy wastage.

Materials

Reclaimed materials

Where possible timber was reused within the building. Sound sections of the original roof spars were used for the timber framing in the walls and sections of the front doors were used to make the side panel. Reclaimed timber was used for much of the internal joinery, including the toilet partition, upstairs floorboards and skirtings. The staircase was constructed of local timber with reclaimed mahogany nosings.

Recycled materials

Visqeen Ecomembrane, made from recycled plastic, was used in the concrete floor. The Chamois kitchen cabinets are constructed from fully recycled timber panels. The cabinet doors are made from a combination of recycled timber and wood certificated by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The kitchen worktop is recycled plastic, manufactured by Smile plastics from UK sourced, high strength, food contact approved material that forms the moulded inside linings from scrapped refrigerators. The splashback in the WC is from recycled glass bottles.

Natural materials

The timber was treated with a boron based spray, as this has much lower toxicity levels than more traditional preservative treatments. Thermafleece sheeps wool insulation was used in the walls and roof. Osmo Polyx^®-Oil (3062) is based on natural vegetable oils and waxes and was used for all the second fix joinery. As the walls are constructed to “breathe” and allow moisture to pass through, the paint also needed to be breathable, which meant using a plant based paint.  Auro paints were used for the emulsion and Biofa Natural Paints for the internal and external woodwork. Clay plaster was used for half of the upstairs training area, it is very soft so wasn’t suitable for use throughout the building. Clay plaster is natural and fully recyclable as it dries rather than setting - it can be knocked off the walls, remixed with water and used again.

Water efficiency

While the cold water was run in 15mm pipe, the hot water runs were done in 10mm pipe to reduce the amount of wasted energy and water used in hot water that then cools down in pipes. The WC taps are low water use and Tap Magic attachments were fitted to the kitchen and workshop taps to reduce water use. Opening the tap a little gives a water saving spray, it can be opened fully to bypass the spray mode when used for filling buckets etc.

Other features

An electricity monitor is available but the building has been in use for too short a time to enable the data to be useful. Cycle racks have been installed in the LATCH car park 50m away and public transport directions are given on the website.