Arbuthnott House
Work has commenced on this A listed family house. The site has been in the ownership the same family since the twelfth century at least. How much of the house dates from that time is debatable but much of it is very old. Like most houses of its type it is the product of many intricate and puzzling layers of construction and alteration. Prior to submitting applications for Planning and Listed Building, Professors of Architectural History Charles McKean and Ian Campbell carried out an interesting analysis of the evolution of the building.
Over a number of years we have been responsible for transforming a series of historic houses in the North East of Scotland of which Arbuthnott House is the latest. Others include Glenbervie Castle, Thornton Castle, Middleton, Ardovie and Mergie. In each case the challenge was to make the building work in terms of modern family living but to do so gently and sensitively. This generally requires that, at the end of the process, the building should have a sound roof, good drains, an efficient heating system, plenty of hot water, more bathroom provision and a kitchen that can be the hub of family life.
Arbuthnott has some wonderful seventeenth century plasterwork and a number of very fine formal rooms but, from a twenty first century family living point of view the overall impression is cold and cheerless. The kitchen had been upgraded a generation or so ago but in a sunless room. The sunny side of the house was occupied by a sitting room into which had been shoe-horned some fine glazed bookcases and a study. These two rooms, amalgamated, would make the perfect, sunny, kitchen and family room. The question that then arose was what to do with the bookcases. The answer was to create a new library in a much altered back part of the house.
The early stages of work have revealed a nasty outbreak of Dry Rot caused by a very poor junction between a relatively modern flat roof and original rear elevation. Fortunately the new Library involves the replacement of the flat roof.
The house will be heated by a wood pellet boiler. Wood pellets have the advantage over wood chips that they are dry and free-flowing so they can be gravity fed into the boiler. Wood chip by comparison is invariably damp and can be sticky and its heat output and combustion qualities are often variable. Burning very damp wood chips can cause a coating of tar on the inside of a boiler and the amount of energy consumed in driving off the moisture can result in high levels of consumption. Wood pellets have the advantage of requiring little user adjustment but, because they have been processed, they can appear to be a more expensive fuel. As it happens our client has a highly efficient state-of-the-art wood pellet making operation, Hot Stovies. The consulting engineers for the electrical and mechanical services are Irons Foulner.
The work to this house also involves some reslating and the strengthening of floors and roof timbers and new lime harling (wet dash render) to the external elevations to replace an impervious cement harl. The structural repairs are being done under the watchful eyes of Elliot and Company Structural Engineers.
The work is being carried out by contractors Pert Bruce of Montrose and is scheduled for completion in Spring 2011.
Over a number of years we have been responsible for transforming a series of historic houses in the North East of Scotland of which Arbuthnott House is the latest. Others include Glenbervie Castle, Thornton Castle, Middleton, Ardovie and Mergie. In each case the challenge was to make the building work in terms of modern family living but to do so gently and sensitively. This generally requires that, at the end of the process, the building should have a sound roof, good drains, an efficient heating system, plenty of hot water, more bathroom provision and a kitchen that can be the hub of family life.
Arbuthnott has some wonderful seventeenth century plasterwork and a number of very fine formal rooms but, from a twenty first century family living point of view the overall impression is cold and cheerless. The kitchen had been upgraded a generation or so ago but in a sunless room. The sunny side of the house was occupied by a sitting room into which had been shoe-horned some fine glazed bookcases and a study. These two rooms, amalgamated, would make the perfect, sunny, kitchen and family room. The question that then arose was what to do with the bookcases. The answer was to create a new library in a much altered back part of the house.
The early stages of work have revealed a nasty outbreak of Dry Rot caused by a very poor junction between a relatively modern flat roof and original rear elevation. Fortunately the new Library involves the replacement of the flat roof.
The house will be heated by a wood pellet boiler. Wood pellets have the advantage over wood chips that they are dry and free-flowing so they can be gravity fed into the boiler. Wood chip by comparison is invariably damp and can be sticky and its heat output and combustion qualities are often variable. Burning very damp wood chips can cause a coating of tar on the inside of a boiler and the amount of energy consumed in driving off the moisture can result in high levels of consumption. Wood pellets have the advantage of requiring little user adjustment but, because they have been processed, they can appear to be a more expensive fuel. As it happens our client has a highly efficient state-of-the-art wood pellet making operation, Hot Stovies. The consulting engineers for the electrical and mechanical services are Irons Foulner.
The work to this house also involves some reslating and the strengthening of floors and roof timbers and new lime harling (wet dash render) to the external elevations to replace an impervious cement harl. The structural repairs are being done under the watchful eyes of Elliot and Company Structural Engineers.
The work is being carried out by contractors Pert Bruce of Montrose and is scheduled for completion in Spring 2011.