SPOTLIGHT MACK CONSTRUCTION
BUILT FOR LIVING
W orking closely with HEM Architects, Mack Construction transformed a client’s cramped two-bedroom house in Sheffield’s Nether Edge into a comfortable, four-bedroom, energy-efficient family home. The original house lacked flow, with a: ● staircase placed awkwardly in the middle of the home ● poor connection to the garden ● a living room that became a passageway to the kitchen. Mack Construction built space into the new design, adding a triple-storey side extension, inviting in lots of natural light. Double-storey and single- storey rear extensions house two new bedrooms, and an open plan kitchen and dining area with sliding doors to the garden for expansive living. Power and performance Using the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) – a planning tool for energy efficiency – the home has a low heating demand. With greater-than- normal insulation levels in the extensions and modelled insulation in the existing building fabric, space heating demand is 84kWh/m2.a – better than most new homes.
A growing family needed a bigger home with a strong focus on sustainability, which is precisely what Mack Construction delivered
to the cavity wall to provide a flat wall with timber tie beams at half landing level and to ensure the new building was stable. ● Hiring a specialist material movement contractor – the home is on a narrow residential street, with an access path no wider than a wheelbarrow. With many supplies required, including a rear patio door weighing 400 kilograms, and not being able to use a crane to access the site, the team employed a specialist material movement contractor to transport the patio door into position. Tips for success ● Building relationships – Mack Construction was brought in to the project during the technical design process, laying the foundation for a positive working relationship with the client and architect. ● Transparency – the team was clear on pricing their schedule of works and interim valuation applications. ● The right contract – works were covered by a RIBA domestic building contract. ● Collaboration – working closely with the planners, architect and client led to a successful renovation in a conservation area.
intervention. So they underpinned the wall in small ‘hit and miss’ sections to improve stability. A party wall surveyor was called in to lead discussions with neighbours. ● Integrating steel wind posts with masonry panels – the side gable of the extension is three storeys, with a full height staircase, which proved challenging to provide lateral structural support to the large masonry panels. The team attached structural steel wind posts and tie beams
The stone frontage and red brick side and rear walls replicate the original house, and have a deep cavity for higher insulation levels. Additional wood-fibre internal wall insulation was installed in the existing solid masonry walls. The team reused slate on the front elevation to match the retained roof and aesthetics of the conservation area. They replaced single-glazed timber casement windows on the front elevation with Green Building Store triple- glazed ‘mock’ sash windows to maintain the home’s traditional appearance required in a conservation area while improving energy performance. Overcoming challenges ● Remediating the boundary wall – one of the extensions is built close to a side boundary stone retaining wall. When excavated, the team saw the boundary wall was likely to collapse if work proceeded without
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