ABERDEENSHIRE-based Coldwells Building Company is celebrating after winning a top prize at the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) National Master Builder Awards for its work on derelict croft buildings.
The firm triumphed in the Medium Renovation Project category after transforming a ‘tumbledown shambles’ of nineteen century croft buildings into a family home.
Coldwells turned an 1860s granite cottage, neighbouring byre and added slate-clad extension from the 1970s into a bright home with a timber and glass extension. The firm salvaged the materials they could from existing and nearby sites including rafters, slate and granite, and were recognised by judges for its success in marrying old and new.
Features of the renovation include openings carved into the granite walls to provide space for glazing to flood the property with light, built-in birch cabinetry, and a large open plan living space created by removing the cottage’s original floors.
Coldwells had to deal with drainage problems, uneven flooring and woodworm while renovating the property, but managed to complete the project on time and to budget.
Ross Booth, director of Coldwells Building Company Ltd, said, “This project was a huge team effort and thanks goes to our supremely talented employees, subcontractors, architect partners and wonderful clients who poured their heart and soul into it. This is one of the first major awards we have won, and as a small family business, it certainly means a lot to us. The trophy will take pride of place on the shelf. We are thrilled and honoured to have been recognised by the Federation of Master Builders and we are grateful to the award sponsors for making it happen.”
Caroline Grumble, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Building, and national judge for this category, said, “This project had the edge because of the good use of the glass and timber, the old and the new, coming together so sympathetically for the environment in which it was delivered.”
