This detached house on King's Gate in Aberdeen was completed in 1985 and comprises lounge, dining room, dining / kitchen, utility room, hall, cloakroom and single garage at ground floor with four bedrooms, bathroom and boxroom at first floor.

This house was designed to provide impressive energy saving results. The main measures included:

• Southerly orientation of all major rooms with minimal glazing elsewhere.
• Simple plan form and efficient enclosure of space.
• Distribution and enclosure of accommodation to form buffer zone of rooms surrounding living / dining spaces.
• High levels of insulation.
• Air infiltration control by draught stripping of all windows and doors and by planning lobbies to front and back doors.
• Triple glazing to all windows.
• Planning of bathroom, utility room, kitchen, boiler and hot water storage with compact pipe runs to avoid excess heat loss.
• Low energy light fittings in all rooms.
• Use of garage on the north side of the feu and retention of existing rubble boundary walls to give shelter.
• Provision for addition of future conservatory.

This seven apartment private house was completed in October 2001 after a ten month building contract. Located in the west end of Aberdeen this two storey property shares a double corner feu with the clients existing home.

The garden ground, some two metres below street level, determined a cross section with all principal units of accommodation at the upper level. Secondary accommodation is at the lower level together with storage behind the retaining wall that supports the off street parking area.

Light penetrates the centre of the house by way of two projecting 'bay' windows. Electrically operated roof windows on the east elevation light and ventilate the two storey conservatory which, with its sunroom balcony and spiral stair, offers the clients access to alternative areas of relaxation. The west facing lounge windows are located on two adjacent walls and, with those forming the vestibule, allow sunlight to penetrate the interior from early afternoon. Although the property has an east-west orientation, careful positioning of glazing on all elevations allows sunlight of varying qualities to flood the interior throughout the day.

For further information see Aberdeen Society of Architects Review 2001.

Situated in the expanding village of Newtonhill, some 8 miles south of Aberdeen, this picturesque property would have been one of the original cottages within the village that had remained undeveloped until the coming of the oil industry in the early 1970s. National house builders have changed the character of the area in satisfying the demand for new homes but several streets remain where the traditional style of building, characteristic of the area, can still be seen.

This single storey cottage was enlarged prior to my involvement with an extension which involved the raising of the rear portion of the roof to provide bedroom accommodation at first floor accessed by means of a narrow, winding stair. My client’s first request soon after purchasing the property was to provide a single bedroom and bathroom at ground floor for the use of an elderly parent. This was achieved by continuing the roof line of the existing kitchen while retaining the form of addition that had been started by others. Several years later a conservatory was added overlooking the sheltered rear patio area. The flat roof over the porch at the front entrance door was replaced in 1997 and a couple of years later the single bedroom was enlarged to form a double bedroom. Finally in 2001 the single garage was replaced with an improved structure of similar dimensions. In 2004 a design was prepared for improving the front elevation of the cottage which would have increased the headroom in the bedrooms and stair but this was considered uneconomical and did not proceed. A year later the property was sold on.

This farmhouse property was purchased in 1996 by the same clients who developed the steading at Hatton of Fintray, described elsewhere in this website. Their request here was simply to enlarge the house to provide an additional public room at ground floor and a third bedroom at first floor. This was achieved by forming an opening in the existing gable to access the new family room and at the upper level sacrificing a double bedroom to create a single room and corridor though to the new accommodation. The footprint of the existing was increased to satisfy the clients’ requirements for space while repeating the window, eaves and granite walling details helped retain the character of the existing farmhouse.

This house was first extended in the mid 1990s to provide a double garage. This, however was a garage with a difference in that it had to be contained within a corner of the feu where the site boundary was at an obtuse angle to the gable of the house and had to be clear of an existing, south facing bay window to the sitting room. This was achieved by erecting two ‘single’ garages linked for half their length; one built parallel to the house and the other on the line of the boundary. The resulting structure is an interesting solution which, with its sympathetic detailing, compliments the original detached house.

Two years later a sunroom was added on the north east elevation of the house. Although fully glazed on three sides, in comparison to the solidity of the existing house, the use of second hand granite and slates to match the existing ensures that this addition sits happily with the old.

With the increase in house prices in recent years the owners of this detached house in the west-end of Aberdeen had the confidence to commission a £100,00 extension. At ground floor they added a family room overlooking a landscaped garden, a utility room, an enlarged, fully fitted kitchen and at first floor a new master bedroom with ensuite shower room and walk-in storage accommodation. The existing pitched and vertical roof gables were simply extended to the rear to create the enlarged roof space needed to accommodate the required elements. Although the complete rear elevation of the house was demolished and rebuilt the use of similar wall and roof finishes in the extension ensures that the new marries in with the existing.

This detached house occupying an elevated site on one of Aberdeen’s busiest thoroughfares was extended in 2003 to provide a double garage, sunroom and enlarged, fitted kitchen. The garage, with its granite frontage, fills the space between this house and its near neighbour on ground set aside for this purpose when the housing development was planned in the 1930s. The sunroom, with its large areas of glass, opens off the renovated kitchen and overlooks a walled garden that slopes up from rear of the house to form a sheltered area providing an external ‘room’ that compliments the extension. The removal of the original timber framed garage that this development replaces has given back a large area of rear garden to the client while taking away a structure which detracted from the appearance of the whole property.

This semi-detached house built in granite in the 1930s was renovated in 2004 to provide updated accommodation for leasing. The client took the advise of an Aberdeen property leasing company and embarked on a £25,000 upgrade that included the following;

• Replace bathroom/shower fittings on ground floor.
• Form ensuite shower room and built-in wardrobe to new first floor master bedroom.
• Install 4No. Velux roof windows in master bedroom overlooking garden.
• Redesign kitchen layout and renew all fittings and white goods.
• Wall tile bathroom, shower and kitchen where appropriate.
• Sand, stain and varnish existing timber floors throughout.
• Renew stair carpet, replace vinyl floor coverings in bathroom and shower.
• Install new gas fire and surround in living room.
• Hang vertical blinds and curtains in all rooms.
• Decoration externally and internally throughout.

Although this property has been occupied since renovation work was completed if you are interested in leasing then I would be pleased to pass on your interest to the person concerned.

This traditional Aberdeen tenement property situated across the River Dee in the Torry area of Aberdeen was extensively renovated in 2005 for an housing association. The original property, similar to several already modernised by the same company, comprised a total of eight one and two bedroom flats with shared toilets accessed off the stair half landings. On completion of the demolition works only the granite front and rear walls, slated roof, structural timber floors and staircase remained. The new layout now provides two one bedroom flats on each of four floors with compact kitchens in what was the second bedroom in four of the original properties and shower rooms off the hallways. The walls and internal partitions have been lined to provide sound and thermal insulation of the highest standard and services installed, including gas fired central heating, to ensure the new tenants benefit from the comforts expected of 21st century living.