Making A Difference
When Cliff & Nora Schreiber planned a working holiday overseas they decided to rent their home. Sadly, on their return, what was a simple, but very tidy, home was suffering from neglect. There had been no maintenance done during their absence and they now had a rusting roof, broken and missing fibrolite weatherboards and a retaining wall at the rear of the house that had begun to leak causing dampness on the lower level. It was time for a major renovation!
The Schreibers had, over the years, been actively collating ideas on how they would tackle the task, the style they would like and the materials of preference.
“We looked at many properties and began a photographic file of interiors and exteriors as we encounted them, “says Nora Schreiber. “ While there have been several modifications en route we always came back to the same key features – corrugated steel cladding, reflecting the iconic NZ shed, and Titan board. We liked the clean lines of both but we had only seen Titan Board used on commercial buildings.”
The initial intension was simply to reclad the exterior and roof however investigation revealed that the dampness on the rear retaining wall, caused by the previous owners backfilling the wall without adequate drainage, was a problem. This required major excavations as the decision was made to clear the area against the wall. to keep it dry, and to create a deck above. As with many renovation projects the project continued to grow.
At this stage the Schreibers retained the service of Clem Kinnaird to assist in bringing the ideas together as a workable project.
“The Schreibers had done a huge about of research and Cliff had done many sketches of various designs and layouts,“ says Clem.” My role was simply to fine tune these ideas and to produce a plan that was functional.”
From what started as a simple reclad the project became a complete renovation inside and out including the landscaping and access. “At the end of the project only one internal wall remained without modification,“ says Nora.
The original verandah area was incorporated into the house as an enlarged bathroom and laundry. The roof was replaced with ColorCote® ZRX ™ to modernise the profile. New French door entrances were added to the downstairs bedrooms, existing windows were replaced with new aluminium joinery (some were repositioned) and a four panelled folding door fitted to open the dining area to the outside maximising indoor /outdoor flow. The 1970’s décor of exposed beams and textured ceilings had to go... both upstairs and downstairs were gibbed, painted and carpeted throughout.
The Schreibers speak very highly of the input of both Clem Kinnaird and builder John Fretwell. “Both worked together with us to achieve the result we wanted offering expert advice on modifications and improvements. We were very pleased with the results.”