Structural Engineering, Interior Design and Conservation
Marian was commissioned to provide a knitted rug for Holt Harrison. It measures 8′ x 6′ and was knitted in a single piece using 14 strands of yarn on a single needle. The locally sourced wool was from rare breed Blackfaced Welsh sheep.
It will be a very special piece to suit many interior styles.
Marian has recently completed a Conservation Statement and Historical Report for this property in Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire. Dating from the mid 17th Century, this Grade II* Listed property has been extensively extended and modified since originally constructed. It is now due for further works but prior to this an extensive archive search has allowed the history of the building to be established. This has helped to inform which features are original and which have been added at a later date.
A copy of the report is available here
An alert was issued recently by CROSS (Confidential Reporting on Structural safety) regarding the fixing of photovoltaic cells onto existing roofs.
The panels add weight to the roof which when added to snow and wind loading can bring the capacity of the roof to its capacity.
If the panels are not properly fixed, they can be blown off through wind suction loads.
Under snow loading, a sudden thaw on top of the smooth surface of the panel can lead to snow suddenly sliding off and causing injury to persons below.
The alterations to the roof form an alteration to the structure and needs to be assessed.
The effect of the additional weight and all of the fixings should be assessed by a suitably qualified person. This should be a Chartered Structural Engineer or in England and Wales this could also be somebody under a Competent Persons Scheme.
A full copy of the report is available here.
This new garden room extension, with Helen Lucas Architects, in Edinburgh is nearing completion. The internals are almost complete and the external leaf of the stonework is almost complete.
The blockwork cavity wall extension nearing completion in Edinburgh.
It was a quick visit up to Leeds this week for an SER seminar on the Structural Certification of Buildings in Scotland. The scheme has been running since 2005 in Scotland allowing the structural design of buildings to be covered by a certificate but the scheme has not yet been extended to England or Wales.
The scheme in Scotland requires a single person (the Certifier) to be responsible for all of the structural elements of the building. Unlike England, structural calculations must be completed by a qualified structural engineer. Having worked in England for the past year, it has been very interesting to see how the role of the engineer is very different to Scotland, with a much reduced involvement in most projects.
It was also interesting to note that the other engineers in attendance recognised that the scheme had led to an improvement of standards in Scotland. It was considered that a number of structural failures that had occurred in England would have been significantly less likely to occur if this scheme had been in place in England.
Its the 1st of November and Davies Torres Design is now one year old.
We’ve had one new build house on site and is nearing completion, one large house extension progressing on site, other projects tendered and ready to go to site and still more being designed. We have also been carrying out historical research on a 17th Century Manor House.
These projects have been in Edinburgh, Dunbar, North Berwick, Fife, Glasgow, Cirencester, Wotton-under-Edge and Berkeley.
New extension to provide a garden room to a house in Edinburgh. Constructed in timber frame with steel elements.
The completed extension can be seen here
We are starting work on the alterations to this house in Cirencester. There will be two large extensions and internal alterations.
We have been appointed as structural engineers to a Cotswold barn conversion. It is a traditional form of stone walls and with oak framed upper floor and roof structure.
