Collaborative build a beauty: Morel Construction
Battling the wild elements was just one of the challenges faced by a Christchurch construction company when extending and refurbishing a remote West Coast bach.
Morel Construction’s team members are passionate about building high quality and high performance houses, so when a return client started talking about using Formance SIP panel on their bach extension at Moana, they relished the opportunity to be involved.
“Early contractor engagement meant we sat and worked through technical design details with the client (who is an engineer himself) and his architect, Ian Cumberpatch Architects,” says Todd Morel.
“The project was to extend and renovate the clients’ existing 90s 100m2 bach in Moana to enjoy for their retirement. The location is just stunning but it had its challenges with being remote and battling the typical West Coast weather,” he adds.
The team, led by Todd, was a mixture of Morel Construction, Canterbury and West Coast subbies and West Coast locals.
An SIP panel extension more than doubled the square meterage, and was used in the floor, walls and roof structure.
Todd says that due to Moana having the main train line run through the town, the level of sound proofing required was introduced with Formance SIP panels to minimise this sound and the vibrations caused by the trains travelling through.
“The property has the most amazing view of the lake. To ensure the best view, the front of the house features large windows meaning you can enjoy that view from the indoors,” he adds.
The build
The extension structure was built over a 3.5 metre bank with a mix of concrete foundations, timber poles and structural steel. This was a challenging undertaking in the 10 month build with the unpredictable wet weather in this region.
The existing structure was significantly altered with all internal walls being removed and reframed with new window and door openings. The walls were clad in a mixture of cedar and E’Span and roof was clad in E’Span metal.
The extension interior walls and ceiling were prefinished veneer ply which was continued into the existing renovated walls in the lounge. This was some task as all the sheets were butt fitted with no trim or quad to cover the joins in the plywood.
