Westfield Terrace

No 12 Westfield Terrace is a grade C listed building since December 2000 and is part of a 6 bay pair of mirrored 3 bay double villas forming the North Side of Westfield Terrace. Designed by Scottish Architect James Henderson and built in 1874 the building has Scots Baronial and Dutch inspired detailing.

Eoghain Fiddes met with Mr & Mrs Noble prior to purchasing the property to advise on what may be required when on embarking on restoring a building like 12 Westfield Terrace. The client fell in love with the building, understood the financial and emotional commitments involved and were steadfast in not only making this their home but restoring and preserving the integrity of the building to ensure the longevity for many years to come.

Fiddes Architects were appointed to sensitively renovate the historic fabric and interior of 12 Westfield Terrace including a complete thermal upgrading and renewal of all services including underfloor heating to the basement and ground floors as well as extending and reconfiguring the layout to create a more practical and flexible family home.

The design prioritised the restoration of the main facades and included a modest lean to extension to the rear of the property creating a dining area off the proposed open plan family living area. The dilapidated garage / potting shed with no historic merit was demolished and re-built with a contemporary white render garage to the same footprint and directly relating to the dining extension.

The main rational on the building restoration was to remove what was beyond repair whilst preserving all that was good. Moulds were taken from plaster cornicing to allow the external walls to be insulated and then re-instating an exact match to the principal rooms. Profiles were also taken from the existing skirtings and architraves allowing replacement ones to be fitted.

All involved with the project took a huge amount of pride in saving this building from ruin coupled with rigorous attention to detail which is demanded when carrying out restoration works to buildings of this historic nature.
The main front external facades of the building were not in good condition, the curvilinear gables and gablets have suffered from climatic erosion with the outer skins failing in places, much of the sandstone to the main facade had been patched with a cement skin render over the years which accelerated the erosion to the sandstone behind. As the project progressed on site more serious issues were uncovered which required immediate attention to preserve to integrity of the facade.

Stonework repairs and restoration were carried out which included replacement Sandstone Mullions, Lintels, Scew copings, Gablets, Stonework, cement render removed and replaced with breathable Lithomex render. The existing slate roof finish and leadwork was in bad shape with various leakages, the slate, sarking, lead ridge rolls, soakers, abutment flashings & valleys were all replaced. All windows to the property were replaced with white, timber double glazed sash and case windows to the original style improving the thermal performance of the dwelling.

The reconstruction of major parts of the original building and the thermal upgrade required meticulous co-ordination, careful specification and close collaboration with the Contractor and client. Careful consideration was given to how both the extension & replacement garage should look and sit in context to the existing building. Protecting the character and appearance of the existing building, subordinate in scale and form, located on a secondary elevation, designed in a high quality manner with emphasis on appropriate materials.