Villa Renovation - Freemans Bay, Auckland

This was a major year-long project that presented some challenges and required careful attention to detail. Operations Manager Ryan Strawbridge ran the project, managing the scheduling, organising the subcontractors, overseeing quality control, and solving onsite issues as they arose.

The century-old house was lifted, and a two-bedroom self-contained flat was added underneath. The rear of the home was extended with a spacious lounge that opens out onto a large deck and pool.

All the existing windows were replaced with new timber double-glazed sash windows in the style of the originals.

A key challenge of this project was retaining the protected villa's heritage characteristics. To meet council town-planning regulations to preserve the area's character, the street-facing façade had to be maintained in the specific style of the building. This was also the case with the chimney. The original brick chimney was removed, and the roof was strengthened. A replica chimney was built and mounted on the roof to maintain the home's character. The original bricks were labelled and individually re-laid to look exactly like the 100-plus-year-old original. The fretwork on the front façade was replaced with the same design, and inside the dado rails were also preserved.

The house sits on a narrow inner-city street, which had to be closed off for several days for the delivery of the retaining posts – an added complication for Ryan to contend with.

While it retains its beautiful villa character, this renovation includes all the features you would expect to find in a modern home: high-end finishes, full insulation, double glazing, concealed air conditioning throughout, and under-floor heating.

This was a fascinating build, and the result speaks for itself. Being part of the team that restored and enhanced this home was a pleasure for Our Projects.