Situated opposite Sheffield Girls’ High School and on the private and narrow Melbourne Avenue, Broomhill, this conversion of a large Victorian building was never going to be straight forward.
It had been used as offices for many years and the plan was to convert into six new luxury apartments.
The entrance to Melbourne Avenue is very tight and in places it’s very difficult for two vehicles to pass. A main entrance to the school sits opposite site which meant carrying out works during term time was not really an option.
The existing electric and water supplies were not sufficient for what would be required. They were also crossing an area which was to be developed.
New, individually-metered electric and water supplies would be required for each apartment and an electric landlord supply for communal lighting, alarms etc.
As the development is set back from the road, we were asked to conduct all onsite excavations including the laying of ducting, water pipes and marker tape.
All this had to happen with minimal disruption to the school and surrounding residential buildings.
The first tasks were to establish a communal meter room for the termination of the electric and water supplies and to engage the electric and water networks.
We agreed that a three-phase electric supply would be brought in an terminated at a MSDB in the meter room. The 50mm water supply would terminate at a six-way manifold.
The excavation to lay the ducting, tile tape, draw ropes and water pipes was carried out early on – with photos taken and trial pits left for inspection purposes.
During the summer holidays, the existing gas, electric and water supplies were disconnected and the new electric and water connections were made in Melbourne Avenue.
Throughout the work, we kept in constant contact with SGHS to ensure they were aware of any issues with access along the road.
The MSDB and manifold were positioned in such a way that the networks were happy and the onsite plumber and electrician could easily take the services onwards.
The possibility of things going wrong on this project was significant: onsite excavation, private road, existing supplies following funny service routes – the list was endless.
Meticulous planning and constant communication were the two things that made this happen in the way that it did. Understanding exactly what was happening, when and by whom got the job done without any real problems.
Dave is an absolute joy to work with and always trusts us to get the job done. This gave us the freedom to go and work in the way we needed to to deliver this job for him.
It’s a wonderful old building with a colourful history – we can’t wait to see it when fully refurbished.
“I had struggled with the services on previous projects and had lost valuable time (and money) putting things right. Andy’s approach took all that hassle away. I was kept in the loop throughout but trusted him to make the right decisions. I cannot thank Andy and Shadwick UC enough for their support on Melbourne Avenue.”
Dave Kinlin (Caliburn Developments)
