This large detached home on a leafy, quiet street in Wimbledon has been in the same family for decades. The Australian owners love the location but hated their dark, old fashioned home. After years of research and planning, they embarked on a total rebuild of a light, airy, modern home more similar to indoor-outdoor Australian living. We were chosen by the main contractor largely for our stair cladding expertise as the new contemporary staircase is now a main feature of the house.
A dream rebuild of a light-filled modern home
Wimbledon village in south west London, where town meets country.
An engineered oak wooden floor was installed all throughout the ground floor including the entrance hallway, reception room, downstairs guest bedroom, open plan living room area, the feature staircase and the first floor landing. As sometimes happens with large building projects by the time the final stages of the project took place the budget was extremely tight and there was not enough money for the quality finish the property deserved. The owners would have loved a more luxurious flooring material but in the end opted for a lower spec oak board as a more affordable option but insisted on expert installation. This is not a preferred combination but we understand budget constraints and always seek to reasonably work within our customers’ means.
An engineered oak wooden floor was installed all throughout the ground floor.
The new oak floor opens up the large living room area.
Again as with all projects, the stages don’t always happen in the right order and on this project due to a delayed delivery we needed to clad the stairs without the glass balustrade in place. We worked strictly with the measurements provided, the glass balustrade was later installed and due to our accuracy happily fit perfectly.
The contemporary glass balustrade fit perfectly.
We have developed a special technique to seamlessly join boards.
We cladded the stairs on a concrete base which is perfect to prevent creaky, bouncy areas on the steps. However as we can’t put nails into concrete it was certainly more work for us. We were pleased to be able to craft a nice seamless joint on the stairs where the tread and risers meet and another seamless joint on the exterior of the stairs.
We gradually corrected the unequal height and width of the stairs to make sure each step was perfectly equal. We made the cladding wider than the concrete steps to make it flush against the glass balustrade. As the balustrade was not yet in place we relied on accurate measurements, references and markings to achieve a precise fit. We also crafted a smooth matching wooden handrail to sit on top of the balustrade.
We crafted a smooth matching oak handrail.
The wooden handrail is a great contrast to the sleek glass balustrade.
Before we started the floor installation, we measured the moisture in the screed previously poured by the builders and when we got the right dry measurement we proceeded with the work. We applied a liquid damp proof membrane and primer to prevent any future water infiltrations.
We showcased further attention to detail with a perfect wood floor to tile transition in the kitchen with a seamless joint and no threshold.
More attention to detail with a perfect wood floor to tile transition.
Integrated door mats provide an extra tidy finish.
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We always suggest an integrated door mat frame to help keep the hallway clean and the owners agreed. Although usually we recommend the mat goes all the way to the threshold of the floor for an extra tidy finish. We finished the installation with an extra coat of osmo oil polyx clear satin to give extra protection.
The owners were delighted with the end result and the main contractor was happy with the high standard achieved on the staircase. We love to look back at the craftsmanship of beautifully precise oak stair cladding. Another job well done!
Beautifully precise oak stair cladding.
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Location: London SW19
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