The concrete water tower at the bottom of Peter Stanworth’s garden was in a sorry state at the start of last year. Built in 1932 by Kenilworth Urban District Council, the water tower was used for 5-10 years, but due to a leak, has since remained empty. The water tower was falling apart, and the reinforcing bars were rusting and expanding, causing the concrete to crack and fall.
Demolition was out of the question as Peter Stanworth felt the water tower needed to be preserved and restored. With the water tower being in the greenbelt, Peter was limited with the usage of the water tower and planners would only allow for it to be used as holiday accommodation.
Looking for someone to take on the challenge of the unusual conversion, Peter found Anton Richards, a Nottinghamshire builder from WA Richards Contractors Ltd. Anton has a passion for tackling weird and wonderful projects and was a perfect fit for the design and build of the water tower conversion.
One of Peter’s main requirements was that he wanted the insulation to be as good as possible. Encon Insulation’s Nottingham branch supplied the 125mm honeycomb style HYBRIS Insulation for the internal walls and insulating breather membrane, BOOST’R HYBRID externally. Commenting on the choice of insulation, Anton said: “as a contractor, I much prefer Actis to fibreglass or PU insulation, it’s too dusty and very expensive. Actis is a much better product, it meets U-value requirements and it’s easy to use.”
“HYBRIS ensures winter and summer thermal insulation, acoustic insulation and air tightness of buildings, meaning that it was perfect for insulating the walls and ceilings of the water tower and its new extension. BOOST’R HYBRID, which was used in the external walls of the water tower, provides dual properties within a single product - a breathable membrane and insulation. This allows a reduction in the number of installation steps whilst reducing the thickness of the main insulation to achieve the same required U-Value.” – Neil Draper, Area Sales Executive, Encon Insulation.
The 12 metre tall, hilltop holiday home now has two bedrooms on the ground and first floor, with a spiral staircase leading up to the lounge in the old water tank. Commenting on the renovation, Peter Stanworth said: “I am a great admirer of Anton’s work. He has produced a first class job despite many difficult problems, he only accepts the highest of standards”.
In the Master Builder Awards 2019, the Water Tower Project won the Large Renovation Projects - Yorkshire and Trent Award. Anton Richards was commended for his work on the project by the Federation of Master Builders, working around noise restrictions and incorporating as many of the tower's original features as possible.
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