Tag Archives: redevelopment

Westminster Abbey Infirmary

11th May 2022Heritagealterations, Bakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, bespoke fitted furniture, bespoke fitted joinery, bespoke joiners, bespoke storage, bespoke wood essex, carpenters, chelmsford builders, chelmsford joiners, chelmsford joinery shop, church, church joinery, church library, Church re-ordering, church storage, church storage cupboards, church tower, church woodwork, conservation, conservators, DDA friendly toilet, dementia friendly toilet, dementia friendy, english oak, Essex, essex joiners, furniture made to fit, furniture made to last, general builders, grade I listed, hand made mezzanine floor, heritage, heritage builders, heritage craftsmen, joiners, joinery, joinery shop, joinery work shop, joinery workshop, mazanine floor, mesanine floor, mezzanine floor, oak staircase, oak wall, one off wooded furniture, pannelling, paul revill, redevelop, redevelopment, Refurbishment, remodelling grade I listed, secret staircase, sold fitted furniture, sound proofed oak wall, tower room, trusted builders, unique fitted joinery, westminster abbey infirmary, westminster abbey infirmery, westminster abbey refurbishment, woodcraft, wooden, wooden fitted cupboards, wooden fitted furnitureRachel Finlay

Summary: Refurbishment and alterations to Westminster Abbey Infirmary

Location: Westminster, London

Challenge: Access to this part of Westminster Abbey is restricted

Solution: Bakers of Danbury carried out refurbishment and alterations to Westminster Abbey Infirmary providing a galleried area around the room, accessed via a new oak staircase and balustrade manufactured in Bakers specialist joinery workshop. Bakers also manufactured and installed bespoke hand-crafted fitted cupboards and kitchenette which seamlessly filled the space beneath the new gallery level. Masonry and glazing repairs were also carried out.

When working at Westminster Abbey it is important to have continuous liaison with the Clerk of Works to work together and overcome access issues and restrictions. All staff wore a security tab which gave them access to the restricted areas they needed to access. All other areas were strictly prohibited. During special events, such as when HRH Queen Elizabeth visited, the works onsite had to stop. During such times, our Site Manager had to liaise closely with the Clerk of Works and Security.

Church Tower Mezzanine Floor

6th May 2022HeritageBakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, bespoke joiners, bespoke storage, bespoke wood essex, carpenters, chelmsford builders, chelmsford joiners, chelmsford joinery shop, church, church joinery, church library, Church re-ordering, church storage, church storage cupboards, church tower, church woodwork, DDA friendly toilet, dementia friendly toilet, dementia friendy, english oak, Essex, essex joiners, joiners, joinery shop, mazanine floor, mesanine floor, mezzanine floor, oak wall, pannelling, paul revill, redevelop, redevelopment, Refurbishment, sound proofed oak wall, tower room, trusted builders, woodenRachel Finlay

Summary: Church re-ordering and new mezzanine floor within tower to make it a usable space.

Location: Impington, Cambridgeshire

Challenge: The existing 15th century wall paintings needed to be protected and later restored

Solution: Bakers carried out a re-order of the church which included a new mezzanine floor with a glass screen entrance within the tower to allow the tower to become a usable space. Externally, stone repair and re-pointing was carried out to the south and partial west elevations. A new lead roof was installed to the tower and the church was decorated throughout, whilst protecting the early 15th century paintings which were later restored.

Church Re-ordering

23rd January 2020HeritageBakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, bespoke joiners, bespoke storage, bespoke wood essex, carpenters, chelmsford builders, chelmsford joiners, chelmsford joinery shop, church, church joinery, church library, Church re-ordering, church storage, church storage cupboards, church woodwork, DDA friendly toilet, dementia friendly toilet, dementia friendy, english oak, Essex, essex joiners, joiners, joinery shop, oak wall, pannelling, paul revill, redevelop, redevelopment, Refurbishment, sound proofed oak wall, trusted builders, woodenRachel Finlay

Summary = The church re-ordering which took place at St Mary's Church in Saffron Walden involved our specialist joinery workshop manufacturing and installing English Oak bespoke DDA and Dementia friendly toilet, storage cupboards, children's library and a pew storage area.

Location = St Mary’s Church, Saffron Walden

Awards = Diocese of Chelmsford, Design Awards in 2019 (Highly Commended)

Challenge = Attention to detail was important in this project as it was all made of English Oak then stained and fitted on site.

Solution = One of the largest parish churches in Essex, the building dates mainly from the fifteenth century.

The west main entrance was re-ordered to incorporate new storage units in bespoke manufactured in English Oak by Bakers of Danbury’s Specialist Joinery department. We also manufactured and installed a bespoke all-person DDA / Dementia friendly WC, with baby change area in English Oak. In the North Aisle we introduced a pew storage area, bespoke servery facilities, flower arranger’s sink and storage area. All were crafted by our Joiners from English Oak in our joinery workshop, it was then taken apart and wrapped flat pack for transit, before being fitted by our onsite carpenters.

Great attention was paid to the highest spec soundproofing, with all panels either insulated with a solid block board or infilled with bricks to eliminate noise. The WC door alone weighed over 100kg.

Every post included a hand carved crocus detail to the top. To watch a film of our skilled Joiner hand carving a crocus detail click here.

The complete project was very detailed and complex with hand carved designs, modern sliding doors and bespoke detailed cornice which ran around the top of the complete project.

The church re-ordering project to St Mary the Virgin in Saffron Walden was Highly Commended in the Diocese of Chelmsford, Design Awards in 2019.

Bakers of Danbury revisited St Marys Church in 2021 to replace the existing copper roof to the Chancel, with a traditional lead roof. A scaffold and temporary roof, designed by an engineer, was erected above the roof and parapets to protect the valuable historic building from inclement weather while the work was carried out. To the roof, Bakers installed a new timber deck and upgraded the insulation before covering it with traditional code 7 milled sheet lead.

Hand Carved Village Signs

23rd November 2018joineryBakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, beacon refurbishment, bespoke joiners, bespoke wood essex, chelmsford builders, chelmsford joiners, chelmsford joinery shop, english oak, Essex, essex joiners, hand painted village, hand painted village sign, joiners, joinery shop, national beacon, oak wall, paul revill, Pebmarsh, redevelop, redevelopment, Refurbishment, Shop Display Units, trusted builders, village post, village sign repaint, Village signsRachel Finlay

Bakers of Danbury have hand carved and restored village signs going back many years now. The earliest village sign on our records dates back to 1960, for the of village Pebmarsh in Essex.

Bakers of Danbury’s Joinery Workshop still regularly undertake village sign projects - from refurbishment and redecoration; to a full design service for brand new village signs.

Village Sign Refurbishment:

Village sign refurbishment works involve collecting the sign from its village location, cleaning, sanding and repairing any defects using hardwood timber. We will hand carve where necessary, then carry out a full re-decoration which will include hand painting the village sign. When the refurbished village sign is returned to its former glory, we will reinstate the refurbished village sign back at its village location.

Design of New Village Signs:

For brand new village signs, our full design service includes sitting down with the client to bring their thought’s to life. We will produce detailed drawings of the village sign. The design will be to scale (life sized) to give the client a real feel of what the final sign will look like.

Once the detailed drawings are approved, Bakers of Danbury’s specialist joinery department will hand carve the new design out of hardwood. Hand carving a village sign can take some time depending on its detail.

Once we have a completed hand carved village sign, it will be hand painted using special exterior paint to give the highest quality finish. Finally, the installation will take place at the village sign location.

Recent projects:

We have recently refurbished, repaired and decorated a National Beacon for the village of Purfleet. The beacon itself was refurbished and it's post repaired. We carried out a full decoration of the sign and installed a new concrete base.

We have recently refurbished signs for Halstead, Woodford Green, Roxwell and East Bergholt.

Shop Display Units

23rd November 2018joineryBakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, bespoke joiners, bespoke wood essex, chelmsford builders, chelmsford joiners, chelmsford joinery shop, english oak, Essex, essex joiners, joiners, joinery shop, oak wall, paul revill, redevelop, redevelopment, Refurbishment, Shop Display Units, trusted buildersRachel Finlay

Summary: Shop display units handcrafted from MDF and Oak with a sprayed paint finish and stained oak edge

Location: Chelsea Harbour Design Centre, London

Architect: Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler Interior Design, Decoration and Antiques

Challenge: Short lead time

Solution: Bakers of Danburys’ Specialist Joinery Workshop handcrafted eight display units for Colefax & Fowler’s new Interior Design Shop which is located in Chelsea Harbour, London.

The display units were constructed from 30mm MDF with a lino top covering and an oak edging applied to the unit tops.

The units were finished in a factory spray with a stained oak edging. The project had a short lead time. To enable the project to meet its completion deadline the whole team had to work very closely and our joiners worked some overtime.

Colefax & Fowler are a repeat customer of Bakers of Danbury, we look forward to working with Colefax & Fowler again in the future.

English Oak Storage & WC

22nd November 2018joineryBakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, bespoke joiners, bespoke wood essex, chelmsford builders, chelmsford joiners, chelmsford joinery shop, english oak, Essex, essex joiners, joiners, joinery shop, oak wall, pannelling, paul revill, redevelop, redevelopment, Refurbishment, sound proofed oak wall, trusted buildersRachel Finlay

Summary: English Oak bespoke DDA and Dementia friendly wc, storage cupboards, children's library and pew storage area

Location: St Mary’s Church, Saffron Walden

Architect: Kay Pilsbury Thomas Architects

Challenge: Attention to detail was important in this project as it was all made of English Oak and stained on site.

Solution: One of the largest parish churches in Essex, the building dates mainly from the fifteenth century.

Bakers of Danbury’s Specialist Joinery department manufactured and installed an English Oak bespoke DDA and Dementia friendly wc, storage cupboards, children's library and pew storage area. All were crafted by our Joiners from English Oak in our joinery shop, it was then taken apart and wrapped flat pack for transit, before being fitted by our onsite carpenters.

Great attention was paid to the highest spec soundproofing, with all panels either insulated with a solid block board or infilled with bricks to eliminate noise. The WC door alone weighed over 100kg.

Every post included a hand carved crocus detail to the top. The complete project was very detailed and complex with hand carved designs, modern sliding doors and bespoke detailed cornice which ran around the top of the complete project.

The church re-ordering project to St Mary the Virgin in Saffron Walden was Highly Commended in the Diocese of Chelmsford, Design Awards in 2019.

American Oak Panelling

22nd November 2018joineryamerican oak, american white oak, Bakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, bespoke joiners, bespoke palelling, bespoke wood essex, chelmsford builders, chelmsford joiners, chelmsford joinery shop, City, college, Essex, essex joiners, euston road, grafton house, hand made wooden windows, joiners, joinery shop, London, oak panelling, oak wall, panneling, pannelling, paul revill, redevelop, redevelopment, Refurbishment, school, science college, scool of science, trusted builders, wall panelling, wood wallRachel Finlay

Summary: American Oak panelling measuring 220 m² for a School of Science on Euston Road, London

Location: Grafton House, Euston Road, London

Client: Forrest Gate Construction

Challenge: The oak panelling was across four floors. Each with a different layout

Solution: Bakers of Danbury’s Specialist Joinery Department were asked to supply 220m² of American White Oak for a refurbishment to Grafton House in London.

The project was a conversion of an existing building to a modern science school.

All of the panels and oak had to be class 0 fire rated. Baker’s Joiners painted and installed over 2000 meters of oak strips which were fixed to painted black 12mm MDF with spacing’s of 20mm to give a shadow gap appearance.

The project was split across four floors and each floor had a different layout, so a full site survey was necessary to ensure each floor was measured correctly.

National Trust, Rainham Hall

21st November 2018Heritage, ResidentialBakers of Danbury, Bakers of Danbury Ltd, bespoke lift, bookshop, building conservation, cafe installation, cafe refurbishment, Chelmsford, chelmsford builders, City, Conservation and Restoration of the National Trust Rainham Hall, Essex, exhibition area, extension to a grade II Listed property, extension to listed property, extention, grade 2 listed, grade II listed, Grade II* listed Georgian house, hand made wooden windows, Havering, Havering Borough Council, joinery shop windows, London, London Borough of Havering, National Trust, Rainham Hall, redevelop, redevelopment, trusted buildersRachel Finlay

Summary: Conservation and restoration of National Trust Rainham Hall. Conservation and restoration works were carried out to three floors of Rainham Hall and its Coach House. Works included the redevelopment of the Coach House into a tea room.

Value: Approximately £1,500,000

Location: London Borough of Havering

Challenge: Provide wheelchair access to first floor of Coach House whilst retaining the aesthetic look of the building.

Solution: Prior to the conservation and restoration project, the building had been in disrepair and on the Historic England at Risk Register. It had been completely inaccessible to the public.

Constructed in the early eighteenth century, the Stable Block at Rainham Hall included a stable with a hayloft above with a brew house adjacent. When work started, it became clear that the roof had undergone various repairs and rebuilds in its history; leaving it with a poor structural integrity. Bakers of Danbury carried out structural roof repairs and re-tiling.

During the conservation and restoration of National Trust Rainham Hall a temporary staircase gave visitors the chance to see the works up close during a number of 'Hard Hat' tours.

Bakers of Danbury’s inhouse Specialist Joinery Shop built and installed a timber-clad vertical lift shaft with a spiral cantilevered staircase. The design of the new lift core, located in the within the Grade II Listed Brew House, echoes the large copper vats used in the 18th century brewing process.

To the Main Hall, Bakers of Danbury undertook a large renovation project including a full M&E overhaul. Bakers of Danbury also installed new w/c and carried out conservator decorating.

Externally Bakers of Danbury carried out re-pointing and brickwork repairs to all elevations.

In October 2015, the Stable Block at Rainham Hall opened to the public as a café and community space.

The conservation and restoration of National Trust Rainham Hall was shortlisted for the RICS Building Conservation Awards 2018.