The river Nene was the predominant feature with this project.  The small existing cottage that we had as a starting point was originally the water mill. This main feature of the river so close to the dwelling also presented the main hurdle for us as there were several issues that this presented.
Firstly the footings of the new main oak framed house could not be dug in the traditional way. We used the method of pile driving steel tubes several metres into the earth to give us the stability needed to create a stable platform for the next stages of the build.  The oak frame that we designed then had to be assembled and with no access for heavy lifting equipment, this was all done by hand employing the age old methods of ropes pulleys & winches similar to the ancient roman Trispastos system.
After the frame was assembled, the structure was made water tight as soon as possible to allow all the other trades to move in and start their processes of the build. Whilst this was taking place we included the SIPS panels, rendered panels and glazing again using the direct glaze method of integrating the glass units onto our oak structures.
We had a lengthy brief from the client, maximum natural light, total awareness of the external landscape and a sympathetic material choice are but a few of the items listed.
The end result again surpassed the clients expectations.  There new creation is truly a bespoke individually designed oak framed riverside home.