DEAN GRANGE, BERKSHIRE

Dean Grange, Berkshire
The original property had been demolished to make way for a new seven-bedroom house, laid out across four floors. This new property also included a detached two-bedroom guest house, an external swimming pool, changing block and a remote orangery hidden deep in the gardens. As this was a Design & Build project, Darke & Taylor was also able to showcase its electrical design skills.

Project challenges

CHRISTMAS HANDOVER DEADLINE:

The family’s intention was to be in their new home in time for Christmas. However, in a build of this size and complexity, there were numerous subcontractors operating on site simultaneously.

Solution: Darke & Taylor (D&T) pre-identified with the architect any critical areas of work where delays might arise. These areas were then elevated to ‘headline’ status to minimise any ‘spillover’ impact on the rest of the project.

BUREAUCRATIC RED TAPE:

The electricity supplier (SSE) had only quoted for bringing the supply to the property boundary, which happened to be 105 metres short of the main panel located inside the house.

Solution: To avoid the client paying a large fee to SSE to requote (which would have delayed the Christmas handover date) D&T installed a new mains cable from the SSE boundary meter into the property.

GENERIC ROOM DATA SHEET:

This merely provided a rough outline of the client’s requirements. Only a very simple ‘vanilla’ fit-out had been initially specified.

Solution: Following discussions with the client, D&T installed a host of features such as Lutron lighting and room-to-room audio.

COMPLEX LIGHTING SYSTEM:

A host of Lutron lighting racks, which were required to control the complex lighting systems, had been specified on the plans. However, no provision had been made for the space required to house this equipment; i.e. a dedicated Electrical/AV Room.

Solution: D&T worked quickly with the architect and main contractor to ensure that suitable space was created to house the various controls whilst permitting easy access for future maintenance. Consequently, the first fix wiring was pre-pulled to the correct location to avoid the need for later rewiring works.

Gallery

“Darke & Taylor’s understanding of what was required on a prestigious project such as this was critical to delivering the infrastructure to enable our integrated audio, visual, and lighting technology to operate discreetly yet stylishly.”

Jason Lawrence, Senior Consultant, Chris Lewis Smart Home

Technical overview

This was a D&T Design & Build project and required a comprehensive plan that required us to size the incoming supply, develop the mains infrastructure and back-up power, route containment and cabling, integrate network cabling and select specialists to work on the life safety, security and smart home systems.

Once the infrastructure was designed, we worked closely with the client’s design team to select the right products and solutions to realise their vision for a truly impressive family home. The installation and commissioning of the project was completed to the high standards that D&T have developed a reputation for in this market that demands the very best in quality and technology.