Beatties Cottage, Banchory

Beatties Cottage, Banchory

Dave and Julia purchased Beatties Cottage, a 250 year old, two up, two down cottage in 1982 and carried out their first extension about 30 years ago.  At that time there were minimal solutions to increasing the insulation on the building.   They always wanted to upgrade to bring the building up to current standards, ensuring a well-insulated home and lower electricity bills/ heating bills etc.

Dave advises “We have worked with David Baxter Architect over many decades, mostly on Beatties cottage but also on our holiday home in Hopeman.  Here, was an old fishermans cottage that we stripped back, reinsulated and added new Rationel windows and doors.  This created a lovely, light and warm environment, I was so impressed with the result, I also wanted to achieve this at our main house.

Having used the Rationel products from Architectural Doors & Windows at the holiday let, we were also happy for David to specify products for the main house too.  After a trip to the showroom to discuss the project in Sauchen, Aberdeenshire, we discovered VELFAC products.

So why choose VELFAC?

 “An Aluminium / timber composite product in a contemporary style. We chose these for their slim profile and the low maintenance features.  We opted for triple glazing to give the best thermal efficiency, the resulting U values of (0.89w.m2) are superb.  We have a lot of glazing so choosing the correct supplier was very important to us.

The view outside of the large, glazed gable is particularly beautiful, so we wanted to showcase that as much as possible, it’s our bedroom, so waking up and pulling the curtains to see the hills to west is spectacular.  We only had a very small traditional window here before, so the difference is huge!  So, we learned that even if you cannot change the location of the property, you can with some imagination change the view.

We wanted a large set of doors to open up the rear and were considering hinged doors, but due to the exposure and prevailing winds and after a discussion with ADW decide to opt for a set of double sliding doors, which are perfect.  It’s a four-panel system with two doors sliding from the centre, giving a large opening.  The profile is slim just like the windows, it’s easy to operate and looks great, I love it!  It is good at bringing the outside in and has even encouraged us to do more gardening!” Advised Julia

Working with ADW

“Would certainly recommend, have found all dealings to be great, from showroom to delivery and aftersales.  Information was easy to gain, and I was kept informed at all stages.  During the construction phase we had a unit broken and ADW were very reactive and provided a quick solution, a great service and response from the team”

David Baxter told us “We have specified and used products from ADW on various projects.  The process has always been smooth, and the products as expected. ADW have been very attentive when any minor issues on site have needed attended to and rectified to client's satisfaction."

The Result

“The modern windows look fantastic against the old granite walls on a traditional build. We now have a light and warm home that maximises the features of the location”. Dave & Julia