A SHOALHAVEN building company has won the best renovation category in the Master Builders Regional Awards.
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Cambewarra builder Craig Moffat received the award for a house he worked on in Pyree.
The $500,000 project involved adding to a rundown farmhouse built in the early 1900s.
Mr Moffat said the job offered plenty of challenges but he enjoyed it.
“It was a really rundown farmhouse with cats living in the roof and part of a tree growing through it,” he said.
“The whole house had sunk about 70mm.”
The judges commented on the seamless transition from the old part of the house into the new.
They pointed out the attention to detail that enabled the two to blend.
“That’s the sort of thing we push for,” Mr Moffat said.
“Speed isn’t what it’s about for us.”
Colin Irwin from iarchitects designed the project.
He was determined to keep as much of the original structure as possible.
“The original building had a solid core. It had quality and character once all the add-ons and fibro were stripped away,” he said.
“It had a lot of valuable timber and to replicate that would be expensive.”
Mr Irwin said a lot of work went into the solar planning of the house.
“With the glazing on this house the planning was very important.
“We plotted the sun’s path in relation to the house to create the right amount of shading for winter and for summer.
“There are a lot of subtleties that are nice but they are there for a specific reason.
“For example, the curved wall is curved just enough to allow the winter sun into the lounge room while in summer it blocks the sun.
“Things like that are very subtle but important,” Mr Irwin said.