Chartered Builders, Greendale Construction Limited has handed over its most recent, major contract for Douch Family Funeral Directors’ Ferndown branch, A E Jolliffe & Son, at 17 Victoria Road, Ferndown. The extensive 70 week contract which was completed over 2 phases, taking into account Covid-19 lockdowns, included demolition and removal of a number of dilapidated outbuildings, service buildings, and a chapel. Rerouting of electrical supplies and water mains was undertaken to feed the new Ceremony Room block and original house building.
Construction of the new 460m2 Ceremony Room block, included the cloistered way terrace; a timber frame structure on traditional strip footings with beam and block ground floor slabs. Ground works included bridging over Wessex Water deep water drain systems which criss-crossed the site. The flat roof built to falls, had secret parapet gutters, two layers of ply, glued and screwed to create a structural diaphragm, on which and over, hard Celotex insulation; a single layer roofing covering system, was applied. White aluminium pressed metal copings feature on the parapet walls.
The elevations have a mixture of off white through render, and a vertical timber feature battening in a grey Sadolin wash. The terrace area has a contrasting smoked grey millboard deck.
The new block houses Hearse and funeral vehicle garaging, staff areas, funeral back of house facilities, with a stunning state of art Ceremony Room featuring slatted timber acoustic ceiling and sophisticated lighting and AV. This room is served by a large kitchen / catering area and has a bespoke movable wall to partition off the two rooms when required.
Greendale Construction also extended and refurbished the original house on the premises at 17 Victoria Road. The modern extension design juxtaposes against the old, enhancing the street scene, and offers private chapels with a unique client and family door entry system, and service facilities. Major remodelling occurred on the ground floor of the old property relocating the reception staff offices and toilet and kitchen facilities.
With the client and architect’s brief to create a clear wide site line from the old building across the new gardens to the new Ceremony Room, the Greendale team relocated incoming electrical supplies and undertook structural work to create the wide corridor / atrium, making for a very open and welcoming space. External re-decorations, including new guttering facias, were carried out on the old building to brighten its appearance. Major external works were undertaken to create a new garden area, car parking and fencing, along with hard and soft landscaping features using oak sleeper planting areas and porous paving.
Rob Hooker, Director, Greendale Construction Limited, commented: “Douch Family Funeral Directors’ Ferndown branch, A E Jolliffe & Son, was a great key project to work on, and we enjoyed a collaborative relationship with our clients and design teams to complete this wonderful development. This was our second contract with Douch Family Funeral Directors after successfully completing the major renovation of its Lesley Shand branch at Corfe Mullen in 2018. My Thanks go to the fantastic Greendale team and all who worked on the project, and we wish Douch Family Funeral Directors and their staff every success in their amazing new facilities for the future.”
Nick Douch, Managing Director of Douch Family Funeral Directors, said: “This has been a major project and will benefit the community for many years to come. Our staff have been superb during the building work, managing to keep an excellent service for our clients. They not only had to contend with the disruption but also lockdowns. We’re also grateful to Greendale Construction for such a fabulous job.”
Photo caption: L_R_ Rob Hooker, Director, Greendale Construction; Sarah Bloss, NT Surveying; From Douch Family Funeral Directors; Nick Douch, Managing Director; Debbie Brown, Branch Manager; Jonathan Stretch, Company Director; Emma Regan, Community Engagement & Development Manager. Greendale Construction’s, Chris Varga-Loader, CM/QS, and Dan Hawker, Site Manager. Mark Senior, Technical Director, DMW Architects.