Classic colonials to order
Leading building designer Fred Miniter of Pratt Miniter Consulting with a strong sense of history is recreating Australia’s greatest colonial home styles for the present day.
A major theme running through all his designs is a reliance on the authentic value of corrugated roofing made from Colorbond steel, developed by BHP Steel for Australian conditions.
One of his most recent designs is a sprawling country residence based on Georgian lines with Gothic influences, a style popular between 1840 and 1870. “This home is actually a major redevelopment of an original house in which the only positive thing was that it had the right north-easterly aspect,” says Minter. “We widened and deepened it, added and converted rooms and only just about knocked the original place down because it didn’t function correctly.”
High levels of authenticity are preserved in Fred Miniter’s design through his use of corrugated steel roofing made from Colorbond and Zincalume steel. “Very early colonial homes were built from split log and bark, then later with shingles and then came the period when zinc-coated corrugated material began arriving from England,” Miniter says. “People very quickly covered their shingles with corrugated steel to provide an absolutely waterproof cover.The galvanised steel finish eventually took on a light grey hue so I often use Colorbond steel in Armour Grey for the roof to reflect that appearance.”
Great attention to detail is evident throughout Miniter’s design for the Dural home with features such as bay windows topped with copper hoods and scalloped barge boards, decorated with individually turned wood adornments in the shape of acorns.
Source: Building Products News.
3-May-2002