- Bathrooms - Kitchens - Remodelling
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A dark, water-damaged ground floor in a detached home beneath Froggatt Edge in Calver, stripped back and rebuilt into a bright, durable and structurally sound space, with a light grey Shaker kitchen, Dekton worktops and seamless tiling across porch, utility and kitchen.
Calver, Peak District
Ground-Floor Renovation
Detached Home
Summer 2025
A comprehensive renovation of the utility room, kitchen and front porch of a detached home in Calver, beneath Froggatt Edge. The project tackled water ingress, plumbing failures and dated, gloomy finishes through a complete strip-out and structural remediation, followed by high-end finishes: a light grey in-frame Shaker kitchen, ultra-durable Dekton worktops and seamless tiling across all three zones.
Calver sits in a beautiful part of the Peak District, directly below the iconic Froggatt Edge, and Martin and Christine’s detached home enjoys that setting, but their ground floor wasn’t living up to it. Structural wear, water damage and a dark, dated aesthetic had left the interconnected porch, utility and kitchen feeling gloomy and isolated. The brief was to resolve those systemic issues at the root and create a bright, functional and premium living space that finally matched the home’s surroundings.
Martin and Christine commissioned Cressbrook Construction to fix a set of critical structural and aesthetic problems and transform how the ground floor looked and worked. Severe water penetration through the front door had actively damaged the flooring across the porch and adjacent rooms, and a leaking radiator had compounded the moisture problem, degrading the subfloor. The existing kitchen had a severely cracked granite worktop, and previous renovations had left poorly fitting pipe concealment that created unsightly boxing and wasted space. Above all, small windows and dark finishes made the interconnected spaces feel isolated and gloomy, so brightening and unifying them was central to the brief.
The design set out to combat the dark atmosphere and tie the three zones together. Premium in-frame Shaker units with solid wooden frames were specified in a light grey finish chosen to reflect natural light and lift the space. Durable floor tiling was selected to run seamlessly across porch, utility and kitchen, creating a continuous visual flow while standing up to rural Peak District mud. The cracked granite was designed out in favour of ultra-compact Dekton worktops for their superior scratch, stain and heat resistance, and a semi-integrated fridge-freezer was built into the cabinetry to maintain clean sightlines and maximise floor space. Custom flush-fitting pipe concealment was integrated directly into the cabinetry layout to replace the old boxing.
The team carried out a complete strip-out and structural remediation before installing any finishes. Damaged flooring was stripped back across the porch, utility and kitchen, the front door was sealed against water ingress, the faulty radiator was replaced, and the entire ground-floor subfloor was stabilised. With the fabric sound, durable floor tiles were laid across all three zones for a seamless flow. The premium light grey in-frame Shaker units were fitted, with the poorly fitted pipe boxing removed and replaced by custom flush-fitting concealment integrated into the cabinetry. Ultra-compact Dekton worktops went in to replace the cracked granite, and the semi-integrated fridge-freezer was built cleanly into the Shaker run.
Julian and his team have produced a lovely new kitchen which is everything we desired. Nothing was too much trouble for them and their professionalism and attention to detail was outstanding. This was continually monitored and where necessary adjustments made. The whole project finally came in under budget. This was an accurate assessment of the cost and indication of the exceptional value for money.
At the outset Julian conducted several site visits to our home to assess our needs and expectations and following a number of in depth and easily understandable consultations he produced a spec of the new kitchen which totally fulfilled our wishes. He provided sound advice regarding suppliers for kitchen units, tiles and kitchen equipment. He and his team ensured a minimum of disruption to our lives and home, in particular ensuring essential services such as the washing machine and fridge freezer were available as much as possible. They tidied up every day to keep us as comfortable as possible during the process. Julian and his team ensured we were fully briefed each day about what was occurring and kept within the proper time scale as much as possible. I have no hesitation in recommending Cressbrook.
The renovation completely transformed the look and feel of Martin and Christine’s home. By replacing the damaged floors with elegant tiling, introducing the light grey Shaker kitchen and using high-durability Dekton worktops, Cressbrook Construction turned a dark, damp footprint into a bright, cohesive and structurally sound space that complements its beautiful Peak District setting.
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