The Coach House - Newcastle-upon-Tyne

The Coach House is one of the last remaining parts of the now demolished Coxlodge Hall, a 17th century mansion in the Gosforth area of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Originally built in 1796, it has undergone an extensive transformation from offices to luxury homes.  

Owned by The Summers Family, the property has been completely refurbished to create eight modern, luxury living spaces comprising houses, bungalows and apartments. The interior design aims to balance period features with 21st century living.   

Main contractor DP Builders Ltd, appointed tiling specialist, W Rodgerson & Sons (WRS) to fix the wall and floor tiles for all 30 bathrooms, eight kitchens and the main building’s entrance hall. The works included fixing a range of ceramic, porcelain, and mosaic and natural stone tiles. The high specification kitchens were finished with intricate designs and patterns including hexagonal floor tiles and herringbone wall tiles. The floors in all of the bathrooms were fitted with electric underfloor heating adding to the complexity of the scheme. 

High performance tile fixing products by Saint-Gobain Weber were specified throughout the project with a total wall and floor space of 1,027m². These products included weberset rapid SPF tile adhesive, weberjoint premium tile grout and weberjoint silicone. 

Craig Scott of WRS explained his rationale for choosing Weber products for this project: “Using Weber products removes any concerns about effective performance, as we know from experience that every Weber product will work perfectly, whatever condition we find the job in. The complexity of this project presented numerous challenges, but we’re delighted with the final outcome.”

One of weber’s most popular tile fixing products, weberset rapid SPF, has been chosen for the project. It is ideal for fixing ceramic, porcelain and natural stone tiles to walls and floors and it is ready for light foot traffic and grouting in just two hours. It is cement based and can be used as a pourable adhesive for large tiles. This adhesive will accommodate limited movement from heated screed and even over-boarded wooden floors.  It has the added benefit of Low Dust Technology™ which achieves a cleaner and safer environment for applicators and property owners.

“It has been a privilege for WRS to be involved in such a prestigious project,” said Neil Rodgerson, partner at WRS. “It has been a real challenge to hit all deadlines with the complexity of tile designs. The building has every form of tiling - porcelain, ceramic, natural stone, large format, brick-bond, stack-bond, 45-degree, herringbone, and mosaic - as well as installing under-floor heating to all bathrooms. It’s rare you have all these elements in one project.”

The tile grout specified at The Coach House was weberjoint premium because it offers a high-quality finish, in 18 colours and has matching silicones.  It is long lasting and scratch-resistant and designed for interior and exterior tiling onto walls and floors where some movement or vibration is expected.  As a professional-standard grout, it is water repellent and has the additional advantage of PURE CLEAN anti-stain technology.  This unique feature greatly improves resistance to staining and discolouration.

Paul Bevan, senior project manager of interior designers Ward Robinson added:

“WRS were able to quickly identify design issues, crafting elegant solutions to intricate problems on a regular basis. There was a rapid pace of change on the project due to sold units and client options. WRS were always on hand to provide expert advice and work alongside the Interior Design team to achieve outstanding results. This resulted in the sympathetic conversion of a grand heritage property into equally stunning individual apartments.”

Weber’s tile fixing products are manufactured in sustainable, modern facilities in Bedfordshire, Shropshire and County Antrim, ensuring product quality, conformity and availability, with reduced transportation costs and CO₂ emissions.