Serving Windermere, the Lake District and surrounding areas
Coniston lies twelve miles west of Windermere, at the head of Coniston Water beneath the Old Man of Coniston.
Coniston grew on slate and copper. The quarries and the Coppermines valley above the village supplied the stone its houses are built from, and the slate here has a character of its own. Across the water is Brantwood, Ruskin’s house; on the water, Donald Campbell set his speed records. Today the village is a centre for walkers, with homes, guest houses and holiday cottages side by side.
Coniston’s houses are mostly local slate stone under slate roofs, from miners’ cottages to Victorian villas, and its setting – lake, fells and old mine workings – is one the National Park watches closely. Extensions and new outbuildings are expected to use the same materials and stay in proportion. Where an old building has been patched in the wrong slate over the years, we can often put that right as part of the work.
It is also wet even by Lake District standards, sitting under high fells to the west. Roofs, gutters and drainage are detailed for heavy rain, and timber is chosen and protected for a damp climate. Planning is decided by the Lake District National Park Authority.
Local slate has a distinct colour and texture. Matching it is worth the sourcing effort.
Heavy rainfall means we detail roofs, junctions and drainage to cope.
Jetty and shore work needs consents beyond planning. We check them first.
Refurbishment is programmed around the visitor season, so properties are ready for bookings.
Single and two-storey extensions in stone, slate and glass, built to sit naturally against a Lakeland house.
Low-energy extensions with high insulation, airtightness and glazing placed for the light, not the heat loss.
Insulated garden offices, studios and rooms for guests, clad in cedar or larch and built on a proper base.
New homes, replacement dwellings, garages and outbuildings, from groundworks to the finished building.
Measured surveys, plans, elevations and 3D drawings, and the planning application that goes with them.
Timber jetties, landing stages and lakeshore decking, built for water levels that rise and fall.
Steel-framed buildings, workshops, hospitality and holiday-let work for Lake District businesses.
Careful barn conversions, character homes, holiday lets and studios for Lake District landowners.
Practical agricultural buildings, livestock sheds, stables and storage for Lake District farmers.
Extensions, bedrooms, restaurants, spa facilities and refurbishments for Lake District hoteliers.
Yes – extensions, garden rooms, renovations and lakeshore work, about twelve miles from our Windermere base.
We look at the slate on your building and source a match – reclaimed or newly quarried – so the new work sits with the old.
We build and repair jetties. Any new structure on the lake will need planning and possibly other consents, which we identify before design.
Yes – kitchens, bathrooms, extensions and full renovations, planned around your booking calendar.
Talk to Lakes Construction and arrange a free quotation.