Cornwall and Devon's Premier PRC Cornish Unit Repairers

Author: mitch

P.R.C. Cornish Unit Repairs 2021

Here is a small selection of the PRC repairs undertaken by J.C. Mitchell Builders in 2021.

This was a PRC / Woolaway type repair undertaken in Bodmin. The repair included new windows and doors and left ready for the customer to decorate.

Existing PRC walls with windows removed and boarded.
PRC Columns
Removal of PRC columns
PRC Repair Columns
PRC removed and ready for new block work
New Block work
Rebuilt block work with new windows and door ready for plastering
PRC back walls removed
PRC back walls removed
Rebuilt back wall
Rebuilt back wall
Rendered ready for plastering
Rendered ready for plastering
Plastered with new windows and doors
Plastered with new windows ready for painting

PRC Cornish Unit Repairs 2019

Please note this page is under development. Please visit again soon to see our latest Cornish Unit PRC repairs. For more information on how we can help you with your PRC Cornish Unit repair, including mortgage application advice, please click here

P.R.C. Cornish Unit Repairs 2018

2018 has been another busy year working across Cornwall and into Devon to help customers with their PRC Cornish unit repairs. Below are a selection of photos from three of our recent PRC repairs in Par, Rumford and Falmouth.

PRC Cornish Unit Repair

Cornish unit bungalow ready for work to begin

PRC Cornish Unit during repair

Repair under way with PRC panels starting to be removed

PRC Cornish Unit Repair – internal block walls going  up

PRC Cornish Unit Repair

PRC Cornish Unit Repair – completed rear view ready for site tidy up

PRC Cornish Unit Repair

PRC Cornish Unit Repair – completed front view

The following PRC repair was undertaken in Rumford with the customer choosing a brink finish.

PRC Cornish Unit Repair

PRC Cornish Unit Repair – ready for the repair to start

PRC Cornish Unit Repair

PRC Cornish Unit Repair – repair underway

PRC Cornish Unit Repair

PRC Cornish Unit Repair – worked completed and ready for the certificate to be issued

The following unit from Falmouth has a render finish as specified by the customer.

PRC Cornish Unit Repair

PRC Cornish Unit Repair

PRC Cornish Unit Repair

PRC Cornish Unit Repair – repair well underway

PRC Cornish Unit Repair

PRC Cornish Unit Repair – completed and ready for site clean up

If you have any questions regarding a PRC Cornish Unit repair please don’t hesitate to contact us.  We offer free quotations and can help with mortgage applications and recommend solicitors with experience in this area.

PRC Cornish Unit Repairs 2017

2017 has been another busy with year so far with a number of PRC Cornish Unit Repairs completed in Devon and Cornwall.

Below are a selection of pictures from a recently completed PRC Cornish Unit Repair on a Woolaway style Bungalow near Bude including a lovely comment from the satisfied customer. Unlike many of the Cornish Unit houses we repair which are finished in the customers choice of brick, this one was finished in a render ready for painting .

If you have any questions regarding a repair to your PRC Cornish unit please feel free to get in touch.

 

Another satisfied Customer

Woolaway Bungalow ready for repair work to start

Woolaway Bungalow ready for repair work to start

PRC Cornish Unit repair - internal shot of the walls prior to removal.

PRC Cornish Unit repair – internal shot of the walls prior to removal.

Woolaway Bungalow ready for repair work to start

Cornish Unit PRC Repair – walls down ready for the block work

Repair to front of house in block

PRC Cornish Unit Repair – Block work up on the front

New windows fitted to the front of the property

New windows fitted to the front of the property

PRC repair completed at the back of the property,

PRC repair completed at the back of the property,

Plaster boards up ready for skimming

Plaster boards up ready for skimming

Skimmed internal walls after PRC repair has been completed

Skimmed internal walls after PRC repair has been completed

PRC Repair completed

PRC Repair completed rear

Completed Cornish Unit repair

Completed Cornish Unit repair – render drying out ready for painting

P.R.C Cornish Unit Repairs 2016

2016 saw another busy year for J.C. Mitchell builders with P.R.C Cornish unit repairs completed across Cornwall and Devon. Below are two of out more recent repairs, one from Cornwall and the other Plymouth. Both customers now have fully repaired and mortgagable homes. We hope to get more detailed posts from last year up soon as well as news on our 2017 PRC Cornish Unit repairs.

If you own a Cornish Unit  or are thinking of buying one and have any questions about repairs we would be happy to discuss with you. Our details are on the contact page.

P.R.C House before repair

P.R.C House before repair

Picture of Concrete panels removed during P.R.C. Repair

Concrete panels removed during P.R.C. Repair

Picture of brick repair to Cornish Unit

Front wall P.R.C. Cornish Unit repair completed

picture of repair to side wall of house

P.R.C Repair nearing completion with brick side wall being built

The following Cornish unit was  two story P.R.C. repair in Plymouth

picture of cornish unit

Cornish Unit House before work has started

picture of house repair with 1st floor walls removed

P.R.C repair to the 1st floor

house repair completed

P.R.C repair completed. Just waiting for the 1st floor to be plastered and painted.

picture of finsihed house repair

Finished PRC Cornish unit repair, just waiting for the scaffolding to come down.

Completed P.R.C cornish unit repair

Completed P.R.C cornish unit repair

PRC Cornish Units

A “New Traditional System” The PRC Cornish Unit

When looking at modern housing developments its hard to imagine that the humble PRC Cornish Unit was once a sought after dwelling. And yet these houses have been providing happy homes to families since the 1940’s and  decades on still have plenty to offer for generations to come.

The post war demand for housing was met by the Prefabricated Reinforced Concrete (PRC) house and bungalow. These were built in towns and city’s across England from the 1940’s onwards and were often named after the companies that built them such as Cornish Unit, Airey and Unity. Using building techniques that were quick and easily replicated they were soon a common sight across the nation.

The most common type of PRC house in Cornwall and Devon is the Cornish Unit. These PRC houses are known for their distinctive Mansard tiled roofs that cover the 1st floor of the dwelling  and concrete panelled outer walls that sit inside the PRC frame. While PRC Cornish Units may not have the ascetic  appeal of a more modern design they often boast generous room sizes and large front and back gardens, something newer developments often lack

PRC properties were only ever intended to be a stop gap measure and in 1980’s, after a review into the structural conditions of the PRC, the Cornish unit and other types of PRC house were classed as ‘defective’ under the housing act of 1985. It was found the steel in the PRC frame that the concrete panels sit in was, in some cases, subject to corrosion. This could lead to the cracking and weakening of the concrete supporting the house. At this point PRC houses were no longer considered for mortgages and in their original condition are still available only to cash buyers.

J.C. Mitchell Builders specialize in the repair of PRC Cornish Units and other types of PRC houses. We offer a complete service, from helping with the initial mortgage application (if required) to handing over the PRC certificate once the repair has been completed. All repair work is completed under license and is subject to inspection from the Local Authority Building control and PRC engineers.

If you have any questions regarding the repair of a PRC type property or would like a quote please contact us on 01872 279108. We have completed repairs to over 170 PRC properties across the South West and guarantee a friendly and professional service every time.

For more information click here

Kitchen renovation St Agnes

This is a recent project to  remove the existing walls in a house to create a more open plan style kitchen lounge dining room.

picture of existing walls

Existing supporting walls

As the existing walls were load bearing Acro props were used to hold up the above bedroom floor joists and also kneedled through the above wall to create temporary support.

Acro props in place

Acro props in place

The walls were then removed before installation of 3 ibeam RSJ’s were installed. The beams were then boarded ready for skimming.

Beans in place

Beams in place

The original ceilings were also re-boarded and skimmed over with spotlights installed .

Picture of new openings in walls

The new open plan layout

Finished Kitchen

Finished Kitchen

Completed Kitchen

Completed Kitchen

PRC Cornish Unit Repair Fraddon

This was a PRC  Cornish Unit Repair undertaken by J.C. Mitchell Builders in June 2015. The PRC property in Fraddon was a large 4 bedroom Cornish Unit with a modern extension attached to the side of the property.

Picture of Cornish Unit

PRC Cornish Unit before repair

The rear of the property is supported with temporary accro props while the old concrete slabs and PRC supports are removed. The internal walls are build in block while the outer skin is brick. The property is securely boarded up during this phase of the PRC repair.

Rebuild of house wall

Rebuild of rear wall

With the brickwork nearly finished and the insulation in place the windows and doors can be refitted.

rebuilt brick work on PRC house

PRC Cornish Unit Repair – Brick work nearly completed

The windows and door are fitted to secure the rear of the property.

PRC Cornish Unit house with window and door

PRC Cornish Unit repair – Rear window and door fitted

With the rear completed, the accro props are moved around the front of the building to stabilize the property while the the PRC and concrete slabs are removed and the walls rebuilt in the same manner as the rear. The existing extension on the right of the property added an additional difficulty to the repair but we were able to rebuild the side with out falling behind schedule.

Picture of PRC repair at brick stage

PRC Cornish Unit Repair – Front propped and bricked

After 4 weeks, which included re boarding and skimming the downstairs ceilings , the work is completed and the PRC repair signed off. The PRC certificate is then released to the homeowner.

Cornish unit house

Repaired Cornish Unit by J.C. Mitchell Builders

Roofing

This was a roofing and chimney removal undertake in early 2015 by J.C. Mitchell Builders Ltd. The original roof was estimated to be 75 years old and was showing signs of wear. The chimney was no longer in use and it was decided to remove it while the roof was being replaced.

Old Roof

Old roof

Stripping the existing tiles and re-felting and battening the roof was undertaken  in windy but fortunately dry conditions. The chimney was removed at this stage and the new slating began.

Picture showing new felt and Baton on roof repair

New felt and baton

With the new slates in place the ridge and hip capping slates are added.

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Ridge tiles being added

The completed new roof now completely water tight and and ready for another 75 years of Cornish weather.

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