The Old Watermill, Middleton on Tees, Durham

Sanicubic Pumping Station

Unused, unloved and derelict for over 60 years, the Old Watermill in Middleton on Tees is a stunning example of how a sympathetic conversion can transform a building and preserve local history.

Built in 1813 its original use was a flour mill where corn was ground into flour powered by water from the stream to the rear of the property. A house was incorporated to the building some 50 years later and this was inhabited until as recently as 15 years ago.

Both the house and the mill have been sympathetically renovated by RLW Properties of Durham keeping as many of the original features as possible. The mill has become 2 stunning, spacious apartments set over 2 storeys; one of which features the original watermill behind a glass panel.

The challenge for Richard Watson, owner of the property development company, was to find a way to incorporate bathrooms. With no existing toilet facilities in the original mill and the toilets sited on lower floor and upper floors - with no gravity drainage available - a pumping solution was required on both levels. Having heard about Saniflo, Richard went to his local merchants to explore the solutions and was pleasantly surprised when local Sales Manager from Saniflo, Phil Stones, then came on site for a recce. He was able to propose a number of solutions to ensure the bathrooms lived up to their full potential.

Back to back bathrooms in 'The Old Mill' apartment below ground level are powered by a Sanicubic pumping station which sits out of sight in with the waterwheel. The unit takes waste from the basins, showers and w.c's with small bore pipework running 50m along the wall cavities and up to the mains sewage at ground level. In the Granary apartment two Sanipro units have been integrated in to fitted furniture to provide the waste discharge solution for two en-suites whilst a small cloakroom off the kitchen diner area was made possible thanks to a Sanitop macerator pump.

Richard is delighted with the solutions;

"I could not have asked for better service from Saniflo and the merchant. Phil is a very knowledgeable guy who was able to provide excellent advice. The units work perfectly and are much quieter than I expected. Without them we'd have struggled to create the space we wanted. Quite simply if you need waste water pumping then Saniflo is the generic name."

The buildings have since been entered in to the LABC Conversion Award for Regional Building Excellence.