Getting their hands dirty
To begin with they had to find the position of the main drains so they knew the boundary line of the foundations. They had to dig down three metres to locate the main sewage pipe and then obtain permission from Severn Trent Water to link up to it – even though the drain already services two streets. “A local haulier was kind enough to loan us
his mini digger but we had to dig a lot of the foundations by hand,” says Vic. “We shifted a total of 240 tonnes of earth between us, half of that by hand. We were a bit concerned that the area is in the heart of a mining community so we were very relieved when we hit solid rock. It reassured us that the foundations would be stable. We still had to carry on digging through it, so we used an old fashioned pick and shovel to create the soakaway and complete the foundations. It was hard labour and we are still recovering from the physical exertion of it all, but we saved a fortune in gym and sunbed fees!” The plan was to have a small cellar beneath
the house and Vic dug the foundations deep and wide enough to include the extra storage space. Only when he had finished did he discover that it would have to be radon protected due to the potential traces of radiation in the ground as a result of local mining. “It would have been a ‘nice to have’,” says
Vic. “Had we realised beforehand, we would also have saved ourselves a lot of digging, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.” As Vic admits, he is “no brickie,” so instead
26 selfbuilder & homemaker
www.sbhonline.co.uk
of traditional brick walls they chose Celcon solar blocks with thin mortar joints, creating a double skin for efficient insulation, air circulation and moisture.
Learning new skills
“YouTube was a great help,” says Vic. “You can learn how to do everything from cutting your toe nails to building a house, so we watched a lot of videos and learned as we went along.” Vic learned how to apply the thin mortar joints
with specialist tools and, with the help of family and friends, he built the walls to roof height. The roof is a key feature of the house. Although they opted for standard trusses to keep costs down they chose environmentally friendly Eco Slate roof tiles from Roofing Superstore – another online find – for the finish. Made from 100 per cent recycled plastic materials, they create a strong, pliable slate effect for a fraction of the cost of the real thing. The ceiling boards are covered with Firefly Vulcan Cavity Lining to comply with Building
LOW POINT
“We were going to have a wet room but then decided to have a
bath instead. Trying to fit the bath was a challenge. The room was
literally an inch too narrow for the bath but we managed to cut into
the wall to make it fit, giving me the opportunity to turn the wall cut-out into a feature alcove with mirrors and LED lighting.”
– Vic Davidson
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