have huge damp problems because moisture just wicks from one skin to another.” Gutting the bungalow in this case meant tak-
ing out virtually all the above ground services: “All the wiring came out, the fusebox, and we just left a very skeleton lighting circuit and power for tools. All the copper for heating and all radi- ators came out. After that we started knocking walls down.” One of the reasons there so much waste
to take away was that there is a space approximately 2 metres high under the entire property where supporting walls were also removed once not needed. This functions as a workshop and garage but also a plant room of sorts, housing the heat store, boiler and fuse boxes. In the loft is a studio where Paul has recorded
two albums and a few demos for bands. In fact the whole house occasionally functions as a stu- dio; Paul has installed multicore cabling to enable him to set up a full drum kit in the living room or record amplifiers in the cellar. He says the only issue is “the rest of the family has to leave home while I do it and I need to be sym- pathetic to my neighbours – but it's effectively a mixing studio so I can keep the volume down.”
Design changes
The major changes included making what was a “tiny” kitchen into a much better space for cooking, entertaining and living, with a large window into the roof apex of the new rear exten- sion. Other numerous smaller changes were more about achieving a better layout to the house, including two clearly defined living and sleeping areas. Another small room, this time a dining room,
with “a funny little door” into the lounge was removed by Paul and sealed up. Also removed was a porch at the south-facing former front of the house, plus the adjoining hallway and an adjacent room. Paul says: “Even moving a door a metre can
make a massive difference to how you use the house. We blocked up the old door to the bed- room which faced into the living space, and the door is now into the new hallway, which divides the house in a very different way.” The back extension took the place of another
porch, removed together with its dwarf wall and Crittall window, and the back (main) door was opened up to be 2.5 metres across, leading into the enlarged kitchen. What is now the snug, fea- turing a wood burner, was originally a dining room, its wall and chimney breast removed and an attractive and comfortable area adjacent to the kitchen achieved. “That was definitely Sam's idea,” says Paul, “she really liked the idea of a sofa in the kitchen, and I did too, so why not turn it into your whole living space.” Sam is now a full time mum, having been a pri-
mary school teacher (and part-time tiler), but has been fundamental to the interior design and plan- ning. She has tiled both bathrooms and the kitchen floor as well as undertaking copious paint- ing duties and, crucially, helping prioritise jobs. “I can get bogged down with 'option paralysis' when there are so many disparate things to do,”
20
selfbuilder & homemaker
www.sbhonline.co.uk
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