All images © Gareth Davies Photography
foundation slab, features a large open space, used to store this active family’s mountain bikes, and as a games room. This was something they wanted to include to keep their children entertained during the bad weather the west Wales coast has been known to endure. It also features sliding patio doors that lead out to the fields below. “It would have been easy for me to have put bifold doors across the back but it wasn’t worth it,” he explains – we’d only ever open them once or twice a year.”
Matthew used a couple of different construction methods. The three-storey end of the property is built using steel frame in order to get the height and large openings they wanted, while the rest is of traditional block construction. The house is finished with a mix of white render and cedar cladding, and features hidden gutters to maintain the minimal aesthetic. The timber trusses for the arched roof were “a little bit more complex” than traditional ones. The arch also meant they were limited in terms of finish options. In the end, it was waterproofed with a fibreglass underside and finished with a sedum roof, which also boosts the house’s thermal properties. Matthew says: “It was something different for me to do, and for our own home it was a bit of a risk, but we love it.”
The house is heated with a mix of underfloor heating and anthracite radiators. These are fed by a gas boiler, although they are also installing solar panels to help with heating hot water. Originally the pair considered including additional PVs and rainwater harvesting, but, explains Matthew, “That came after we found out we had our visas, so some things had to take a little bit of a back seat.” However, future owners could incorporate additional sustainable features, he says.
Outside the house, there is a grey limestone patio and abundant oak sleepers. “It works up here and we wanted that beachy feel,” says Matthew. Oak sleepers also separate their property from next door, which he prefers, as
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it’s “not as harsh as a big dividing wall or timber-panelled fence.”
The site also has planning permission for a manège – which has been constructed – and stables, which were originally intended to house Emma’s horses before the move to Australia became a reality.
MOVING ON
Having fallen head over heels in love with Australia, emigrating “had always been in the back of our minds,” Matthew says. “We’re outdoors people, we spend a lot of time out surfing and biking, so we’ve found it hard living in Wales and having such long winters.” It was on their third trip in 2016 that they decided to set the wheels in motion on a permanent move. But, explains Matthew, with no idea whether they’d be successful, their plan to create their ideal home needed to continue. “It took 18 months to get the visas, and until you have that you don’t know whether you can go.” Despite the imminent move, Matthew, Emma and their children moved into the house in time for Christmas last year. “Although it’s on the market, it could take two months, six months or a year to sell,” Matthew says. In the meantime they’ll also rent the barn conversion out. This “was always the original plan, because that would then pay for us to live in the new house.”
When the house was valued, they were pleasantly surprised by the figure. “It had never popped into my mind once, that if we build this home it’s going to be worth ‘x’ amount of money,” says Matthew. “It didn’t matter because it was going to be our family home.” And although moving to Australia has long been the dream, they “will be sad to leave it,” he says. “We’ve put our heart and soul into it. Moving abroad is the only reason we’d ever consider selling it.”
So will they self-build again down under? “I want to,” Matthew says. “Another spectacular home, but closer to the beach in a sunny climate!”
The barn conversion provided a perfect base for the family while they built the main house
CONTACTS/ SUPPLIERS
ELECTRICS
HMD Electrical 01239 841384
PLUMBING Richard Davies Plumbing & Heating
EXTERNAL DOORS &
WINDOWS PK Windows
www.pkwindowswalesltd.co.uk
SEDUM ROOF Green Roofs Direct
www.greenroofsdirect.com
GLASS BALCONY TGP Glass
www.tgpglass.co.uk
PLANT HIRE Gerallt Davies Plant Hire
www.geralltdaviesplanthire.co.uk
BATHROOM TILES &
SANITARYWARE Cardigan Bathroom Centre
www.cardiganbathrooms.co.uk
GAMES ROOM TILES
Cardigan Kitchens & Tiles
www.cardigan-kitchens.co.uk
KITCHEN Wren Kitchens
www.wrenkitchens.com january/february 2019
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