home with an open-plan living/dining/kitchen area. “A timber frame kit was a more cost- certain route,” says Ian. “Being retired, we were trying to work to a fairly tight budget.” Although the build only started earlier this year, Ian says they really started the process three years ago, when they began doing extensive research. “We went to shows, read lots of magazines and went to the NSBRC in Swindon,” he explains. “But you get to a point where you’ve done enough shows, read enough magazines – you’ve actually got to do it!” Their decision to do a planning pre- application meant when they submitted their final design, it more or less sailed through. “The planners were very good, we had no issues at all really,” says Ian. They faced a couple of objections from neighbours over the positioning of their Velux windows, but it was “nothing insurmountable,” he explains. “I was pleasantly surprised, the council were receptive. It was quite painless.” Their architect, Cedric Mitchell, was “instrumental in getting it cleared,” Tina says. “He knew what to say and what to do – he proved really useful.”
The final design was very much a collaboration between the couple and Cedric, who Ian found via the Association of Self Build Architects (ASBA) website. They provided him with a three- column spreadsheet: ‘must haves’, ‘nice to haves’ and ‘definitely don’t wants’. Ian also used his experience as a chartered engineer and provided an AutoCAD drawing of the site. “We went to three architects and we liked the ideas from Cedric,” he says, although admits there were “a few bits we disagreed on!” The main thing they were strongly against was a “Grand Designs-type project,” because of the potential cost and schedule overruns, as well as green roofs, bi-fold doors, tile hung elevations, and noisy floorboards. Their list of ‘must haves’
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LOW POINT
“When the water was gushing down the side.” – Tina Huckle
IAN & TINA’S ADVICE
“Use an architect to get planning approval, then appoint an
architectural technician – they’re better at the ‘nitty gritty’ detail
included a contemporary, detached ‘lifetime’ home with low running costs, two storeys, a utility room and insulation to Passivhaus standards (although they weren’t aiming for Passivhaus certification). While Cedric helped come up with the overall concept, Ian and Tina designed the kitchen and bathrooms themselves. “We did the nitty-gritty details,” Ian says.
THE BUILD BEGINS
With planning approval in place, they were ready to start onsite – in February this year. They demolished the existing garage and filled in their swimming pool – something Tina admits was “heartbreaking!” It was at this point they realised just how substantial the site was: “when we first started it didn’t look that big, but you flatten it and it just grows!” Ian says. Being in the position of starting onsite didn’t mean the project would go smoothly from then on. The architect had calculated the elevation
Don’t underestimate how much hard work is involved and how much time it takes – we spent a lot more time on the project than originally planned
You need to be able to trust your builder, that’s absolutely crucial. Ben made it much easier
Keep the workers and the neighbours sweet!”
HIGH POINT
“How the garden’s worked out is brilliant, and the kitchen.” – Tina Huckle
november/december 2019
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