INTERIOR
Many of the trees in the garden are protected, but block valuable light into the house, so the architect included plenty of glass, roof lights and a slit window into the kitchen
HIGH POINT
“The look on our son’s face when he came back home for a weekend and discovered we’d moved house! We hadn’t told him because we wanted it to be a big surprise. Another high point was finding a tree specialist who could do the survey on the protected trees for a fifth of the original quoted cost.” – Heidi Exley
state for the needs of their growing family. The conservatory was unusable – too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter – and separate kitchens, dining room and garden rooms are becoming a thing of the past, with homeowners wanting open plan living with a sense of shared connection to all spaces. Our brief was to provide a modern, open plan and light filled space which could be used for day to day living, and to take advantage of the views over open fields and countryside beyond.” “John saw what needed to be done straight away,” says Heidi of their architect. “He was particularly keen to make the garden and beautiful country views the focus of the extension, which includes full-height feature windows leading directly into the garden.” John also suggested that the extension should be rendered rather than built in the same brick as the original parts of the house.
“He said the new section would always look like an add-on it if was completed in the same materials,” Heidi adds. “By rendering the exterior at the back, and making it a very modern extension, the house still works as a whole without trying to disguise its original style. It shows how old and new can work together.” The challenge was getting it through planning. The garden has a number of trees which are protected by preservation orders. One in particular, a huge Class A beech tree in the middle of the garden, blocks a lot of natural light from entering the house.
Doncaster Town Council asked for a tree survey to be carried out – at an estimated cost of £3,000 – and special foundations installed to prevent damage to the tree roots. After extensive research, Heidi managed to find a specialist company, Selwyn Trees, to carry out the survey for more manageable £600, and their findings were duly accepted by the council.
january 2020
“This resulted in specialist foundations being designed and specialist excavation and construction methods being adopted,” says John Mason.
The council also refused to allow any extension that went beyond the footprint of an original conservatory and small enclosed porch. “We finally got permission to build a single storey extension across the back,” says Heidi. “We didn’t consider applying for a two storey extension because we were already running on a tight budget. The pitch of this extension was determined by the existing second floor windows – we didn’t want to have the expense of moving windows unless it was absolutely necessary.”
The building work was “relatively straightforward” with the old conservatory and porch being demolished, foundations dug out for the new extension, and walls built to create the new open plan living space. The roof was put on and the doors between the living room at the front of the house and original dining room were bricked up. The wall that once housed double doors leading into the conservatory was completely demolished, and a steel beam installed to take the weight of the upper floor. To keep the house liveable during the build, John plumbed a sink and dishwasher into the garage, and Heidi set up a table in the hall with a makeshift cooker and a few kitchen cupboards. The extension roof was finished with Sandtoft Caldersale Grey roof tiles and new windows installed along the width of the house at the back, before first and second fixes were installed and floors laid. The project cost Heidi and John a further £60,000 – but they believe it was worth it to achieve the updated house of their dreams.
Heidi’s only regret with the design is the large steel support beam which runs the full
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