ROB’S TOP TIPS
supply worked in his favour: “The mains feed for the street runs underground alongside my property, but at one point it actually kinks into my garden area – nobody knows why,” he says. “So it was a simple tee off the feed without the need for a road closure.” He decided against connecting to mains gas, and therefore the only other supply to sort out was water, which required temporary traffic lights while it was extended from the road.
Although connecting to utilities can be notoriously difficult, Rob says he was “pleasantly surprised” by how good the suppliers were to deal with. Work started onsite in January 2019, right
before what Rob says was “the wettest February for years. He adds: “We were breaking the ice and pumping out the excavations every morning.” Despite this, he says that once the groundworks were finished, everything went smoothly. The build itself was “pretty much” finished in August, and Rob has great praise for his builders. “They were fantastic. Every guy involved was professional and great to work with.” However, things slowed up slightly when it came to getting the interior ready. “It went well until it got to drylining and plastering,” he explains. “We lost time at that stage, which had a knock-on effect on the other trades.” The work being behind meant he lost allocated time slots with plumbers and electricians, and
52
www.sbhonline.co.uk
Rob admits those aspects took longer than they should have. “But I was perfectly happy living in the middle of my field in the mobile home,” he says. “I might have been in more of a hurry if I was paying rent somewhere.” The house was built to effectively be a larger
replica of the demolished barn it replaced, and Rob therefore reused as much of the materials as possible. “The stone was from the old demolished barn, but quoins, heads and sills were sourced from a local quarry,” he says. The Staffordshire clay roof tiles were reclaimed from the barn, while any additional tiles required were bought as and when needed, and were also reclaimed (with the exception of ridge and tile-and-a-halfs). In order to remain in keeping with the traditional stone building, Rob installed mid-grey aluminium windows. “I thought the typical anthracite would be too sharp and stark,” he explains. “The mid-grey is softer and goes well with the warm stone tones.” Any materials that were required were
ordered through the contractor, who Rob had hired on a ‘labour only’ basis. “I was reassured that I could check the cost of all materials and didn’t pay any mark-up or VAT upfront,” he explains. However, he almost always found the price the contractor could get couldn’t be beaten, adding that “even materials I needed for my own use, not installed by him, he let me put on his trade account, and invoiced me.”
Don’t do ‘boring’. Look at Pinterest and magazines to get ideas, and rip out pictures of anything you like. Everything is possible, you just need a bit of imagination and confidence – if cost is an issue there’s always a way of achieving a similar effect on a budget
Even if you aren’t too handy, incorporate something you’ve built or done yourself – something you’ll see everyday and be proud of
If you can, live onsite during the work. I bought a mobile home, which I love and will keep. It means if there are queries you can sort them straight away – I knew how I wanted things to look and it would annoy me if something wasn’t right
february/march 2020
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
