BEDROOMS


The layout upstairs has changed dramatically, turning the three bedroom house into a four bedroom property. All the rooms were stripped back to bare brick, re-plastered and decorated


BATHROOM


The main bathroom was the last room to be fitted out and was completed after the Browns moved in


SITTING ROOM


The family tends to spend most of the time in the new living-kitchen, but the sitting room is still a favourite for cosy winter evenings


HIGH POINT


“Moving in and realising the house was living up to all our expectations. We also love the fact that we’ve been able to renovate a house in the street we’ve lived in for years. We’ve got the best of both worlds – a home we love in the neighbourhood we didn’t want to leave.” – Carolyn Brown


nov/dec 2020


A pump had to be brought in to keep the water levels at bay until the block and beam foundations could be laid.


At the same time, the old drains to the property were dug up and replaced with a new system. It was an unexpected cost but, as Carolyn and Chris acknowledge, it was necessary to reduce the potential for more costly problems further down the line. “You have to allow for some of the budget going into things you won’t necessarily see when the house is finished, but are crucial if you want to prevent things coming back to bite you at a later date,” says Carolyn. “In the long run it’s a lot more costly to carry out retrospective repairs than it is to invest in new systems at the time of the build, when contractors are onsite and access is easier.” Before the extension walls were built, a chimney to the side of the house was demolished which they believe was responsible for some of the damp problems. The walls of the extension went up without incident, creating a new living area running the full width of the house at the back. Roof timbers were then craned into place and the extension made watertight with what a surveyor described as “one of the best roofs she had ever seen”, built to a very high standard and highly insulated in the process. However, it wasn’t achieved without huge effort and perseverance on the part of the roofers, who took two months to get it right.


The surveyor described it as “one of the best roofs she had ever seen”


“This was partly due to the fact that we were waiting for a piece of fascia board to be delivered,” says Carolyn. “Without it the roof couldn’t be completed. It was very frustrating.” “My dad was very keen for us to have good insulation throughout the house,” she says. “It was his passion and he encouraged us to install more than was actually required in the walls and the loft space. It was good advice.” The extension was fitted with bi-fold doors and skylights before the original external wall was demolished to open up the space between the extension and the old kitchen area. Inside the original part of the house, two reception rooms were opened up into one large sitting room, and the hall was redesigned to include a new staircase and wooden floor. The upper floor layout was also dramatically changed, with the original three bedrooms becoming four and the inclusion of both a family bathroom and an ensuite.


As part of the renovation, the whole house was rewired and replumbed and the old


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