“It was important that internally we have living space that was ‘broken-plan’ rather than open plan”


LOW POINT


“Probably when our builders had to quit the site at the time of the first pandemic lockdown. Covid was a complete unknown at that point, and we just didn't know if they were coming back. That was when we were grateful that we hadn't knocked down the bungalow and still had somewhere to live! But it was still a really miserable couple of months of not knowing whether we'd made the biggest mistake of our lives or if it would all come out right in the end.” – Jules Hamilton


jul/aug 2022


low enough for them to see us.” Jules says the donkeys regularly attract the attention of people in passing cars, but the house itself gets just as much interest: “People have knocked on the door to tell us how much they love it or even offer to buy it!” At least some of that interest is because of the couple’s decision to use wood to clad both the original bungalow and the extension. Jules says: “We’re in a very rural spot, and we wanted to use natural materials wherever possible.” A popular alternative to wood cladding that they could have selected is fire cement cladding, which has a finish that looks like wood, ut is a composite material made of cement, cellulose, sand and synthetic fires. dvocates claim it can e fitted in less time than wood, and needs less maintenance. Not everyone agrees with that, and Jules and igel, who work in the financial services sector, are definitely happy with their choice. ressure treated and planed, their Scandinavian Redwood


cladding is guaranteed for 10 years, and in terms of aesthetics, will silver as it ages. Jules says: “We have had people coming and asking for advice because they’ve seen what we’ve done, and are doing something similar themselves.”


MAKING THE MOVE The couple’s self-build story would be very different if they’d gone ahead with ambitions to extend their previous home, a semi-detached house in Halstead, Essex. However, in 2015, they sold up and paid £385,000 for the Suffolk plot, which Jules discovered almost by chance while looking for property in the area for a relative. They moved into the existing three-bedroom bungalow straight away and then began the process of coming up with redevelopment plans  and the finances to pay or it. Jules reveals: “I always knew that I wanted to build a house from scratch, and I had been gathering ideas like a magpie for years. We wanted to marry three design themes: a kind of


www.sbhonline.co.uk 21


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