LOW POINT


There was a lot of time when Miley and I didn’t see much of Ryan. He’d work all day doing his job then spend most of his free time doing every- thing he could to build our home. This was tough at times but worth it for what we have now. – Jemma Urquhart


 plots of land, the plot Ryan and Jemma finally bought in 2018 for £60,000 is just 300 yards from the house where Ryan grew up and where his parents still live. The proximity of family, and their help, has been a huge bonus in their self-build. “As well as my dad being nearby, my younger brother is an electrician, while Jemma’s dad and brothers are all carpenters,” says Ryan. “We also lived with Jemma’s parents nearby while the new place was being built. We knew we would need family support and we’re very grateful to have got it.” With Ryan both the architect and project manager on the self-build, work on foundations began in the autumn of 2019, just weeks after Miley’s birth in August. However, Ryan’s commitment to the build became even more hands-on once the construction of walls got underway.


He explains: “To keep heating bills and carbon emissions low, I decided we’d build using insulated concrete formwork (ICF). I also thought this was probably something I could do myself.” Walls are created using this technique with a polystyrene sandwich plus a poured concrete filling, proiding a pre-insulated structure. The concrete core should also hold some heat through the day and slowly release it back throughout the house at night, again reducing heating bills.


jul/aug 2023


The ICF work was carried out in three stages and finished in ebruary  with the completion of the first-oor walls. Ryan comments: “This was mostly done by me with help from friends and family, and two or three guys from the building contractor between their other jobs. “Don’t get me wrong, it was a learning experience for us all, and the ICF supplier did have one of their experts check on us from time to time, but it was actually so straightforward that we couldn’t quite believe it and we were always expecting there would be a catch.” The first Coid- lockdown caused some disruption, but work carried on – both outside and indoors – through 2020, 2021 and 2022 with Ryan continuing to do as much as he could himself, but always with help and guidance from family and friends.


Looking back, he accepts the biggest challenge of the self-build was the “time management side of things.” He adds: “I’m a director at the company I work for and we’re very busy so some weeks I didn’t get to the build at all. I also had a new daughter and, of course, at points I stayed home to spend time with her.”


During 2022, the white ICF structure of the


Urquharts’ new home was transformed with the application of its final eterior cladding, putting an end, says Ryan, to local comments


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