selfbuilder Diaries


Leanne and partner ark recently took on a renoation in Barnsley, while also tackling the running of their own business and raising three girls


years later, we were still there We ust hadnt found the home we were looking for. oweer in , a knock at the door changed eerything. We lie on a priate road with four other properties, including two bungalows sitting side by side. The smaller one came up for sale and we put in an offer. We approached the neighbours and asked if they would consider selling us some of their land so we could etend the bungalow, which they were open to. nfortunately we werent successful,


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but three weeks later, the neighbours son offered us the chance to buy the lot. y husband was away on a stag do but  didnt hesitate, we agreed on a figure for the bungalow and land and a gentlemans handshake sealed the deal.  immediately rang ark to let him know d bought us a doer upper. our years later not the uickest endors or coneyancers, plus a pandemic in July  we got the keys. With the world still on a go slow, we all set to work, ripping out carpets and kitchen, knocking down walls and the conseratory. To sae time we applied for planning


permission granted in ebruary . We had planning permission and the keys, but we were missing a builder. We got a few uotes but they were either ridiculously priced or they couldnt fit us in for months and months. Then out of the blue, a friend offered her partners building serices  hope she asked him first, and they hae been amazing. nyone who comes to our site comments on the uality of their workmanship, and we honestly cannot fault them.


aing worked in construction preiously came in handy and definitely 6 www.sbhonline.co.uk


hen we first moed into our current home, we neer planned to stay there long-term. 


We opted to project manage and have our own trades


helped when sourcing materials, especially when the costs went through the roof during Coid. One unepected cost howeer, was the steel frame. t the time we didnt realise that we needed a frame that big top tip  get the structural engineer inoled before planning to check whats needed. But we couldnt change the design, apart from maybe the odd adustment. The build process itself has been slow at points and then uick at others. We opted to proect manage and hae our own trades rather than a company taking on the entire proect. The reason being that we are calling in lots of faours from


family and friends to keep costs down where possible. So far all the trades hae got on great, and are all looking forward to the moing-in party if theres any budget left We went to a specialist lender dealing in self-build proects. The mortgage being released in stages meant that certain things had to be put on hold until additional funds are released. We are roughly  into the build and are now wind and water-tight  which is amazing. We do sometimes hae to pinch ourseles at what we hae created. We didnt realise the enormity of the build until we got a birds eye iew. t looked a lot smaller on the architects drawings We are ready to make a start on the


internals and create something special for us as a family to enoy. The girls hae already designed their bedrooms in their heads and now that some of the internal walls hae taken shape, the reality is getting eer closer. ollow our build on nstagram bungalow


mar/apr 2023


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