AFTER


A wall between the old kitchen and bathroom was knocked out to create a spacious open plan dining kitchen, with light ooding in through bi-fold doors


BEFORE


The kitchen was dark and grimy – and the deep-set window drew in precious little light


thickness of the adhesive so the challenge was to lift the tiles without damaging the plywood substructure. After trying to do it manually, John realised it was too big a job and he hired a ackhammer to get the oor back to a smooth plywood base. He then used a tile backer board system with in-built falls, which was laid using an adhesive over the top of the plywood, before re-tanking with a liuid system and finally laying the new tiles. Around the same time, John upgraded all the interior fittings with LDs, using doughnut trim discs for a neat finish. “The problem with older properties is that one job can quickly lead to another,” said John. “In taking out the old lights I was damaging the plasterwork so, rather than replaster, I found metal discs which neatly covered the rough edges.”


The exterior render also started to blow in places, so John hired a local builder to take it back to the tight render, patch the blown areas and repaint the rear elevation. arlier this year scaffolding was put into place to access the roof so the chimney stack could be repointed – with all the scaffolding carried by hand from a trailer parked on the street. “With the access being so narrow a lot of deliveries were wheelbarrowed in or carried by hand, but with just a little bit of practice and confidence  found it was ery easy to get a car and trailer down the shared drive and to the back of the cottage,” said John. “I did a lot of trips to the local builders’ merchants and the tip!”


This was the case when John started working on the garden, trimming back an overgrown tree and laying a thick covering of gravel down the access drive, along the side of the cottage and round to the back where there is a spacious


nov/dec 2022


turning area for cars.


arlier this year he also commissioned bespoke softwood gates which were manhandled down the drie and fitted to new concrete posts, adding to the privacy of the house and garden.


ONWARDS AND UPWARDS


John is now in a position to begin the second phase, which will involve the conversion of part – or all – of the garage into living accommodation and the building of a detached garage at the back of the house. He secured planning permission for this at the beginning of the first phase and started the work to preserve the permission until he has the time and funds to take it further.


His ultimate aim is to convert the lean-to at the back of the cottage into a more substantial living space, add a third bedroom with an ensuite bathroom upstairs, and perhaps another living room downstairs. “That’s the long-term plan,” says John.


“There is still huge potential to develop the cottage further and that’s what makes it so exciting. It’s a project which will continue to eole. n the beginning there were definitely times when I wondered what I had taken on, and there was a point in the middle of the renovation when we seemed to be taking one step forwards and two back. There didn’t seem to be an end in sight. But I didn’t take it on board to then sell it and make a uick profit. I was always in it for the long term because I really enjoy the process of taking a dilapidated old property and giving it a new lease of life. If I hadn’t bought it, the cottage was in danger of falling down and another little piece of village history would have disappeared with it.”


www.sbhonline.co.uk 43


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  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76