doors, but ster taled us out of that, as were southfacin at the bac and we would ust oerheat nstead, we hae offset double doors, slihts, and a lare, fixed window with a seat underneath The result is a lovely, welcoming space, with a vaulted ceiling, an asymmetrical pitched roof, and slihts the famil can open for ventilation. The exterior is clad in charred larch, which contrasts with the original Edwardian bric facade he interior stle reects the contemporary architecture yet is sympathetic to the original building. ith extensions, ou hae a choice of either main it seamless, or main a statement, and thats what we chose, sas all he most striin aspect of the desin is


the offcentre pitch, main one side of the extension lower than the other. This addressed one of the e challenes, which was boundar height restrictions.


hat ster did with the roof was er cleer, says Sally. “It’s a nice way to deal with the slope he aulted ceilin means not onl is there plent of headroom inside the extension but also a sense of airiness his is enhanced b the strateicall placed slihts the smaller ones are from elux and the larer ones are bespoe, which let in both earl mornin and evening light.


he leels also chane from front to bac, and originally, there were two large concrete steps between the itchen and the arden Apart from


22 www.sbhonline.co.uk


being unattractive, they also presented a danger for the couples two small bos and created a sense of bein cut off from the outside space Ester solved this by putting in new steps going down between the sittin room and the itchen extension his allows for reater ceilin heiht in the extension, which, in turn, opens straight into the arden  was reluctant at first, but actuall it wors, sas all he choice of charred larch as claddin on the outside of the extension was also bold Almost blac in colour, the process of charrin timber to create the effect is an ancient apanese techniue, nown as housuiban his techniue has lots of practical adantaes, including not requiring any maintenance. It doesn’t even need to be sealed, as the carbon outer laer protects the wood, ust lie a stain or arnish  wor in financial serices, sas all o,  had limited imaination for this, but  ot a sample, which  lied ts weatherin nicel, but for us, the e feature was the minimal upeep The Shou-sugi-ban method is also


enironmentall friendl, as there are no chemicals inoled, ust fire n fact, een competent DIY builders can achieve a good result, using minimal equipment, although most, lie the ensens, order the claddin already treated. Charred wood is also naturally resistant to both weather and insects. The timber doesn’t rot, even in damp conditions and at the other extreme, it also has good leels of fire retardanc or man selfbuilders


nov/dec 2023


ADVICE FOR SELF-BUILDERS


“Invest time in the layout of the itchen  we did on this build, and the result reall wors


“We were novices and it is important to loo for advice and guidance. ster has a een ee for the aesthetic details


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