I
t was a case of instant attraction when Rebecca and Matthew McCloskey followed up an estate agent’s speculative suggestion that they check out a “quirky” building in Hertfordshire, that had once been a canvas-weaving factory. Rebecca reveals: “My first reaction when I saw inside it was to whisper to Matt, ‘I think we should live here’. I could see the character and potential of it.”
The building in question certainly has character – and history too. Located in the conservation area of the town of Tring, it was known in the 19th century for the quality of canvas-weaving on the premises. Weaving activity ceased prior to the start
of World War Two, but the production of ladies’ clothing continued onsite before work got underway in the late 1970s to turn the property into two residential dwellings, across three floors.
It was in 2005 that the McCloskeys’ part in the building’s story began – when they bought the first floor and the converted attic space above as a three-bed kitchen/diner maisonette. They began to dream about reuniting all three floors of the house as one home, but the ground floor remained a separate flat occupied by someone else until the couple were in a position to buy it in 2010. Even then, their patient wait wasn’t over. Matthew, an IT professional, explains: “It was fantastic to finally secure the ground floor. However, we realised it would be a while before we could afford to change it in the way we wanted.”
As it was still configured as a self-contained flat, the couple decided to let the ground floor for the next few years. They were finally ready, with funding available through remortgaging, to begin remodelling their house at the end of 2016.
The task was a substantial renovation that involved building front and back extensions, and
56
www.sbhonline.co.uk
a total reconfiguration of the ground floor and first floor with the removal of almost all of the internal walls on those floors. The major work was completed by the following summer – although further internal changes have been made in 2020 and 2021. The McCloskeys and their three children can
now relax and enjoy a comfortable family home that harmoniously brings together both modern and old, to breathe new life into the building. On the ground floor, the footprint has been
increased by approximately 40 m2, and the layout is largely open-plan. The rear extension has made room for a carefully considered, modern kitchen and also allows for a private and cosy ‘snug’, which is deliberately partitioned so as to be separate from the rest of the ground floor living area. Both the kitchen and the snug are flooded with light through a glazed aluminium roof. A further wall was moved to widen the hallway and the ground floor also has a toilet and a utility.
DISCOVERIES The results are impressive but, as with most projects of this kind, it wasn’t all plain sailing. A wall in one corner needed underpinning – work that had to be done manually and which cost £1,000 a metre. And access to materials and equipment was a problem throughout the project as the house can only be approached via a narrow driveway. Matthew remembers that installing ground floor underfloor heating required digging down to a depth of 70 cm, uncovering “lots of weird old pipes that no-one was 100% sure were live or not.” Elsewhere, initial fears about a well discovered beneath the drive eventually turned out to be unfounded.
One unexpected development the couple have learned to love is around new structural steel supports to take the weight of the first floor. The original plan was for the existing steel
sep/oct 2021
LOW POINT
“It was worrying seeing the acro props holding up the house while we were still living on the first and second floors, but there were also a few very tired moments when the all-consuming
intensity of it just seemed relentless.”
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 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
