CONTACTS/ SUPPLIERS


ARCHITECT Swann Edwards www.swannedwards.co.uk


PLANNING CONSULTANT Cruson Wilkin www.crusowilkin.co.uk


STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS 4D Structural www.4dstructural.co.uk


BUILDERS’ MERCHANTS Anglian Farmers af.farm


CLADDING Trimform trimformfabs.co.uk


GARAGE DOORS Fenland Garage Doors fenlandgaragedoors.co.uk


“Normally, we’d have to work round the dining


room furniture he laughs. ed had it since we were first married, and one of ues rules was that the dining room in any of the houses had to fit her furniture. he has finally allowed us to get rid of it ue and ohns only intervention was to make the house a little bit smaller than James first designed it, so its now  s m. hy says John. “It doesn’t cost as much money then, does it


The build cost was just under £400,000. Other cost-cutting measures John recommends include keeping everything in a self-build house as square as possible, as curves cost more to design and build. And although he and Sue are utterly delighted with the large windows that provide ever-changing views – “you can see right the way up into the sky, you can watch the birds fly from one side of the view to the other  ohn would never go for vast epanses of glazing, again because of the cost: “You can have big windows, but do it in sections. Even though some of these here are big spaces, the spaces have been filled costeffectively. uge windows can easily cost £40,000 to £50,000 each which makes a big hole in the budget. here are ways around it.


Sue especially likes the cosiness of the sitting


room, which also benefits from the views, and they both like the freeflowing openplan space which James designed for them. The Askews met James when Swann Edwards was appointed to work on the rebuild of a local community centre, and immediately felt that they could trust him to interpret their ideas for a new farmhouse.


“Jamie asked us what we wanted in the house and then drew the house around it, says ue. “You need certain rooms, certain things, so the


44 www.sbhonline.co.uk


design came from that really. n the ground floor, the house has an openplan kitchen diningfamily room, a snugliving room, an office, a utility room and a plant room. Upstairs, there are three bedrooms and a


bathroom. The main bedroom has a dressing room and ensuite, and a balcony leading off, with an additional door also giving access from the landing. This provides panoramic views of the surrounding countryside and offers shade to the terrace below. The balcony is held up on brick pillars that provide an attractive design feature to the exterior of the house. utureproofing was an important part of the design considerations with John and Sue anticipating remaining in this home, says James. “As such, level access is available throughout the ground floor, from the large front door onwards. penings are sufficiently wide should wheelchairs be required in future. n addition, the first floor has level access thresholds onto the balcony and there is space incorporated for the future installation of a lift and accessible bathrooms.


The garage has been built with attic trusses and a meanine floor. eve got that as a junk room, ohn says, but it could easily be turned into an etra bedroom if reuired. he fleibility hes learned through a lifetime of farming has equipped John with a very pragmatic attitude to self-build. He uses agricultural suppliers to source materials when he can. One of his top tips is to have all materials onsite a week before they are needed: “As soon as the wheat went out of the shed, we filled it up with stuff.


e and ue undertook their first selfbuild


project in the early s, when they needed to upscale for more space for their two growing


sep/oct 2024


HEAT PUMP Mitsubishi


les.mitsubishielectric.co.uk


INSULATION Knauf www.knauf.co.uk


Kingspan www.kingspan.com


ROOF JOISTS Walker Nene www.walkernene.com


ROOF PANELS Kingspan www.kingspan.com


WINDOWS AND DOORS Total Insulation Ltd www.totalinsulationservices. com


BATHROOM FINISHES International Decorative Surfaces www.idsurfaces.co.uk


KITCHEN AND UTILITY CABINETRY


UK Cabinets Direct www.cabinetsdirectuk.com


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