HIGH POINT
Creeping around the site after hours and seeing all the changes made that day.
JASON & RACHEL’S TOP TIP
Go all-in. You only get to do this once. We recom- mend a project manager and a contractor with a site manager. It saved us money in the end, and they dealt with all the hassle.”
recalls achel. But we enjoyed seeing it every day. Sometimes it changed signifi cantly from morning to evening.”
Jason and Rachel decided to be hands off during the build, leaving their architect (who lives nearby) to project manage and work closely with their contractor’s site manager. This approach produced excellent results and kept the couple’s stress levels to a minimum. Between them, they did a really good job. Our architect recommended having someone onsite full time, and it really made a difference.” The two storey section of the extension was constructed using both timber frame elements and steel. These were needed to support the cantilevered upper level. Here, huge windows project the bedroom into the treetops, creating an immersive, fl oating effect. As this entire fl oor is solely the master suite, this space also boasts a large dressing room and a spacious bathroom, with corner glazing and a freestanding bath, which is perfectly positioned to enjoy the views. “I’m still getting used to all the open glass in the bathroom,” says Jason. “Even though we have no neighbours.”
But I love sitting in the bath looking into the
trees and watching the squirrels and the birds,” adds Rachel. On the ground fl oor of this extension, the cantilever provides some passive solar shading to the large sliding glass doors in the kitchen below. “We would never have thought of that!” says Rachel.
The adjoining single-storey extension is
Although the couple remained living onsite during the project, they don’t regret that decision.
technically not new, as it was already part of the home, although the space was cold and “too ineffi cient to heat, says ason. The couple had to confront an unexpected cost when this part of the building was found to have insuffi cient footings. This part of the property was constructed on brick footings, so elements of the existing single storey brick structure had to be taken down and rebuilt with new concrete footings. This ultimately led to additional cost and some delays,” says Tom Williams, managing architect on the project.
This meant that their builders had to take down the brick wall at the front and rebuild it. The advantage was that this made it easy to add badly needed insulation. This is now a sitting room, which opens directly onto a new terrace and is Rachel’s favourite place. “From the sitting room easy chairs, I can look out of the windows onto the pond and watch the wild ducks, the rabbits, and the deer. It’s my happy place.” Another challenge was a large hole
underneath the property. Tom Williams explains, 45
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