Kevin McCloud has a lot to answer for.....

[ganzoom]

I've always had found, hangover driven memories of watching Kevin McCloud quiz home owners why they have 'risked it all' in the name of design back in the 2000s, its the one ture 'bucket list' item I always thought I would never be able to do, build and live in something truly unquie.

But life is a funny thing, after decades of saving, COVID made a impact on how I viewed things. Life is short, really short, so why waste it dreaming?

So in 2019 we 'engaged' an architect who came up with a vision of changing our house we had only bought a few years earlier in a way we just couldn't say no to....







Fast foward many unforseen issues, planning visits, life etc etc we are now 6 months into the build and hopefully with the scariest bit (post demolition phase) done.



The rebuild is now properly underway and some of the interior space is now taking shape as the steels (35tons worth) as getting installed. Plenty more work to be done, but the dream is starting to appear.

Who would have thought hangover recovery TV back in the 2000s would end up have such a profound impact of on me, thanks Kevin and Channel 4 (I think) :).





 

[Guest]

Brilliant, very brave I take my hat off to you. Hope it all goes to plan, I loved all the Grand Designs type of programmes, a lot of participants did appear to get a bit of stress though! And quite a few seemed to go over budget. Hope your contingency fund stays intact

[Brian R]

Well worth being creative given the fact you only want to do this once and ideally you'll end up with something that is out of the ordinary. I wish I had been as brave when we doubled our house with an "extension" some 18 years ago.

Good luck with the build, it looks very imaginative and I'm sure it will be worth it regardless of the inevitable hiccups along the way.

[Shahpor]

Wow, that is impressive!  Not cheap either no doubt! 🙂

Keep us posted as it would be great to see the build progress.

I have also noticed around my way a trend that people are buying houses that need a little work, and instead of renovation, they are simply knocking them down and starting again.  I didn't think it would cost effective but apparently it works for some.

I would love to be able to determine the layout of my house so I am certainly envious of what you are doing Gang 👍

[Mr Vlad]

WOW Gang. Not only do you live in beautiful surroundings but you have the 'bottle' to undertake what you're doing. I doff my cap to you and wish you well in the development 👏👍

[DavidCM]

4 hours ago, Shahpor said:

🙂

I have also noticed around my way a trend that people are buying houses that need a little work, and instead of renovation, they are simply knocking them down and starting again.  I didn't think it would cost effective but apparently it works for some

It's a much more simple,cost effective and profitable way to end up with a quality property.You don't have to work around outdated and in some cases substandard structures.Just flatten the existing and start afresh with no compromises.Just make sure the location will "carry" the projected end value.

Oh and I wouldn't rely much on  Mr Mcloud's advice.I seem to remember he came somewhat unstuck..

[Spacewagon52]

2 hours ago, DavidCM said:

It's a much more simple,cost effective and profitable way to end up with a quality property.You don't have to work around outdated and in some cases substandard structures.Just flatten the existing and start afresh with no compromises.Just make sure the location will "carry" the projected end value.

Oh and I wouldn't rely much on  Mr Mcloud's advice.I seem to remember he came somewhat unstuck..

Yes he did - one of his projects went bankrupt. Extending / altering your existing home is far cheaper than moving. Moving costs (depending on your home value) can easily be above £25,000. That, effectively, is giving away £25,000 you could spend on the build. However, it is not always possible to alter a property to what you require.

[ganzoom]

Thanks for the comments, we started this project as wanting to just add some upstairs space, but its clearly progressesed beyind that 🙂

We've had this thing onsite this week.



The superstructure is finally taking shape, along with a preview of the view all this work has being for originally!!

[cruisermark]

Wow - that is a dream garden! - hope all goes well

[Spottedlaurel]

On 8/28/2023 at 11:34 AM, Shahpor said:

I have also noticed around my way a trend that people are buying houses that need a little work, and instead of renovation, they are simply knocking them down and starting again.  I didn't think it would cost effective but apparently it works for some.

VAT exemption on new build work may be a factor?

[Spottedlaurel]

1 hour ago, ganzoom said:

Thanks for the comments, we started this project as wanting to just add some upstairs space, but its clearly progressesed beyind that 🙂

Looks like it will be an impressively thorough job!

I don't do too much domestic work nowadays, but this is the sort of thing I've been involved with the for the last 30+ years. It's too easy to over-extend an existing property, ending up with poor flow and dark rooms because the layout hasn't properly thought about. Sometimes the only way of achieving that is by something more radical, as you're doing here.

If you're in an area you like, and the plot justifies it, then it's a good solution.

[ganzoom]

46 minutes ago, cruisermark said:

Wow - that is a dream garden! - hope all goes well

We were sold on the plot as soon as we saw the garden, the house it self was always…meew.

A couple of winters ago when the snow came it was like having our own private winter wonderland, absolutely priceless.

The maddest bit is despite my daughter been able to walk to school like in some kind of story book, ASDA is a 5 minute drive away. It takes us 10 minutes to get to work, and the M1 is similar distance away. We lucked out with the plot, the house is now been updated to fit :).

 

 

 

 

[ganzoom]

40 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

I don’t do too much domestic work nowadays, but this is the sort of thing I've been involved with the for the last 30+ years. It's too easy to over-extend an existing property, ending up with poor flow and dark rooms because the layout hasn't properly thought about. Sometimes the only way of achieving that is by something more radical, as you're doing here.

This is exactly what the previous owners had done, the bungalow had been extended at least 3 times, each time rooms were just added on with no thought for flow or light. We had 2 main door, 2 stairways etc etc.

Our brief to the architect was make things work better and maximise view of the garden. 

We could have demolished and started again, but that would have meant we would have ‘lost’ the ‘character’ of the original building. The current design essentially still replicates the original build, but rebuilt with modern standards, and a whole lot more glazing. 

As an ‘investment’ the design make zero sense, but we are doing this for our enjoyment  not for making ££££.

[ganzoom]

We now have the start of a roof, Velux windows are now on order and openings formed 🙂

Plenty more work to be done at the front still, and 2 more bits of steels to install next week. Builders is optimistic we’ll be water tight before winter hits, which would be very welcome. 

 

[JamesIS220]

Put a load more insulation than what the building regs state and good airtightness. Certainly would add solar panels. If you get these right then no boiler/rads needed.

I like old properties, but have always wanted to build quite literally a house that's circular/ round out of brick or octagonal. Slate roof or thatch. All reclaimed materials but modern cavity wall etc.

James

[ganzoom]

On 9/22/2023 at 9:17 PM, JamesIS220 said:

Put a load more insulation than what the building regs state and good airtightness. Certainly would add solar panels. If you get these right then no boiler/rads needed.

I like old properties, but have always wanted to build quite literally a house that's circular/ round out of brick or octagonal. Slate roof or thatch. All reclaimed materials but modern cavity wall etc.

James

Don’t just think about it, if you want to do/try something just get on with it. Life is short, and time goes before you know it. 

[ganzoom]

We now have something approaching the start of a roof!! Load more work to do still, but deposit for the gable/door glazings have gone in today. 6 week lead time for materials than will need local construction and install, aiming to be water tight by Xmas :).

 

[Brian R]

Making good progress and water tightness is a major milestone, followed by the internal drenching as the plaster dries out! It'll all be worth it in the end, and fingers crossed for you that it completes soonest.

[ganzoom]

Update before Xmas/end of 2023. 

We have some glazing, and pretty much water tight (still waiting for roof tiles though). 

The interior spaces are really taking shape, overall the house is now really taking shape. Hoping for a 2024 Easter moving in date :).

 

 

[ALAW]

Looking good Ganz well done. i bet you had some planning headaches.

[ganzoom]

7 hours ago, ALAW said:

Looking good Ganz well done. i bet you had some planning headaches.

Amazingly planning was fine, as we are literally just outside the boundary of a conservation area. 

The biggest 'risk' to the project by far was getting the steels installed, we needed 35 tons of worth split into about nearly 100 pieces. Both the builder and steels fabricators openly confessed half way through getting the structure up they hadn't realized how complicated the structure was and that it was the hardest domestic project they have done. I had serious worries one or both were just going drop the job due to the complexity, but we got there in the end, and the result is essentially the entire new section of the house doesn't require a single supporting wall, all the weight is carried on the steels, which opens up so many options for room placement etc.

It's a shame most of the steels will be hidden by insulation/plaster boards, but we will leave at least one bit on show. The construction of the front gable really was something I couldn't picture until it was in!!

Looking forwards to 2024 and seeing if we can move in before the summer :D.

 

 

[ALAW]

Yes it looks  a complicated make up. Where i work about 10 years ago i saw this house get renovated and they installed a new roof and it was steel not unlike yours and they lifted it in place in one piece i thought i hope this fits. Cut a long story short i spoke with the owners father about 6 months later he said they really struggled to get it in place really struggled. Anyhow all the best and hope all goes well in the new year for ya. 

[Bob King]

Looks like it’s all going to plan …well done👏🏻👏🏻

I’ve watched Grand Designs since it first started, not sure if the programme encourages owner to take the leap ..or keep well away !

problems have ranged from, money,planning,window or roofing delays, unhelpful neighbours, covid, baby on the way, marriage difficulties..builders done a runner etc ! Hopefully you’ve not encountered any of them 👍🏻👍🏻

  looking forward to seeing the finished home very soon 😉

[ganzoom]

Bad weather, holidays etc have delayed some of the works, so running about 1 month late from predicted stage, but things are going at pace now. 

All the glazing is in now (a certain shade of grey :)). First fix electric and gas is all nearly done, flooring is next before plastering. It’s taken longer than expected to get to this stage, and we are already over the original build quote from pre-covid, but for me the results are worth every single penny. I’m really missing the garden now.

 

I wasn’t sure just how the front glazing was going to look, but quite surprised at how reflective the glass is from the outside and the clear view from the inside. The pace of work in the last few weeks have been amazing, hope it carries on at this rate, and who knows, maybe we’ll be in by Easter :).

 

[ganzoom]

Work on the house has progressed massively, stairs and kitchen is in. New master bed room suite looks amazing, and we might even have completion date soon :).

We also ended up wasting some money on something totally unnecessary but so much fun for the garden :)