CAD View of the Finished Layout
"Armitage House - The Book... So Far" - by Chris Bicknell
There is so much to say about our first personal experience of 'self-build' that we could cover several pages of this website. Looking for the key points which sum up our experience is probably the hardest thing to do whilst retaining the juice of the story, but here goes...
The History
About 2 years ago we found what was to be 'our house' - it had everything we had ever looked for with one small omission - a garage. As an architect I had always wanted to build for myself and this seemed the perfect project to start upon. We were not to know it at the time, but that was the start of our hands on adventure in polystyrene and a real life exercise in collaborative working.
The Idea
Like all complex answers, the question was a simple one. How can we provide a garage to a grade 2 listed property in the conservation area of a village in North East Derbyshire? When we first viewed the property we saw what we needed and sketched up some ideas to take to the Local Authority.
In simple terms we wanted to:-
- take down an existing stone wall
- excavate the garden behind
- build our new garage in the hole created, and
- finally, put the garden back on top.
As with many concept designs this grew to include extra accommodation on the 'while we are at it' school of design control!
After a meeting on site we had the support of the Conservation Officer and we worked with the planning department to develop our ideas into firmer proposals. As an architect, I had the advantage of being able to produce 3D visualisations to explain the scheme and this helped with the planning discussions. A word of advice to anyone looking to extend or new build - talk openly and early with the planners and everyone adjacent to your plot and get them onboard, or at least understand any objections before expending time and resource on developing the design.
The Design
In hindsight the concept design was the easy bit - although being both designer and client was an interesting combination (who decides where to stop?). Achieving the technical design for a waterproof, semi- basement took a great deal of research. We knew we would not be able to complete the scheme in one hit and therefore wanted a design which could be completed in phases and allow us to undertake some of the work as time and work allowed. This approach led us to consider alternative forms of construction from traditional through cast concrete to the Beco system. The forthcoming improved thermal requirements of the Building Regulations Part L led us to consider the Beco system as a way of bettering the compliance with no additional effort from the build.
As with any venture cost is an important factor. From previous experience, cost overruns on projects almost always relate to design changes on site; the interfaces between differing trades or underestimation of design detail and of labour resource. Our intention was to minimise trades on site; simplify the detail; reduce time on site and to find a contractor who would work up the programme and building detail with us.
The Beco WALLFORM system achieved the first 3 intentions as the whole build from slab to roof consisted of just 2 trades, stacking Beco blocks and pouring concrete. In fact the build time from slab to roof was 2 weeks and it was delivered to the programme worked out beforehand. This bettered estimates from traditional builders by half. B-A-G Building Contractors in the guise of Barry, Andrew and the team fulfilled the 'enlightened contractor role'.
We wanted a structural shell which could be fitted out in our own time and B-A-G worked with us to scope the works to provide just that. Working with B-A-G from an early stage helped to ensure the design was achievable. The experience gained from previous projects was invaluable, as was the assistance of Bekeart, the suppliers of the steel fibre reinforcement, who worked with our Structural engineer to produce the calculations needed by the Local Authority.
The Result
A project completed on budget, to programme with no necessary design development during construction. Most importantly to us, we have a building which lives up to the original design intent built through a process which has been professional, collaborative and surprisingly enjoyable.
We have a robust shell which we are fitting out in our own time and are currently working with a local stonemason to reface the polystyrene box with the stone originally taken down a the start of this project.
As I said at the start, there is so much more to say, but time and space dictate otherwise. Suffice it to say that apart from the building itself, the most rewarding outcome of this experience is finding suppliers and contractors who still believe in a quality job, undertaken diligently and openly and who are happy to work as part of a team effort. This rarely happens in the 'real world' but it demonstrates that with sufficient forward planning and a good team of people quality can be achieved, to budget and timescale - moreover it can still be fun!
Chris Bicknell is a partner at Bicknell Associates Chartered Architects
Bicknell Associates Chartered Architects
42 Palace Road
New Southgate
London
N11 2PR
Tel: 020 8888 2623
Email: BiAs@chrisbic.demon.co.uk