New Build - a tight and overlooked plot

Fitting in

This case study is from SelfBuild & Design October 2021 | Buy this issue | Subscribe

Alex and Kelly Allan’s new home, built on a tight, overlooked village infill plot, has been designed for privacy.

Story: Debbie Jeffery Pictures: Brownhill Photography

The rear elevation combines exciting glazing, a folded roof, and aluminium brise soleil that create a contemporary design

In Brief

Project	New build	Location	Devon
Plot Cost	£125,000	Spent	£330,000	Worth	£600,000+

First-time selfbuilders Alex and Kelly Allan had struggled to find a plot of land in their chosen area when an awkward village infill plot caught their attention. “We’d always loved self-build TV shows like Grand Designs and found the idea of building our own home appealing,” explains Alex, whose inheritance from an uncle enabled the couple to pursue their dream.

“After extending and renovating a Victorian house in Exeter, we were settled in the community and wanted to find a building plot in the area but everything we viewed had issues – from a badger sett to an electricity pylon. The piece of land we eventually chose was also really challenging and some of the problems only became apparent after we’d bought it, but it’s so rare to find building land in a village setting that we convinced ourselves to go ahead.”

The plot was formerly the garden to a chocolate box thatched cottage in a Devon village, close to Exeter, and when Alex and Kelly first viewed the land they enjoyed playing with their young son, Elliott, in the overgrown garden and admiring the view. “It was such a pretty setting and already had outline planning permission for a new house,” says Alex.

The 460sqm site brought many challenges, though, with party walls on every side, issues of rights to light and overlooking. Strict height and volume restrictions had also been imposed by the planning authority and access proved a major problem.

The linear front elevation of the new house reflects 1950s properties in the road.

“The plot owner and the neighbour couldn’t agree on who owned the access drive and ended up fighting it out in court,” says Alex. “There were also dilapidated asbestos garages on the land, with a change in level up to the remains of an old veg plot, which needed to be excavated.”

Once a right of way for unencumbered access had been confirmed, Alex and a friend donned protective suits and demolished the old garages, clearing the site. Another neighbour, whose property bordered the plot, was vehemently opposed to the idea of a new house and hung banners in protest, accosting anyone working on the plot, including the surveyor.

“We knew we needed a knowledgeable local architect who could design a house which would overcome all the plot limitations,” says Kelly, who works for a local toy lending library. “After using the online RIBA practice referral tool, we drew up a shortlist of practices and chose Living Space Architects, as they seemed vibrant and inventive.”

The roof shape creates a soaring living space

The award-winning practice has a passion for creating well-designed, imaginative and exciting projects that are both environmentally and socially sustainable. “We gave them a free hand when it came to the initial designs and they came up with several ideas which worked in favour of such a restricted plot,” Kelly continues.

The couple considered the idea of a full basement to maximise space in their new home but realised that they would need to dig into the side of the plot and build a retaining wall anyway, involving a great deal of earthwork.

“We knew we needed a knowledgeable local architect who could design a house which would overcome all the plot limitations”

From three potential designs they chose the one which addressed issues of solar shading with an eye-catching aluminium brise soleil. The house has been laid out with a lower-ground-floor level containing the master bedroom, en suite, hallway, and utility. On the upper ground floor, an open-plan kitchen/dining/living space is located, with two bedrooms sharing a bathroom on the first floor and a mezzanine level over the living space.

The Floorplan: Split levels maximise space on the tight plot, with a lower ground floor master bedroom, en suite and utility, and an upper ground floor kitchen/dining/living space, with a mezzanine above. Two boys’ bedrooms share a bathroom on the first floor.

The boys' bedrooms are on the first floor

“When our second son, Wilfred, was born we needed to adapt the house to cater for two boys,” says Alex, a landscape gardener. “The mezzanine gave us additional space and could be used as a fourth bedroom in future but for now the boys both sleep on the first floor.”

The mezzanine serves as a potential fourth bedroom.

"The dramatic sweeping roof shape reminds me of a craft from Star Wars."

Living Space’s design responds to the site and its form follows the strict height and volume restrictions. A cleverly folded roof takes account of the right to light and overlooking from neighbouring properties and internally this creates a series of views through the open-plan spaces and from the mezzanine above.

Inside, the folded roof creates views through the open-plan spaces

Alex and Kelly's TOP TIP

Trust professionals and speak to neighbours before starting work. We knocked on doors and everyone seemed really positive but we later discovered that there was already bad feeling about developing the site.

The Allans had sold their previous home to buy the plot and then moved into rented accommodation during the build. With planning approval granted for their contemporary detached house, they were able to engage a building contractor to undertake the project.

“Tom Hunt, of TSH Construction, is a well-known figure in Exeter and came highly recommended,” says Alex. “He brought in subbies and was reassuring and approachable, allowing me to work on site daily and jointly manage the project. At first, I’d tried to manage the build alone but my lack of experience quickly showed and Tom stepped in and took over the reins.”

A garden room was built by Alex and a friend, which served as a site hut during the 10 month build. Tree roots needed to be removed by digger from the former garden plot in readiness for split-level trench-fill foundations. “The footings are actually set inside the footprint of the house, forming a shelf in the kitchen, to avoid impinging on neighbouring land,” says Alex.

The footings form a shelf in the kitchen

Initially, the house was going to be timber-frame construction but this was adapted to a hybrid of timber and blockwork. The timber frame was stick built on site to overcome access issues which prevented the use of a crane, with the folded warm roof built using steel and layers of timber, plywood and insulation, clad externally in zinc.

“The dramatic sweeping roof shape reminds me of a craft from Star Wars, and the length required supporting steelwork, which was a feat of engineering,” says Alex. “It creates such an exciting space inside and the whole structure is so well insulated that we rarely use our underfloor heating.”

Externally, the walls of the house have been clad in a combination of vertical larch boards and two-tone render, which was inspired by the creamy colour of custard and the distinctive red shade of the local soil.

Tight-Plot-large-opening-windows-increase-feeling-of-space.jpg

The floor space appears to extend beyond the glass into outdoor rooms

Window openings have been designed both for privacy and to connect with the small garden so that the limited floor space appears to extend beyond the glass into outdoor rooms. This gives a feeling of space and openness without taking up too much footprint on the site.

“We looked at having an air source heat pump and grey water recycling but our budget was tight and locating the collection tank would have been difficult on our small site,” says Kelly. “In the end, we chose to install a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system, which hums away in the background, keeping the air fresh.”

The bespoke open-plan staircase to the mezannine is offset from a wall of geometrical wallpaper

The couple also investigated creating a living wall above their sitting area but the cost and complexity of the irrigation system led them to design an artificial version, with a bespoke planter made to match the colour of their aluminium window frames.

Bold, geometric wallpaper makes a statement

Bold, geometric wallpaper makes a statement on the high wall behind the bespoke open-plan staircase. The kitchen is tucked under a lower ceiling to the rear of the open space. End-of-line ex-display cabinets have been customised to fit, with the island unit becoming a peninsula, and cork flooring laid to deaden sound.

Buying an ex-display kitchen created problems for the fitters, who adapted the units for the open-plan space

“We didn’t want an echoing church-like space, with young boys running around, but the cork sheets absorb sound and are warm underfoot,” says Alex.

Alex worked on site almost daily between October 2017 and June 2018, tackling studwork, installing insulation, landscaping the garden, and generally helping out. Kelly also got involved and the couple manually dragged an enormous tree fern into place for the newly landscaped garden.

An Australasian inspired garden has been created, with lush planting, covered seating and cooking areas.

“Building a house absorbs all your time, energy and attention, so that when it’s finished you begin to miss the chaos,” says Alex. “It’s certainly been a baptism of fire and a real education, but now we have a really cool space which reflects who we are and the way we like to live.”