PROJECT NOTES

Homeowners Megan and Michael Whittaker Project Package build Location Kent Build time Six months Size 375m2 Plot cost £250,000 Build cost £560,000 Total costs, incl. landscaping and design £910,000 (£2,427/m2) Value £1.5million

Project Timeline

Plot purchased Oct 2013 Planning submitted Dec 2013 Planning approved Mar 2014 First Hanse Haus factory visit May 2014 Second Hanse Haus visit Feb 2015 Start on-site foundations Mar 2015 House delivered Jun 2015 House watertight Jun 2015 (4 days after delivery) First fix completed Jun 2015 Plastering and tiling Aug 2015 Final fit out Sep 2015 Occupied Oct 2015 Landscaping Mar 2016

Selected Costs

Plot £250,000 House package £453,000 Groundworks £45,000 Kitchen £25,000 Demolition of bungalow £6,000 Landscaping £70,000 Design fees £35,000 Garage (incl. plant room, office, laundry) £50,000

Suppliers

Initial designers Clague Architects: clague.co.uk Package builder Hanse Haus: hanse-haus.co.uk Groundworks P and P Groundworks: pandpgroundworks.co.uk Landscaping Haywood Landscapes: haywood-landscapes.co.uk Kitchen Umbermaster: umbermaster.co.uk

The Floorplan

The L-shaped floorplan allows for sociable family living spaces along with privacy. The design also creates a sheltered outdoor living area accessible from both wings.

After years of plot hunting, Michael and Megan Whittaker had almost given up hope of finding a site for their first selfbuild. Then, by chance, they came across a level one-acre site complete with an unloved one-bed bungalow, just a few miles from their former home in Canterbury (“magical” is how Megan describes their early impressions of the site). The couple bought the plot as cash buyers (no mortgage company would lend on the bungalow) but without planning permission — a move that could have backfired. “It was a risk but the site was just what we hoped for,” says Michael.

Luckily, the application sped through planning and the couple could move onto construction. “I’d been interested in building a German prefabricated house for a long time,” says Michael. “It seemed such an efficient way of building and one that provided the opportunity to create our own style and design.” Financially, too, it made sense for the couple to be earning money to fund the turnkey build, rather than taking time off work to project manage.

Unusually, Megan and Michael commissioned a local architect, Andrew Clague, to design their house and then approached package self-build company Hanse Haus to build it, rather than choosing one of several designs on offer from the German company (see page 66 for more on this approach).

While a more expensive route than choosing an off-the-shelf design, this option allowed them to specify their exact layout and style, including an L-shaped floorplan and double and triple aspects. The only part of the design that could not be accommodated were floor-to-ceiling structural walls of glass (instead, the design incorporates a series of large windows).

Just weeks after their first conversation with Hanse Haus, the couple went to visit the company’s factory and sample centre in Bavaria: “We decided Hanse Haus was the company for us,” says Megan. Six months of building specification and costings followed, along with a second visit to the factory where they chose every element of the project down to the light fittings.

One month after the trip, the Hanse Haus-approved groundworkers arrived on site for four weeks, followed by the build team and prefabricated house parts from Germany. Within four days, the roof was covered and the whole house was watertight. “I think local delivery drivers were amazed when on the Monday morning there

was nothing but a concrete slab and by Friday there was a full house,” says Megan. The internal fit out took 12 weeks, including a four-week wait while the wet screed dried (in total, the build went from watertight stage to occupation in five months).

Having successfully completed their first package build, the couple are happy to share what they’ve learned with others thinking of a similar approach.

“Make sure you really understand what you’re responsible for during the build and what that might mean,” suggests Michael. “Even though we chose a turnkey build, there were things like the groundworks, surveys, landscaping and kitchen that we needed to factor in and this can be really costly.” Fortunately, the couple were tough on themselves when it came to budgets. For example, they managed to save on the costs of removing soil from the site by relocating it to form a bund at the end of the garden.

“I’d advise that it’s very useful to mark out, preferably on site, the size of your rooms in the design process and even position where you think the furniture might go. That way you can get a real feel for the space you’re creating,” adds Megan.

Now that they are settled in their new home, what do they particularly appreciate about their individual home? “I think the ventilation is one of the biggest bonuses as it keeps the air so clean and fresh and the ambient temperature makes it a very pleasant building to be in,” says Megan. “Cleaning is also a doddle, as amazingly, there just isn’t any dust, which means it feels like a healthy house too.

“We also love the visual from the front of the house where you can look right through to the garden at the back. We hate to feel closed in and love to be in an environment with lots of light and open views, which is just what we have here.” H

“We love the visual from the front of the house where you can look right through to the garden at the back”

Most self-builders going down the package build route choose from a pre-set range of house designs offered by the package company — indeed, for most choosing this option that is part of the attraction. Instead, Megan and Michael Whittaker (profiled on pages 54 to 64) decided to commission a local architect before finding German package company Hanse Haus (hanse-haus.co.uk) to manufacture and build to their bespoke specifications, including a distinctive L-shaped floorplan and site-specific orientation. Initially, the architect, Andrew Clague, was surprised that the couple had gone down a package route, but any reservations soon disappeared. In fact, he says, he would recommend this route to others.

“Hanse Haus did exceptionally well in interpreting the design with the minimum of compromise,” he says. “There was only one thing they couldn’t translate from my original design: the windows over the front are slightly different but in all other regards, it’s the same house. It’s a very satisfactory result, and much less stress for the homeowner. The house is beautifully built and the finishes are really good, too — the doors, for instance, are perfectly engineered. The gap between the frame and door is about as small a tolerance as you could find. I really am surprised — I always believed that a package route wouldn’t be the way to build a house but I’ve had to rethink that. The speed of the build was amazing, too. I didn’t quite expect the house to be built before it arrives.”

The only downside, he says, is that anyone commissioning a package house has a more limited choice of materials than otherwise, but, he adds, that could be a positive given the bewildering choice of materials on the market.

As for potential challenges associated with a package build route, he has just one: “Get your thinking done at the drawing stage, as once the lorries arrive it’s effectively already built,” he says. “Megan and Michael were the ideal clients as they understood the points we were making and really thought about them. We had plenty of good conversations, with lots of sketches, so we didn’t have to change anything when we got into the build stage. I am delighted with the end product.” H