One house becomes three
Their plan from the outset, once the construction was completed, was to convert the “development” into a sectional title scheme with separate title deeds for each owner. This would facilitate the resale of an individual unit if any of the parties wished to sell later.
“There are few properties in the city where you can still build houses, but this had a garden, plenty of parking space and a good location,” explains Eben. “Besides, it is much cheaper to build than to buy in the city these days!”
The approximately 500m² erf had a single-storey Cape Dutch house, which the previous owners had enlarged in 1980 to form an L-shape. Eben, Werner and Ansie made sure to consider each other’s needs when they designed the units.
Eventually, the existing house was enlarged by adding another floor on top of one wing – this became Werner’s apartment, which covers 190m². On top of the other wing, Ansie’s 125m² apartment was built with a pitched roof and her own staircase to her front door upstairs. An interior door on the upper level connects Ansie and Werner’s units – these two properties can, therefore, be sold together or separately in the future.
Eben’s unit is housed in a freestanding outbuilding on the property that was previously used as a garage and storage space. The building was enlarged to 140m² by constructing an entirely new level on top, also with a pitched roof for uniformity. The three units thus complement each other (see aerial photo on page 88), even though each unit has its own roof.
Both of the new upper levels were built with spacious overhangs – Eben’s overhang serves as a roof over his parking space and front door, while Ansie’s overhang forms a roof over Werner’s stoep.