Modern timber home

Amber and Lee Wilmot jumped at the chance to build their dream property in the back garden of Amber’s childhood home

Location: West Sussex Style: Contemporary vernacular House size: 215m2 Project cost: £391,984 Construction method: Timber frame Project route: Package design and shell build, then self-project managed Timber frame supplier: Scandia-hus

Having recently completed a renovation project, Amber and Lee Wilmot had no plans to self build their own home. But when they heard Amber’s father was considering selling his garden plot in West Sussex to a local developer, they decided it was too good an opportunity to miss. “We had just got our house exactly as we wanted. It was in the perfect location close to the train station and friends,” says Lee. “But this was a chance to create something from scratch, so we sold our property to fund the project and moved into rented accommodation.”

The couple got in touch with timber frame self build home specialist Scandia-hus and paid the company a fee to help them get through the planning stage. “We worked closely with the firm’s project manager Aron Turney, who came along to all the pre-planning meetings,” says Amber. “He was really hands-on, even getting wind that our first proposal was going to be refused and advising us to pull out to avoid getting a black mark against our application.”

Aron liaised with the couple, the planners and Scandia’s in-house design team to push forward a scheme that all parties would be able to agree on. “He suggested if we went in with something a little bigger than we’d originally envisaged, we could then negotiate down to a more realistic scheme and make it exactly as we wanted,” says Amber. “He was talking to the council all the time trying to work out what their requirements were for the project.”

A plan comes together

In September 2015, 14 months after initial planning discussions began, the couple finally gained consent for their four-bedroom self build home. Amber and Lee had initially only intended to use Scandia-hus to help them gain planning permission but, impressed by Aron’s skills and work ethic, they decided to commission them for the timber frame and asked him to put the project out to tender. “He knew we were a bit in the dark and went above and beyond to assist us,” says Amber. “When the quotes came in, he took a look at them for us and gave us great advice on which ones seemed reasonable and which of them were worth paying over the odds for.”

While the groundworks took a little longer than expected, the next phase was plain sailing. One of the bonuses of working with a package company is that the frame gets built in a factory-controlled environment, whilst the site prep is going on. And it can be erected in a flash once the foundations are placed. By the end of February 2016, the house shell was delivered, built and watertight, ready for the internal fit-out. “The frame went up really quickly and it was exciting to see it take shape,” says Lee.

Just in time

The Wilmots were able to move into their home in July 2016, just before their son Freddy was born. Although the planning process was tiresome at times, and the construction work not without its issues, the couple talk positively of their experience. “We love the house, and would definitely self build again,” says Lee.

Amber is particularly pleased by their neighbours’ reactions. “Even the homeowners on our road who initially objected to our planning application tell us they’re pleased with how it turned out,” she says. “They say it’s nice to have a young family back in the area again.”

Scandia Hus 01342 838060 www.scandia-hus.co.uk