Dramatic industrial conversion

OWNERS Erica & Michael Hammill

PROJECT Conversion

LOCATION York

SIZE 465m2

PROJECT COST £600,000

Tucked between period houses, a narrow garage door-width building faces the road, giving no inkling to passers-by of the incredible, industrial-inspired three-storey home behind this modest frontage. Originally a commercial garage, Michael and Erica Hammill took on the challenge of transforming the building into a striking contemporary home. It had been empty for 10 years and was dark, cold and damp. Parts of the roof were missing and pigeon droppings covered the floor – but the Hammills had the vision to look beyond its immediate state and instead imagined what it could become. “It was rotten and falling down in places, but the essence was all there,” Michael says. “I loved it’s character.” The building was sold with planning permission, but he wanted something a bit different to the traditional layout that had been proposed. He reapplied with a new scheme for the living area and an outside terrace to be upstairs to make the most of natural light and the best architectural features.

Consent was granted and the old garage cleared, with many structural elements replaced and anything that could be saved cleaned up. Large sections of the floor were dug up and levelled, plus numerous steel beams had to be buried in the concrete floor because they were too big to take off site. Other challenges included ensuring the proportions and detailing were doing justice to the industrial heritage, installing the wow factor cantilevered staircase and some budgeting issues. “I hadn’t taken into account things like the masonry repointing; on a building of this size, it’s a huge undertaking,” says Michael. But it was all worth it in the end.

The couple are thrilled with their achievement and love living in their striking new home. “It was never going to be a straightforward conversion,” says Michael. “But it’s been immensely satisfying to have given a dilapidated old garage a whole new lease of life.”

Full story online: www.self-build.co.uk/hammill