back to black
Jane and Matthew Fleet-Jones have built a low-energy, barn-style home, clad in burnt larch, in the Cheshire greenbelt
What began as a simple extension project for Jane and Matthew Fleet-Jones soon escalated into a new build once they realised that replacing their existing 1930s house would prove more economical. “An architect drew up
plans for our extension, but when builders came to quote they convinced us that it just wouldn’t be worthwhile,” Jane begins.
The couple found a new architectural practice – Guy Taylor Associates – and started again, designing a detached house to make the most of the peaceful village plot and views across open countryside. “After just one meeting, our architect, Chris Rodgers, came back with a design we loved,” says Jane. “Previously, there was only a single window overlooking the fields, so the goal was to reposition the new house on the site to really open it up to the views.”
Jane, Matthew and their architect favoured a barn-style home, clad externally in timber weatherboarding to echo farm buildings in the locality. “We wanted open plan living, very clean lines, and a gable roof which would improve height in the upstairs rooms,” says Jane. “A picture of a building clad completely in black timber was another inspiration, but the council insisted that the lower half of our house should be finished in brick to match other properties in the area.”
The fifth of an acre plot stands in the Cheshire greenbelt, which limited the overall size of the new three-bed house — although it is still 63% larger than the original. Their new house has also been relocated two metres closer to the road and away from a neighbouring property.
“We love to cook and entertain, so a sociable, open plan kitchen was high on our wishlist,” says Jane. “Our children are grown up, so we converted the fourth bedroom into a spacious dressing room for the master bedroom, which could easily be converted back into a bedroom in the future.”
Planning approval took almost six months to achieve due to numerous requests from the council, including surveys for nesting birds and bats. This meant that the build was postponed to coincide with better weather in June 2016, when the couple moved into a static caravan on site with their Tibetan terriers.
“It was quite a shock to watch our old home being demolished,” says Jane. “We had no electricity for seven weeks, and needed head torches to see what we were doing. An unexpected delay on the window delivery meant that we were still living in the caravan during the winter, so we were really ready to move into a permanently warm home by the end.”
Following a tender process, Jane and Matthew chose a builder who had previously worked with their architect and who project managed the build throughout — tackling everything from demolition through to final decoration. Jane, a practice manager for a local physiotherapist, was also on site every day to answer questions and research fixtures and fittings.
The builder was also responsible for completing the new concrete raft foundations. A timber frame construction was chosen for its fast build time and high levels of insulation. The lower half of the frame has been clad in brick, and the upper level is finished in blockwork with an outer cladding of charred larch (more on which on page 56). “It would have been far easier and less expensive to clad the whole house in timber, as we’d first intended,” says Matthew, a director for an international recruitment company.
the Good life
“We wanted to build a house which would be economical to run once we retire, as our previous Victorian semi was so expensive to heat,” Jane explains. “The cost of bringing gas to the new property would have been £11,000, so that’s why we have an £8,000 air source heat pump for the hot water and underfloor heating, with photovoltaic panels on our garage. The electricity they produce during the summer powers the air source heat pump. We also have a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system.”
The original garage has been given a complete makeover, and was painted black to match the main house, with a new storage shed, log store and chicken house extension. There is also an allotment in the garden, and the Fleet-Joneses aim to grow their own food to further reduce living costs in the future.
“We funded the build ourselves, so the budget was necessarily tight, although we did go slightly over — mainly because we realised that completing the landscaping, driveway and patio was going to be vital to fully enjoy living here,” says Jane. “There was no point building a lovely house surrounded by mud, but now we can relax and start growing plants in the garden. In many ways we’ve built a lifestyle as well as a new house.”