KEY SUPPLIERS
DESIGNER Alan Williams and JW Bespoke: www.jwbespoke.co.uk
DEMOLITION Wenman Demolition: www.wenmandemolition.co.uk SCAFFOLD Absolute Scaffold: www.absolutescaffold.co.uk
ROOF TILER Matt Lloyd Roofing: matt.lloyd25@yahoo.co.uk
CARPENTER (joists and trusses) Shergold & Stewart: shergoldandstewart.co.uk PLASTERBOARD AND PLASTERING
RS Dryling: www.rsgroupltd.co.uk BRICKS Brickability: www.brickability.co.uk
BLOCKS Keyline: www.keyline.co.uk KNAPPED FLINT
Milestone: www.milestone.co.uk JOISTS AND TRUSSES
Triad Timber: www.triadtimber.co.uk WINDOWS AND EXTERIOR DOORS
Munster Joinery: www.musterjoinery.co.uk CERAMIC TILES
Porcelanosa: www.porcelanosa.com
KITCHEN Christchurch Handmade Kitchens: www.handmadekitchens-direct.co.uk STAIRS AND APRON LININGS
Colin Mackiewicz Welding/fabrication: www.colinmack.co.uk
myself, using a NHBC handbook and following their guidelines on soil, trees and so on. And rather than laying and raking the concrete round by hand I spent £350 and used a concrete pump and that was it: by dinnertime it was all done. It was the best thing I ever did and now I wouldn’t do it any other way.
How did you manage to build the house for just £150,000?
It’s like anything: simplicity works.you can spend a fortune on a house if you let it get out of hand, and then all of a sudden all of your money is gone.
We lived in a mobile home on site during the build and haggled hard for materials as there is a big mark-up. Plus, I am a site manager in the trade so we saved by going straight to the supplier for things [a £10,000 quote for lintels was reduced to £2,000].
I also had a good idea of what I was doing and I did most of the work myself. I designed the stairs and paid just £900 for them to be made, I did most of the first and second fix, and most of the tiling. I even installed the sewerage treatment plant, which was surprisingly easy. The only things I didn’t do were the electrics, plumbing, roofing and plastering. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone does their own plastering — it looks so easy but it just isn’t! I was going to do the roofing, but I got a roofer in instead, and I remember coming home in the cold and dark and being so glad that I had.
You were planning to use bricklayers, then did it yourself. Why was that?
I’d designed the barn using brick and block, so I got quotes in from bricklayers.when they came back, I looked at them and thought: I can’t pay that price, I will do it myself instead. I am not a bricklayer but I worked nights and Saturdays to do almost all the brick and block work — I chose a Flemish bond which took a lot of sketches and head scratching.