TUDOR? NO, OUR NEW ECO-HOME CAME OFF THE BACK OF A LORRY
CONNIE MINTON, 43, a doctor, and her husband Drew, 44, a company director, live in Purley, surrey, in a pre-fabricated, five-bedroom detached house with their sons Dex, ten, and max, six. she says:
OUR prefab is a slice of Scandinavian luxury in Surrey, thanks to our fabulous sauna and the kiln-dried polar spruce timber from which our home is constructed.
When I turn my key in the door, I’m greeted by the wonderful smell of pine. It just envelops you.
And concealed beneath all this lovely wood is super high-tech advanced internet cabling, easily installed into the structure.
More people should live in a prefab like ours. It’s been life-changing for our whole family.
Three years ago, we were living in a cramped, rented flat in Clapham, South London, which was hardly the ideal environment to raise our sons. But it was just impossible to get on the property ladder.
Fortunately, we came across a plot of land for sale in Surrey, which already had planning permission in place.
However, we didn’t want to build our home in the traditional manner — it’s too risky and stressful — so we plumped for a prefab.
My family is German, which is home to many prefab companies catering for all budgets, so I was familiar with the concept.
There’s so many it’s like you’re choosing between
Ford, Volkswagen and Jaguar. There’s a prefab that’s right for everyone.
We chose to build ours with Stommel haus, who specialise in luxury eco-houses. As we were building in a conservation area, we had to ensure we adhered to local regulations, which is why it’s Tudor-style on the outside.
The house arrived on two lorries in February 2013. In a few hours, the sides were up. Ten days later, it was windproof and watertight and, four months after that, the interior was finished.
It was all very efficient. In June 2013, we moved in.
The house alone cost £380,000 — and it’s worth every penny. It’s spacious and supercosy inside.
now we’re in, we’re here for life. The whole family loves it.