Selfbuilder & Homemaker – July – August 2019

• High slip resistance (R11C) & load bearing
  V • Support system enabling a ‘floating’ floor installation over
  d • Ideal for balconies, roof terraces, garden decks and piazzas

Clare. “We were living in a caravan on site, and
doing a lot of the work ourselves, so we didn’t
want it to drag on longer than necessary. In
some ways it did us a favour, because the new
design is more traditional and will probably be
easier to sell, if and when we eventually move.
We were quite pragmatic about it.”
While they were waiting for the green light,
Clare and Mark continued with the demolition,

hiring a crusher to grind all the old bricks and

stone into rubble which went into levelling the

ground ready for the foundations.

All the interior walls of the original cottage

were stripped back to the original stone and

the roof – what was left of it – was removed.

“A lot of the roof tiles had come off and we

didn’t know what damage had been caused to

the old timbers, so we played it safe and had

the whole lot taken off and the building

reroofed,” says Mark. “By the time we had

stripped everything out there were just three

stone walls left standing. It was virtually a full

rebuild.”

The new SIPs structure was supplied and

built by the Shire Timber Group, during which

time the older part of the building was rewired

and replumbed. The old portion was then

plastered using a special lime and hemp mix to

allow the old stone walls to breathe and

prevent damp.

“The most challenging aspect of this was

blending the old style plaster to the new

plasterboard walls of the new extension,” says

Mark. He adds: “We didn’t want to hide the

fact that the house is in two parts – the old

section and the new build – but achieving a

The project ground HIGH POINT

to a halt –one of the

restrictive covenants

in the deeds decreed

that the estate had

to rubber stamp the

design, which they

refused to do

“For a few weeks after

we moved in we would

come home, sit

together in the kitchen

area and just marvel at

the fact that we had

finally done it.”

–Mark & Clare Gittins

24www.sbhonline.co.uk july/august 2019