52 homebuilding.co.uk
A
lan and Lucy Brown’s new self-built family
home, just off the Fife coastal path with
spectacular views of the Forth Bridges in
Scotland, emerged out of a design and build journey
involving a wee bit of serendipity and luck at the
outset and a huge amount of personal commitment
throughout the duration of the build (which was
documented for Channel 4’s Building the Dream).
The result is the Glasshouse, a contemporary, light-
filled villa that the Browns emphatically describe as
their “forever family home”.
The couple, who have both lived in the Dalgety
Bay area for most of their lives, spotted a 0.3-acre
plot overlooking the River Forth quite by chance a
few years ago. “We were out walking the dog one day
and saw that this gap site was for sale. We saw it on
the Saturday, called the seller on the Monday and put
in our bid the following Wednesday, which was the
closing date,” they explain. “There was no planning
permission in place but we put in an unconditional
offer. Our lucky number is 13, so we went over the
guide price of £20,000 by around 50 per cent and
bid £31,313.13 — and our offer was accepted!”
The couple approached Dundee-based architects
Andrew Black Design to help them create a design
and to help them navigate their way through
planning. “We had a wishlist — the main thing being
that every room would have a view,” says Alan.
“Initially the architect came back with some designsfor a three-storey house, which the planners were
happy with. Internally it was great but we decided
to go back to the drawing board to create a more
streamlined external design. We eventually settled
on a much simpler plan for a two-storey house. The
planning department was very supportive.”Sharing the project management
The project began on site in April 2015, with friend
Marc Hendry of Dalgety Joiners working with Alan
and Lucy as main contractor. “We had to sell our
house to release the equity to take on the build, and
during the project we moved in with my mother-in-
law and father-in-law who live nearby,” says Alan.
“I was on site every day and shared the project
management with Marc of Dalgety Joiners,”
explains Alan. “Marc took the responsibility of the
build and subcontracting many of the trades. I did a
lot of research into the technical side of things such
as the mechanical ventilation with heat recovery
system and all the lighting, as well as sourcing all the
windows and flooring. I’d choose the products and
Marc would let me know how much was left in the
budget — we would discuss every last detail. I’d walk
around and just look at what was going on, which
meant that I could pick up anything, and make any
changes there and then.”
And Alan admits that there were a few tweaks
made to the timber-framed house during the build,We really
stretched
ourselves
with this
build but
we could
honestly say
we wouldn’t
change a
thing