The contemporary home

As you approach the front of Provost House in the pretty village of Church Fenton in North Yorkshire, the traditional barn-bricked building and gravelled exterior is inviting. Inside, the high-end contemporary finish is striking.

It’s everything James Mason and his wife Rachael had dreamed of when they decided to build their ‘forever’ home in 2015 – a place where their family could grow and flourish until they reached retirement.

Their self-build journey kicked off after a casual conversation with a work colleague led James to discover a plot of land was for sale.

It had our name written all over it, he recalls.

James reflects: “It was a plot with so much potential. I thought to myself ‘I can do this, I can tile and I know how to do plasterboard’. I’d spent £400 on a tiling course about seven years ago so I knew that would come in handy. I’ve always enjoyed getting those DIY jobs done so knew I possessed skills which could save us money. I wanted to prove to myself that I could build my own house.

“I don’t want to live on a street where all the houses are the same. I liked the thought of designing my own bespoke home. We knew what we wanted from our home and we appointed an architect from the outset to bring this to life.”

He adds: “The plan was to complete the build in six months but in reality it took just over seven months which is not too bad at all.

“There was a sense of pressure to get the build finished in the shortest time possible as we were stretched – we were in rented accommodation and could not exceed the six-month build time we had allowed for. As the self-build progressed our mortgage was rising and delays would cost us £1,000 plus fees. Our self-build mortgage was released in stages so we had to think carefully about how our money was spent. We always had this in the back of our mind and this is why you have stay on top of the contractors and actively manage them.”

Building blocks

In order to complete on time, James decided to appoint a contractor and a number of tradespeople to lay the brickwork, erect the roof and install the plumbing and gas. A family friend rewired the house at “mates’ rates”, saving the couple a whopping £5,000.

James says: “We invited a builder to quote on prices before deciding to appoint a contractor. Our budget was £150,000. We never committed to an amount per room. Instead, we kept a fixed budget overall and allocated money to bathrooms and kitchen as a higher priority. We made changes as we went along and were clever at when and how we purchased our materials. For example: we found that not as many people buy kitchens around Christmas time as they have more pressing priorities so we used this to our advantage and found ourselves a good deal.

“I really must say that researching trades is one of the most important parts of the project. Getting recommended people really takes a lot of the worry about who you award the work to. Get quotes for the job as a whole, not price per hour. They main thing that sticks with me is the planning process - be in control, know what you want and hold contractors to task.”

James, an assistant shift manager with Saint-Gobain Glass, called upon his work colleagues and contacts for advice and recommendations. He also used a number of Saint-Gobain products in his self-build.

The walls in the whole house are finished in Gyproc Habito plasterboard, an alternative to standard plasterboard which can support up to 15kg with a single number 10 woodscrew. It has a reinforced core which removes the need for drills and specialist fixings, which means you screw directly into the wall with just a screwdriver.

Celotex insulation was used in all of the flooring to help to reduce energy spend. The floor tiles in the kitchen were sourced from CTD, the bathroom suites from Graham and wood for fencing and the internal structure was supplied by Jewson.

“We now have under floor heating which is great as we have tiled the whole of the ground floor, which is helpful as we own a dog so it’s easier to clean as well as retaining heat and energy.

It’s all about being organised, explains James. “We even sourced the barn bricks used for our exterior way in advance. We knew there was a 12-week lead time so we really didn’t want this to hold us up.”

Flooded with delays

But no matter how methodical you are, some things like planning permission or the weather are simply out of your control - as the couple discovered.

James explains: “We had already bought tradition blue slates for our roof – we knew exactly what we wanted. We planned on a traditional brick with mock sash windows and blue slate for the roof. But we had to fight with the council to get our blue slate roof as they initially refused this. It had to match the surrounding properties. We eventually managed to jump through the council loopholes.”

“The floods meant that the fields surrounding the build were inaccessible so our builder and suppliers couldn’t reach the site to finish work,” adds James.

“Huge delays with the weather put the brakes on the project – losing us a precious three weeks. This was a low point as we had absolute no control over the build.

“Another low moment was carrying the bath upstairs and damaging my knee which I’d already had surgery on. The plan was for me to finish all the tiling downstairs – the one trade I could really get my teeth into – but I couldn’t kneel down so we ended up employing a tiler.”

Kitchen sink drama

Changing your mind halfway through your project is a lesson learned for James.

“We had to make adjustment throughout the build as we could see how things were taking shape. It is all about trial and error.

“One of the issues we faced was in the kitchen. We wanted to change the position of the sink. Unfortunately, we had already laid the water pipes so the stopcock now sits in a cupboard, which is not ideal as we have lost the space and it’s not under the sink.”

There’s no place like home

In June 2016, the family moved into their unfinished property.

James remembers: “The kitchen was not functioning, there were dusty floors with no carpets and we had one bath fitted so we filled that with boiled water from the kettle. You can just imagine the stress levels with two adults, three children, a dog and a hamster!”

After another few months of hard graft lay ahead for the family as James worked tirelessly to paint the whole house, finish plumbing and install the bathrooms before it finally began to feel like they were home.

The result is a light, modern five-bedroom block and build perfect for the Mason family.

He adds: “The 25ft kitchen and living space is the hub of our family life so that is where we put the most investment. We did save in places – for example - the white gloss kitchen with a grey island and black quartz tiles saved ourselves £1,800. However, we did go £7,000 over our original budget but we don’t regret it as we wanted those ‘extras’ – the high spec finish in the kitchen and the underfloor heating.

The aluminium bifold doors overlooking the garden remain James’ favourite feature in the build. He says: “We absolutely love the doors and the way light floods into the open plan kitchen and dining area. We were advised against UVPC doors so we opted for aluminium for its strength. We wouldn’t change a thing there.”

The property has achieved a high energy efficiency rating thanks to James’ research into how and where a house loses energy.

He explains: “I saw a diagram which showed where and how much heating you lose in your home so this helped me to plan where I insulated my home. I also spent time sealing around doors, floors, walls with my mastic gun as I know the air test would be coming at the end.”

The master bedroom features three Velux windows to the front and two to the rear and plenty of storage. The 45 sq foot landscaped gardens features a patio area and a garage with electric roll over door.

“I’d do it again”

Despite the ups and downs, James and his family are delighted with their home.

“Of course there are lessons we have learned along the way – it’s just the nature of design and building your own home. For example, we would never have known how our house would ‘sound’. We tiled the whole of the ground floor and removed our utility room as my wife Rachael thought it would be a dumping ground for rubbish. So, we pushed ahead with an open plan space which has resulted in an echo across the tiled floor. Open plan living has its downsides – when someone is boiling the kettle while you are watching a film in the living room it’s just annoying. These are all small details I wish I had known but you live and learn.”

Finishing line

The project may have had its fair share of challenges, surprises and glitches but James remains determined to embark on another self-build project in the near future.

“We did plan our forever home but we never thought we would complete it to this standard – it was better than we could have ever imagined.

“Placing that first brick was a fantastic feeling and seeing the shell complete was amazing. We are just so proud of what we achieved. When people visited they couldn’t believe what we had done and how well it was finished.

What next for this eager self-builder?

“I am aiming to build a similar size house – hopefully in the same village but I want to use some really innovative products and techniques to create a house with cleaner air and brilliant acoustics,” James ends. “I can’t wait to do it all again! Watch this space.”

James’s top tips for self-builders:

• Plan, plan, plan.
• Do not avoid the services of an architect as it could return to haunt you.
• Avoid making changes to the plans during the build.
• When you appoint a builder, turn up to his current work unannounced and ask his current client how things are progressing.
• Do ask your builder or tradesperson for a breakdown of costs.
• Stick to your budget, get fixed prices and shop around. (keep all receipts in a file for the VAT claim at the end of the project)