An Extension
- Owner: Wyn & Lesley Jones
- Location: Powys
- Property Size: 1870sqft
- Build Time: 6 months
When Wyn and Lesley Jones saw the frame of their new extension rising out of the ground, it was a rewarding moment after two years of planning.
But it was a surprising moment for local friends, says Lesley. “We were new to the area when we bought the house and people couldn’t understand why an extension was taking so long – until they saw the size of the frame!”
The ‘extension’ is in fact a t-shaped, three-bay oak frame that gives the family an extra 1870sqft of living space. The idea came about in 2004 when the couple saw a house that had originally been a pair of semi-detached houses. A previous owner had attempted to knock them into one with a doorway upstairs, but there were still two staircases and the layout was all wrong, facing away from the views.
"It was christened the 'vile house' when my mother-in-law first saw it. But we knew it had great potential so we bought it and applied for planning to create a house we really wanted."
The project was big: the original property was gutted leaving only the brick walls standing, and one-third of it was turned into self-contained, two-bedroom accommodation, which they now let. The rest of the renovated house would be theirs, along with the large extension linking the old with the new.
A local architect specialising in oak frame builds drew-up the plans from their design ideas, as at this stage the couple weren’t sure who was going to build the extension. The planners accepted their application in early 2004 and then Wyn and Lesley spent a couple of years doing the renovations. Since Wyn works in property he knew of some oak frame building firms and got three quotes.
"We looked at price and reputation and on balance we decided Welsh Oak Frame was the best. We also liked that they were local."
In October 2006 Welsh Oak Frame literally brought their plans to life by providing a computer-generated walk-through of the design to help visualise how the extension would finally look. Lesley says Co-Director Paul helped them resolve a design issue in the boys’ bedroom by suggesting a mezzanine floor above half of the room, which is accessed via a ladder.
The oak frame went up over nine days in the autumn of 2006. The couple then continued project managing the rest of the build until it was finished the following summer.
The extension now contains the kitchen, sitting-room and hallway; above, two bedrooms surround a galleried landing which incorporates a study area. The other rooms remain in the original house but the flow is seamless between the two. Outside, the two buildings merge together with matching roof slates and oak soffits. Marrying the colour of the façades was a little more complicated so Paul suggested they use a Southampton sand render and take the plaster to a paint shop to colour match it.
Wyn and Lesley are extremely pleased with the way the extension has blended into their existing home and the surrounding area.
“I love the solid chunks of wood as they have so much character,” says Lesley. “But the oak frame has also given us the chance to have contemporary features like the glass ‘wall’ on the southern gable end, and modern conveniences like high levels of insulation and underfloor heating.”
