“It’s one thing being shown pictures and plans but until you’ve been inside, you can’t appreciate how beautiful and structurally strong oak feels.”

Gary and Sue Hilton built their oak frame house rather unexpectedly due to a long and drawn-out planning permission process – they’ve been bowled over by the results. ‘There’s power in the timbers, like muscles of oak,’ says Gary. ‘I certainly never expected our home to turn out like this, it’s brilliant.’ The Hiltons have always renovated houses, having moved from one project to the next since they got married in the 1980s. They were going through the process of building their first house when a plot they had really wanted to buy suddenly came back on the market. Gary, who was about to retire from the police service, decided to put in an offer again.

‘We really loved this plot, it was much bigger – around a quarter of an acre – and we liked the location adjoining farmland,’ Gary explains. ‘There were two derelict houses on the land, which had been built in the sixties for workers at the nearby glass factory. We worked out we could finish the first house and have somewhere to live while we built the second one.’ The greenbelt plot was also within a conservation area and had no planning permission. However, Gary and Sue weren’t overly worried as historically consent had been given (but expired) to build a pair of houses. At first, they thought they’d do the same, thinking they’d sell one and keep the other for themselves to live in. They prepared a similar design to the expired approval, sticking to a “standard” look and masonry build. But when they submitted their application, they were refused.

‘We were told we had to build the houses on the same footprint as the old properties,’ Gary explains. ‘We were taken aback, it didn’t make sense as the plot was so big, and we hired a planning consultant to see if we could turn the decision around.’ The three of them had a meeting with the planners to discuss their options. They were told a single, energy efficient, contemporary house would be looked upon more favourably. Gary and Sue re-submitted a new design – but were knocked back again. They got their local MP involved and after more conversations, the planners suggested a traditional-looking property could be the answer.

‘The whole process was extremely frustrating and confusing,’ says Gary. ‘By now, we’d already been to the Homebuilding & Renovating show and bought lots of self- build magazines, and our thoughts turned to an oak frame build. We began to investigate, rejecting companies that offered a turnkey solution because now Sue and I were both retired, we wanted to be involved with the project throughout.’ The couple visited Welsh Oak Frame. ‘We really liked that they were a small company, which felt more personal,’ says Gary. ‘We went to see one of their houses, which was a great experience. It’s one thing being shown pictures and plans but until you’ve been inside, you can’t appreciate how beautiful and structurally strong the oak feels.’

Welsh Oak Frame’s WF57 design inspired the couple who were looking for a cottage-style home with a porch, front gable dormers and a double-height large living room at the back. Sue was also very keen for a modern look within the home. ‘We didn’t want to be overwhelmed with oak as we felt that would make the house look too traditional inside,’ says Gary. ‘We were contemporary in our thinking, opting for a light touch so that the skeleton of oak is on display rather than all the ribs, which has more of a Scandinavian feel and looks amazing.’ The team showed the couple a walk-through of their design so they could make tweaks. One missing feature was an ensuite to the master bedroom, which was easily rectified by positioning above the utility room. ‘Another thing that sticks in my mind is the opening onto our bedroom balcony,’ Gary adds. ‘We started out with one door, but we were able to have double doors and glass all around, it’s brilliant.’

Gary and Sue went back to planning with their design, but things still weren’t straightforward. The local authority had changed the land classification to brownfield and now didn’t want the derelict dwellings to be redeveloped. The dispute became a legal issue resulting in the couple seeking planning advice from a barrister. In the end, the legal argument became 85% in the couple’s favour because of the historically approved planning consent. After four years of wrangling, Gary and Sue finally had permission to go ahead with the build – albeit with twelve conditions to fulfil before demolition could begin.

Gary took on the project management, drawing on his experience from working in the police. He hired local trades and used local companies so he could have face to face conversations and build up good relationships. With a focus on energy efficiency, the oak frame sits on an insulated polystyrene concrete slab, infilled with cement with structural insulated panels (SIPs), and heated by a ground source heat pump. ‘I was careful to co-ordinate Future Foundations, SIP.co.uk and Welsh Oak Frame to make sure these three key elements slotted in with one another both in the engineering and timeline,’ Gary explains. ‘Afterwards, I erected the SIPs with a local joiner and SIPs erector who’d recently gone self-employed.’

During the build, the project caused quite a stir with local people stopping to ask how progress was going. ‘We live along a popular cycle route and one day we had a group of cyclists ask to look around,’ says Gary. ‘It’s good to know we’ve added something special to the local vernacular that the community seem to appreciate.’

The four-bedroom house took 18 months to complete and is finished in a mix of oak cladding, local handmade bricks, and render. There’s underfloor heating on both floors, but on cooler days in the changing seasons, Gary lights the woodburner instead. ‘We’ve got a lot of wood on our land and the heat circulates around the house very quickly,’ he says. ‘SIPs construction is brilliant. The house is warm in winter and cool in summer, everyone self-building should use them if they can.’

Outside, the garden faces south with fields beyond, which the couple particularly enjoy from their bedroom balcony. There’s an outdoor bar, gym room, hot tub, and along with the large double-height living room, make the house ideal for the couple and their visiting family. ‘We knew our home was going to be good, but we didn’t expect it to be this good,’ says Gary. ‘We know the whole building inside and out and we’re proud of what we’ve achieved. This is a fantastic house project to end on, we don’t need to move again.’