Room to grow

In need of space to accommodate their expanding family, Emma and Simon Bradford self built an open-plan oak frame home in an idyllic countryside location

WORDS KATHERINE SORRELL PHOTOS JEREMY PHILLIPS

THE BRADFORD FILE

NAMES Emma & Simon Bradford

OCCUPATIONS Local government officer & self-employed plumbing and heating engineer

LOCATION Powys

TYPE OF BUILD Self build

STYLE Traditional

CONSTRUCTION METHOD Oak frame

PLOT SIZE 1,349m2

LAND COST £80,000

BOUGHT March 2010

HOUSE SIZE 230m²

PROJECT COST £206,000

PROJECT COST PER M2 £896

TOTAL COST £286,000

BUILDING WORK COMMENCED May 2011

BUILDING WORK TOOK 18 months

CURRENT VALUE £375,000

It’s rare for first time self builders to thoroughly understand the ins and outs of creating a property from scratch, but luckily for the Bradfords, they were already very familiar with how the process generally pans out. As a plumbing and heating engineer, Simon mainly works for Border Oak – an oak frame building specialist – as does his father, who’s a builder. “They both have in-depth knowledge of oak frame projects, and it’s been a long standing dream for Simon to tackle one himself,” says Emma. “I love this style of property, too, having been shown so many over the years. I really like the character that oak brings to a home.”

Obstacles & solutions

The couple were living in a three-bed house in a small town near Presteigne, Powys, but wanted to move and raise their children in the countryside. Knowing that self building was the best route for them, they started to look around for land for sale.

It was a planning requirement that the facade should be weatherboarded, to match the look of the garage that was formerly on the site

They envisioned a large home that offered enough space for their growing family, as well as for Simon’s work, but suitable plots were few and far between. The available opportunities seemed too expensive, small or far from where they wanted to be. The perfect answer to their dilemma presented itself when Simon’s parents happened to move to a bungalow with plenty of land. Fortunately, they were happy to sell part of their plot to their son and his family.