A fortuitous conversation with a sustainability expert encouraged Susanna Geoghegan to go back to the drawing board on her build. The result is a Passivhaus with a pleasing traditional look

WORDS JANE CRITTENDEN PHOTOS ALISTAIR NICHOLLS

FACT FILE

NAME Susanna Geoghegan

OCCUPATION Book publisher

LOCATION Hampshire

TYPE OF PROJECT Self build

STYLE Traditional chalet bungalow

CONSTRUCTION METHOD Timber frame

PROJECT ROUTE Architect designed, homeowner project managed & hired main contractor, plus individual trades

PROPERTY COST £445,000

BOUGHT 2013

HOUSE SIZE 201m²

PROJECT COST £453,000

PROJECT COST PER M2 £2,254

TOTAL COST £898,000

BUILDING WORK COMMENCED April 2017

BUILDING WORK TOOK Nine months

CURRENT VALUE £900,000

The high-performance Internorm triple-glazed windows are inward opening, tilt-and-turn units with insulated low-maintenance aluminium frames

Susanna Geoghegan spent 20 years determinedly making her way through a variety of renovation projects until she could afford to create her own home from scratch. So, when the moment finally arrived and she had planning permission for a self build in her hand, Susanna surprised herself by totally re-evaluating her style aspirations for the new abode.

“A sustainable design consultant, David Strong, purchased the bungalow next door to me and had plans to build an energy efficient property there, with excellent eco credentials,” says Susanna. “We spoke at length and what he said made great sense. I soon decided that this was the kind of project I wanted to do, too.”

Sustainable aspirations

Susanna put the brakes on her scheme. The concept of living in an ultra energy efficient home was a good fit with her long-term retirement plan, plus her objective to build a future-proof forever property, designed for any medical or ageing eventuality. “I’m an only child and don’t have children of my own, so I needed a house that would be able to accommodate live-in carers, should I require them,” she says. “I also wanted it to be wheelchair-friendly. And the idea of having low, or virtually no, energy bills really appealed to me.”

At the start of her self build journey, Susanna had been very methodical in her search for a plot. She looked throughout the whole of southern England for a town with pretty, rural outskirts and accessible amenities so that she wouldn’t have to rely on using a car. Eventually she settled on two potential locations: Wendover, close to where she lived, and another village near Winchester. “I spent a year looking in both places,” she says. “I wanted a site with beautiful views to the front and back, plus a modest garden that I could manage as I got older.” Eventually Susanna came across an extended 1960s bungalow in Wendover. “It had zero charm but its location on the edge of town sold it to me.”