In the end the house is larger and more attractive than the original and
causes some visitors to do a double-take.
“People who saw the house as it used to be and didn’t know about the work and
then returned to the street believe it is a completely different property
that’s been put up in its place. It’s quite fun explaining what’s happened,”
she says.
Probyn had no experience of major work on houses before, but thanks to the
property market slowdown, her idea is now being adopted by several other
creative buyers.
“With building plots not readily available to build your own home, and fewer
people buying, selling and moving, this trend has become far more popular as
people try to get the home they really want,” says Graham Riley of Freeland
Rees Roberts Architects, a Cambridge practice which has undertaken several
house transformations, including Karren Probyn’s.
Riley’s approach, also adopted by other architects, gives owners two options.
Firstly they can leave the original house intact and simply change its
appearance by having new facades and sometimes a new roof. Secondly, they
could initially extend the property in the traditional manner and then have
the new cladding put on the enlarged house.
He says the approach is not right for every property – it works best on
detached homes but looks distinctly odd on a single house in the middle of a
terrace, and is obviously outlawed in most conservation areas and on all
listed buildings. But even if you have a detached property that fits the
bill, such a project is not for the faint-hearted nor the small-budgeted.
Should you do no more than put what Riley calls that “big cladding overcoat”
on a home with new facades on all sides, it could cost a cool £50,000 to
£100,000 and take some months to complete, he warns. This would include the
cladding and new doors and windows to finish the visual transformation.
But any expansion of living space by converting the loft, digging a basement
or adding extra rooms in ground floor or multi-storey extensions would cost
extra – although there would be some cash benefits, too, when the expanded
house gets its external facelift.
In addition to a smart new look, you would sharply cut fuel bills as the
“overcoat” typically includes 150-200mm (6-8in) of insulation between the
original outer walls and the new cladding, making the home warmer and more
energy efficient without losing interior space.
Another transformational home owner is Sarah Pepworth, an interior designer
who bought a bungalow on the outskirts of Bristol but immediately knew that
it could be so much more.
“It had been owned by an elderly couple for a long time and had a little
kitchen with long, dark corridors. I wanted it to have a real wow factor so
took the roof off, built up the walls and fitted a big glass frontage. Now
it’s got views over the two Severn Bridges,” she says.
She retained the original bungalow but Church Path Cottage has become a
five-bedroom detached house. It even has its own gym, stables and viewing
deck.
Sarah is now selling (£895,000 through Savills, 0117 933 5800; savills.com)
but says she may do another transformation in future.
“The old bungalow was in a perfect place, down a country lane with lovely
views. But the original property simply didn’t do justice to the plot,” says
Pepworth.
“Now, at last, there’s a home that’s worthy of its location.”