The result is a timber-frame house clad on three sides in locally grown cedar, with the front façade covered in stones from the original cottage. With the exception of electrics and plumbing, the Joneses did all the work themselves, in their spare time after work.
“Even our children, Frankie and Drew, helped out where they could, with painting and tidying up,” said Mr Jones.
Thanks to these collaborative efforts, it cost £115,000 to build, equal to less than £58 per sq ft. It has been recently valued at £500,000, giving them a profit on paper of £160,000. On top of that, it costs an average of £30 a month to run over the year, thanks to the air-source heat pump and solar panel hot water system.
“We’re not die-hard environmentalists,” said Mr Jones. “We wanted to do our bit to keep the carbon footprint as low as possible with the budget we had.”
- The Joneses’ house won best value home at the Telegraph and Homebuilding & Renovating magazine self-build awards, which sought out the best homes built, extended and renovated by readers.