Projects squeezing all the value out of a tight budget
WORDS EMILY BROOKS
Build costs have risen sharply in the past few years, with both material and labour prices affected, plus ongoing supply-chain issues having a knock-on effect on budgets. Add to that higher mortgage rates and the cost-of-living skyrocketing, and those looking to take on a major project might find themselves wanting to tear up their spreadsheets and forget the whole thing. There have always been clever ways to save, but they have become more relevant than ever, whether that means working with standard methods and materials or getting hands-on yourself.
1 ENGINEERED TIMBER DESIGN
The owner of this house on the island of Tromøy, Norway, was looking at a standard design before practice Section Plan Elevation Extrusion Diagram (Speed) suggested something bespoke for a similar budget of around £275,000 in 2021. The 142sqm, three-bedroom home is all on one level and of cross-laminated timber (CLT) construction.
Inside, the timber walls and ceilings are exposed, as is the concrete floor, thereby avoiding the cost of any covering materials. The pressure-treated pine exterior cladding will grey over time to match the aluminium roofing and the window frames, while the carport is topped with glass-fibre panels, which are more usually a feature of agricultural buildings. (speed.archi)
2 SIDE INFILL SELF-BUILD
Rick and Hannah O’Shea built a new home on a 3.9m-wide plot at the side of their Victorian end-of-terrace house in Peckham, south London. By practice Whittaker Parsons, their two-bedroom self-build has three storeys, one of which is below ground.
Featuring expansive amounts of glazing and some high-beamed ceilings, the house feels bigger than its 88sqm. Traditional brick and block cavity walls with timber stud internal walls, floors and roof enabled the couple to meet a £350,000 build budget in 2022.
The decision to team off-the-shelf kitchen carcasses with a bespoke bamboo worksurface and doors also helped to keep their costs low. (whittakerparsons.com)
3 VILLAGE HOME UPGRADE
Extending and remodelling a two-storey, four-bedroom house in the village of Knebworth, Hertfordshire, cost £350,000 and added 176sqm to the original floorplan. The budget delivered a new kitchen and home office, a utility room and a training room with en-suite shower, plus a dramatic double-height atrium.
The scheme features bespoke oak joinery, exposed timber ceilings and solid oak-framed
