REAL PROJECT SELF-BUILD
Having found their dream location, Beth and Oly Perkin wanted a detached house, but could only afford a semi —so they cut the building in half
HOMEOWNERS Beth and Oly Perkin
LOCATION Bath
PROJECT New-build four-bedroom home
CONSTRUCTION Timber frame, with larch cladding and aluminium double glazing
BUILD ROUTE Main contractor, project managed by John Turner from Bath Heritage Building, with help from Oly
BUILD TIME 15 months (including garage and front garden landscaping)
BUILD COST £2,153sq m (including landscaping)
WORDS Alexandra Pratt
PHOTOGRAPHY Adam Carter
Beth and Oly Perkin viewed over 40 properties and made offers on eight, but they had always missed out —that is, until they saw a semi-detached bungalow on a large plot. As a deceased estate, the building needed attention, but it was under budget and the semi-rural, wooded setting won the young couple over immediately.
“It was very tucked away, very hidden,” says Beth. “Yet the bungalow was just a 15-minute walk from the centre of Bath. We knew it was an opportunity we wouldn’t get again.”
An additional twist was that the adjoining bungalow was also available, but the pair couldn’t afford both properties. “We needed someone to buy the other half,” says Beth. Initially, Beth and Oly thought to develop the property in tandem with whoever their new neighbours would turn out to be, but the stars aligned when Beth was walking in a nearby park and recognised another couple from previous viewings. Knowing they were also former acquaintances of Oly’s, Beth approached them. Unbelievably, the couple agreed to buy the other bungalow. “It was sheer fluke,” says Oly. “There were lots of ways it could have fallen through.”
During an extended purchase period, while they waited for probate to be granted, Beth and Oly explored different options for the bungalow and completed a pre-planning application to the local council, which was favourable. “Although we’d originally planned to renovate together with our new neighbours, as different ideas and preferences emerged, they decided, amicably, to take their own routes forward,” says Beth.
DRAWN-OUT PLANNING PROCESS
With the purchase completed, Beth and Oly moved into their bungalow, in the hope of experiencing asmooth planning process. “There was no carpet in there, no kitchen sink and no heating,” recalls Beth. Despite all that, this period proved useful, as they familiarised themselves with the building, its aspects and the best views. The property is located next to woodland on the edge of aconservation area in this UNESCO World Heritage City. This experience of living in such aspecial place only cemented Beth and Oly’s commitment to the project.
