Thatch is the perfect match

A successful self-build relies on a raft of skills, but most important is the ability to multi-task. Ian and Sue Newby are supremely well organised and after selling their York-based marketing business, they also had plenty of time to devote to their first home-building project.

"We're good multi-taskers and we were lucky to have lots of time," says Ian. "We spent a year researching and then I was here every day for a year during the build, making sure everything was running smoothly."

Their project started in May 2005 after a three-year search for the perfect plot. They found the land in Scackleton, near Hovingham, through Plotfinder and it came with planning permission for a four-bedroom house.

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A developer had already built two detached houses in the 1990s on the site, which meant that their property had to blend with its neighbours. "The builder had given the other houses a thatched roof, which actually isn't uncommon round this area," says Ian. "So that's why we went for thatch. It wasn't something we'd thought about before."

Although they were experienced renovators and had done major extensions, they were novices when it came to building their own home from scratch. "We went to all the homebuilding and design shows and bought Homebuilding and Renovating magazine for inspiration," says Sue.

After seeing green oak frame specialists TJ Crump Oakwrights at a show, they decided on an oak frame construction clad with local stone. Oakwrights helped them redesign the original plans for the property to create something with more light and better suited to their lifestyle.

"We could have gone for a normal timber frame, but rather than have square box style rooms inside, the exposed oak gives the house immediate character. The wood is beautiful and although it was the more expensive option, it was well worth it," says Ian.

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After re-applying for planning permission, work started in May 2006. The foundation were laid before Oakwrights delivered the pre-manufactured oak frame and erected it in just one week. After the frame was insulated and clad, the roofer took over. The roof is thatched with water reed with a straw ridge and cost 24,000, even though Ian managed to cut the price of the raw materials by buying the reed

from Poland rather than Norfolk.

It took about six months to complete. "We managed to find a brilliant thatcher, Jonathan Botterell, who lives nearby. It took a while to do but he couldn't be here every day and we weren't rushing," says Ian. "People are a bit nervous of thatch because they think it's a fire risk, but thanks to new building regulations it is as safe as any other material. You now have built-in protection in the form of a fireproof board over the roof timbers."

While Ian was on site every day, Sue was in charge of financial control and managed to keep the budget on track. They went just 10 per cent over what they had originally planned to spend.

"The oak frame dictated the quality and we found that anything cheap degraded it, so we upped the budget. The doors, the window frames and floors are all solid oak," says Ian.

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The couple spent hours searching for materials and scheduling delivery. Paperwork was also time-consuming."You cannot over-estimate how long these jobs take, but I revelled in it. I came out of a commercial environment to something that was hands on, yet I still needed the project management skills I used in my business," says Ian. "The other thing that was very complex was the VAT. You can reclaim it on a new build, but doing so is complicated."

Working together on the project management saved the couple about

15 per cent of the total build cost.

"Sue and I are a very good team and everything went very smoothly. Project managers take up to 15 per cent of the build value, so we saved that by doing it ourselves," says Ian.

The Newbys planned the interior design together painting the walls in a neutral Farrow and Ball paint, so they wouldn't detract from the beautiful oak. They also wanted to maximise the amount of natural light, so included large windows and an airy open plan design downstairs. They now have an entrance hall, study, cloakroom, sitting room, utility and a large open plan kitchen/living/dining area on the ground floor. Upstairs there is a large master bedroom with en-suite and dressing room, three more bedrooms and a house bathroom. The floors are linked with an oak and glass staircase built by Norton Joinery and the rooms furnished with a mix of bespoke and bought furniture. Sue also had some pieces adapted. She found some bedroom furniture in Howden's and had the joiner encase the chests of drawers in solid oak and cut to fit neatly round the beams.

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The property took a year to build and now after three years in their thatched house, they have decided to sell up and move back to the city.

"We love the house and the village in the Howardian Hills but moving to the country was an experiment for us and we've realised we're city people, so we're going to move back to York," says Sue. "We'll miss the house but we're hoping to find another building plot or maybe a property we can completely remodel.

"We enjoy doing property and now we have semi-retired, it gives us a challenge and objective. It's better than sitting round watching daytime TV."

Sue and Ian's useful contacts

Groundworker: J Revely & Sons, Helperby, tel: 01423 360275.

Oak frame, softwood interior panels and roof construction:

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TJ Crump Oakwrights, Swainshill, Hereford, tel: 01432 353353, www.oakwrights.co.uk

Thatcher: Jonathan Botterell, Stillington, tel: 01347 811005.

Plotfinder: www.plotfinder.net

Joinery supplier and staircase manufacturer: Norton Joinery Limited, Malton, tel: 01653 692377.

Plumbing supplies: Watermark Plumbing Supplies, Malton,

tel: 01653 696433

Landscaping contractor: Andy Guest, York, tel: 01904 706421.

Plastering: Jonathan Horne Plastering, Welburn, tel: 01653 618503.

Oaktree House is for sale with Carter Jonas, York, for 695,000, tel: 01904 558200, www.carterjonas.co.uk

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