SelfBuild & Design - June issue 2004 - page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Converting the outbuilding

With the main house completed, work began on the coe which was in a pretty bad way and required a complete rebuild. A tree was growing out from one of the gable ends. Two beams ran along the entire length of the roof, but these had fallen and rotted when the roof collapsed and had to be replaced.

"A farmer was taking down a barn nearby, and offered us the timbers in return for help in taking down the roof," says Matt. "They were four and a half metres long, and they were simply tree trunks with the branches cut off. There were just two of us working there on the day, and I used two pulleys, raising them a bit, and sticking a breeze block under it, and so on."

Between the two buildings is a glass atrium. Choices were limited when deciding on ways of connecting the two buildings. Matt originally wanted glass sides with a tiled roof. The planners, however, had other ideas. With it being an engine house and a miners' coe, and the only one of its kind 'standing' in Derbyshire, the distinction between the two buildings had to be preserved. Matt opted for a glass roof - and the decision really paid off.

Interior

A galleried landing was included in the design, which, in the first instance, wasn't going to be there. Without it, the room was 17ft high, which is hard to heat, and would benefit from a bigger floor area than was available, to maximise its potential. "I put a mezzanine floor in, which ended up being twice as big as was originally intended, but that meant that an extra bathroom could be squeezed in beneath the landing. A four bedroom house with no en-suites meant that an extra bathroom was essential."

Several tiers of stone were buried underneath the ground level, which had been used to support the winding engine. These blocks of stone were dug up and used to restore the lintels, sills, steps, windows and doorways in the coe, the smaller building that was to house the kitchen and dining room. This saved money, and provided authentic sills and lintels.

Installing a staircase should be simple. As Matt was to discover though, even the straightforward things can go wrong. First, it was designed by a joiner who went bankrupt a couple of weeks prior to delivery. Second attempt was a straightforward staircase with MDF treads, kited at the bottom. But this also was not to be. "In the end, I decided to build the stairs out of breeze blocks. I was wasting time waiting around. This worked perfectly. Alan built them and made a really good job. They're incredibly sturdy."