Wirral

How do you turn your small ‘60s dormer bungalow into a generous 21st century piece of slick architecture for just £175k? Stuart and Rosie from the Wirral are brave enough to give it a try. Their plan is to dramatically decapitate their bungalow, cutting the roof off to leave just the walls, then balance a big new floating timber box on top to create 5 bedrooms for them, their two children and guests.

 

Their plan to keep costs down is equally extreme – they’ll have contractors build the new box structure, then Stuart and Rosie will take over. They’ll do plumbing and electrics themselves, then move in with the kids while they complete the interior. They’ll spend as little as they can on insulation and leave elements of the building unfinished, expose the ceiling joists and not cover the bare blockwork walls.

 

The hope is to both save money and get a stylish industrial look in the process, but right from the start the extra detailing work required to get the ‘unfinished’ look is in danger of proving a false economy. Then the stress levels really increase when the rough-and-ready unsanded cladding on the outside of the building goes on – and the neighbours begin to grumble about the ultra-modern wooden box going up in the middle of their traditional suburban area...