House the Heathers call home
Liz and Bill can see across the village green and down the main street beyond from their first floor sitting room
Liz and Bill Heather had extended their Sixties bungalow in Claxton, near York, as far as they could, so when they wanted more room for family get-togethers they thought the next step was to move house.
Excited by the prospect of new beginnings, they started searching for a large, modern home within a 10-mile radius and soon concluded that they were better off staying where they were, knocking down the bungalow and starting all over again.
“We couldn’t find anything we liked within our price range,” said Liz. “We love living in the village and we have great friends and neighbours so we thought, why not stay put and build something to our own design for half the price?”
Both Bill and Liz had retired from the York Survey Supply Centre, which they founded, and wanted to create a house which suited their lifestyle. They wanted fewer bedrooms and more general living rooms so that every inch of space would be used.
They were also determined to bring as much glass as possible into the structure, particularly to the front of the house where they could enjoy uninterrupted views across the village green and surrounding countryside.
For two years they researched and planned, visited exhibitions and pored over the Internet, sourcing materials and piecing together their ideas until they had enough information to hand their plans to an architect.
“We decided on a timber frame-built house with a brick outer skin with ecological attributes built in,” said Bill. “It was the fastest method of building so there would be less disruption for the neighbours.”
The new house was built on the footprint of the original bungalow while Bill and Liz moved into an apartment nearby, selling anything which wasn’t useful or of sentimental value. A garage sale got rid of a huge amount, while friends and relatives took other pieces off their hands. They kept a sofa, chair and television and a few “treasures” which were put into storage.
“Some of these things are still packed away in boxes, but we couldn’t bear to throw them out,” says Liz. “We had a very clear idea of the way the new house would look and our Eighties-style furnishings just wouldn’t have worked in the new red and black scheme.”
The striking timber-frame house was designed to include eco-principles
They even sold the fixtures and fittings – including doors, windows, carpets, radiators and the alarm system – before finally demolishing the bare shell of the bungalow.
“It wasn’t at all strange to see the old house come down,” says Liz. “It was like rubbing it out and starting again. We were so excited about the new house that we didn’t have time for regrets.”
The timber frame went up in just four weeks.
“It was really exciting to watch the sections going up so quickly,” says Liz. “When we went away on holiday a friend took photographs of the progress and e-mailed them to us, so we could see the room layout and the first bricks laid.”
Bill and Liz wanted to get everything right first time so they made sure their home would be as eco-friendly as possible.
“This is where we plan to live for the rest of our lives so everything in the house is state-of-the-art with modern windows, the best insulation, eco heating and ventilation together with the latest computerised electrical equipment and lighting. We have not compromised at all; it’s certainly built for the future.”
The insulation is a combination of 50mm Kingspan and Termex cellulose fibre, a breathable material which forms a compact and draught-free insulation layer attached seamlessly to the structure. It allows water vapour in the air to filter through the breathing structures, ensuring a healthy building.
A weather compensating, water-based under-floor heating system works alongside a heat recovery and ventilation system to redistribute heat throughout the house and keep running costs to a minimum.
Liz and Bill Heather set about creating a house which suited their lifestyle
The ventilation system filters and changes the air in the house every hour, re-circulates the heat evenly to all rooms, minimises dust levels as airborne particles are drawn through a filter system, and eliminates condensation on the large glass areas. Technology has played a huge part in the build of the house, which is fitted with computerised lighting (any lights left on by accident at night can be switched off from their bedside).
“Generally speaking, Bill dealt with the build and technical issues and I oversaw the interior,” said Liz. “Once we agreed a red and black theme for the kitchen, we decided to carry that through the rest of the house. The most difficult part was visualising the size of the furniture before the walls were in place, because we wanted to have everything ready to go in as soon as the build was finished.”
But Liz and Bill’s meticulous forward planning couldn’t have prevented some of the hitches which occurred.
Just one week before their luxury spa bath was due to be delivered, they discovered the retail outlet had gone into administration.
“We had already paid for the bath so we rang the London branch who arranged for a bath to be shipped direct from the supplier,” said Liz. “We were very relieved – we could have been bathless!”
With the house finally complete, Bill and Liz didn’t want to keep their dream home to themselves. Over the last two years they have held village and private social events in their spacious house and have become accustomed to passers-by stopping on the roadside to admire the striking glass-fronted property.
“You can’t really miss it when you drive down the road,” said Liz. “One day we were sitting in the upstairs lounge when we spotted a young couple hiding behind the bushes, having a good look at the house. The glass prevents people seeing in, so they didn’t realise that Bill and I were sitting there, looking out at them!
“We don’t mind when people stop to look. No-one really gave the bungalow a second glance, but now everyone is curious to see it. It’s definitely a house for sharing.”
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