Self Building at Graven Hill – Nerina & Philip

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Welcome to the second in a series of interviews with other self builders, sharing some of the stories at Graven Hill.

This time I’m talking to Nerina & Philip, who have built a 4 bed home on a nice corner plot overlooking the woodland at the bottom of the hill. As one of the first to build at Graven Hill, Nerina & Philip have played a huge part in developing the community spirit here, with Philip recently taking on the Chair of the residents association.

You can listen to the interview here.

They had previously completed a renovation, giving them the confidence to try a full self build project. Once they stumbled on Graven Hill, they finally found the right opportunity to give it a shot.

With the intention to manage the internal fit-out themselves, they hired an experienced project manager to take the build from foundations to weather-tight to ensure this critical phase went as smoothly as possible. This worked out well, and despite the usual self-build challenges, successfully completed by their target of Christmas 2018.

They wanted a house to suite the local style, opting for a Cotswold stone finish. The internal layout suits the way Nerina & Philip want to live, with an open plan kitchen-diner (with larder!) leading out to a quiet garden space. One of the most pleasing features is the bedroom balcony, giving them a lovely spot for a morning coffee in the sun (or shaded respite in the afternoon!), with views over the forest.

With the build complete, attention has turned to the landscaping – making for a beautiful, peaceful corner of Graven Hill’s Westacott Road.

Info

[kleo_grid type=”3″ style=”box”][kleo_feature_item title=”Plot 91″ icon=”location”]View on Map

View Plot Passport[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Bedrooms” icon=”bed”]4[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”GIA” icon=”resize-full”]198sqm[/kleo_feature_item][/kleo_grid][kleo_grid type=”3″ style=”box”][kleo_feature_item title=”Design & Planning” icon=”pencil-1″ icon_position=”center”]

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Floor Plans/Elevations

Finished House

Build Progress

Highlights

[kleo_grid type=”3″ style=”box”][kleo_feature_item title=”Budget” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=541″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”It’s really important to write a good budget – it gives you sanity in the middle of the project when the money is going out really fast!”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Contingency” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=619″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”Always have a good contingency – it’s not just for things that go wrong, it’s for things you hadn’t thought of”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Know Your Limits” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=836″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”It’s important to know your own limitations…which is why we took on a project manager up to the watertight stage”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Managing the Build” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=3776″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”Get yourself a personal recommendation of a good project manager and employ local trades”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Energy Costs” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=1677″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”We paid for extra Insulation…it’s the best investment to save future energy costs…”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Services” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=1935″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”Take the option to get the service ducts installed with the Golden Brick”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Things Go Wrong…” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=2215″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”Things to go wrong – and you have to accept that…”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”The Balcony…” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=2779″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”If it hadn’t been for us , just keeping going, pursuing it…we wouldn’t have got there”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Moving In” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=2852″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”We hoped to be in by the winter…and we were…just!”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Favourite Feature” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=3152″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”One of my favourite features about the kitchen is we had a larder built in…that’s wonderful!”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Mistakes Can be Made…” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=3613″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”Check the foundations and Golden Brick are exactly what you require before the frame is delivered…mistakes can be made”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Life at Graven Hill” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=3736″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”I love living here”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Life at Graven Hill” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=3607″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”it’s a marvellous little community that helps each other”[/kleo_feature_item][kleo_feature_item title=”Was it Worth It?” href=”https://youtu.be/hx3O_1SsPj0?t=3460″ target=”blank” icon=”youtube-play” icon_color=”#dd3333″]”Definitely yes!”[/kleo_feature_item][/kleo_grid]

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