Upstairs, Downstairs

The Secret Acre - a bungalow no more!

The Secret Acre – a bungalow no more!

When we found The Secret Acre the original 1930s bungalow on site was in need of modernisation.

Our plans for an eco-makeover included creating upstairs space for two bedrooms and a bathroom.

So it was a special moment for us when the new staircase went in. A bungalow no more!

And Emma and I no longer have to sway precariously up and down ladders to measure up upstairs.

 

One Month In: our eco-makeover

The new concrete base in the old house is in, ready for insulation and underfloor heating.

The new concrete base in the old house is in, ready for insulation and underfloor heating.

It started at Easter, with the roof coming off first. So naturally I was predicting a biblical deluge all month long from that moment. Miraculously instead we have enjoyed a month of nearly continuous blue skies and summer like heat.

Our main contractor Stevenson Building Contractors Ltd have made amazing progress in just a few weeks. We chose Stevenson because everyone in the area recommended them, plus they have a lot of experience installing the whole range of eco-measures in big Cotswold retrofit projects. Continue reading

Pole Dancing

Pole Goes Down 2015Legal searches at The Secret Acre revealed that we receive the princely sum of £1 per annum ground rent for the electricity pole in the garden.

But the wire off it that delivered our mains electricity looked like it would be dangerously within reach of small children once the dormer was built. More importantly the pole was slap bang in the middle of the proposed foundations for the timber frame extension. It would have to go. Continue reading