By the time they’d agreed on a designfor extending their new home, Markand Jane Dolan had already beenliving in the house for almost twoyears. During this time they got married and theirdaughter Amélie was born. And this was just the startof their home-improvement adventure.TV producer Mark, 53, and Jane, 46, a marketingconsultant and university lecturer, had sold their flat inKensal Green, north-west London, as they planned to starta family and needed a bigger home. When friends movedeast to Walthamstow, Mark and Jane realised their budgetwould stretch further if they did the same.The couple bought a three-bedroom house with agood-sized garden in the middle of a terrace. Though therooms were draughty and the décor dated, they were prepared to face the work ahead. ‘It was always in ourminds that we might end up doing a project,’ says Mark.
The couple contemplated having a side-returnextension, but a more ambitious scheme emergedduring their discussions with architect Tom Gresford.‘The plans evolved into rebuilding the back of the house,’says Tom. ‘Mark and Jane were open-minded abouteverything put forward.’Tom proposed a two-storey extension built fromcross-laminated timber (CLT), with a kitchen-dineron the ground floor, plus a guest room and bathroomabove. A roof extension with dormer window, also madeof CLT, would create space for a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom in the loft. ‘It was a very exciting prospect,and we loved the idea of using sustainable timber,’ saysJane. But then there was a pause in proceedings.‘Everything with CLT has to be carefullymodelled,’ Mark explains. ‘Jane and I also made quite a few revisions throughout the design processto keep things within our budget.’One of Tom’s challenges was to keep the newboundary wall shared with a neighbouring houseas low as possible, while maximising the space in theextension. ‘We gained the generous ceiling heightin the kitchen by lowering the floor,’ he explains.A steeply pitched CLT roof also helped.
IN BRIEF :
- TYPE OF PROPERTY Extended and renovated terraced house
- BEDROOMS 4
- SIZE 170sqm
- PROPERTY COST £610,000
- BUILD COST £450,000
After gaining planning consent, things really gotgoing when Mark and Jane moved into a rented housewhile the work began. The project team was joined byMark’s brother John, who became the main contractor.Then Amélie, five, became a big sister when baby Sonnyarrived two months into the build.The flat-pack CLT structure was constructed in afactory in Austria, but on the day it was due to arrive onsite there was a setback. ‘The lorry driver went to anotherstreet with the same name, in Yorkshire,’ recalls Mark ‘We’d arranged for our road to be closed for five dayswhile the sheets of CLT were unloaded and erected,but the error left only four days.
The pressure was on.’Watching the panels being manoeuvred into placewas a high point for the couple. ‘It was pretty epic tosee a crane lift them across our house and lower themdown at the back ready to be bolted together,’ says Jane.John took the lead on the renovation work. ‘He wasmy eyes and ears, especially when our rental agreementwas cut short and we had to move to Newcastle forthree months to live with Jane’s parents,’ says Mark.‘John helped us push the design limits further and isresponsible for some of the bolder elements includingthe concrete walls,’ Jane adds
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