Episode Information Peterborough: The Wooden Box

Date Published:

04/06/2008

Five years ago, John and Terri Westlake built a timber box that even they weren't sure about on the edge of a forest in the middle of open countryside.

Now Kevin's back to see whether they've warmed to the design, and what life is like living the modernist dream in splendid rural isolation.

John and Terri Westlake never intended to self build. They were looking to buy a house near Peterborough when they came across a tumbledown cottage backing onto woodland, with great views across open countryside.

They immediately fell in love with the location, despite the cottage being ill-suited to their needs as a family. So they decided to knock down the cottage and, in its place, build a contemporary wooden box with one wall made entirely of glass, to take advantage of the fantastic views. But John and Terri had a problem: having found and bought a building plot, they didn't have enough money to build a house.

They decided to take a huge risk and borrow against the value of the finished house. What's more, they would live on next to nothing, pouring all their precious earnings into the build.

Due to the usual delays, the build took five months longer than they had hoped and, just as they were about to finally move into their modest box of a home, Terri discovered she was pregnant. Lovely as the house was, it was clearly not going to be big enough.

Five years on, Kevin McCloud goes back to see how the Westlakes are coping with compact living and discovers they have expanded. Their clever extension has transformed their rigid wooden box into a flexible and supple living space.

The Original Build

The design was striking: a rectangular, flat-roofed house; a steel frame structure with a plywood skin; timber-clad on three sides, with the front wall made of glass. On the ground floor were a study and a double-height living area; two bedrooms were suspended over the latter. The house was situated in the middle of the plot, with letterbox-style windows set into the timber sides and back.

The original plan had been to finish the house with cedar panels, which would rapidly weather to blend in with the surrounding woodland. However, John and Terri were working to a tight budget and, like all hardwoods, cedar is expensive. Opting for softwood pine instead was one of a series of compromises they had to make. They also compromised on the size, shrinking the house to save on building materials. And they would not be able to install the bathroom or kitchen fittings until the build was finished and they could arrange a new mortgage.

Engineering

There was, however, no skimping on the engineering aspects. The glass units for the front wall had to be cut to the nearest millimetre, so they couldn't be ordered until the frame was up and the apertures for the glass were complete. The glass itself had to be toughened and given several coatings of metal oxide, which would keep heat out in summer and retain warmth in winter. The whole process might take 14 weeks, which would push the build well over schedule.

Meanwhile, as Terri and John explored the half-built house, its size wasn't the only thing they worried about. Realising that noise could be a problem with open-plan living, they decided to add sound insulation between the living area and the second bedroom, where the children would sleep. They also opted to invest in underfloor heating.

No Longer A Box

Cladding the house in wood was another skilled job. Building paper was nailed to the plywood skin, then the wood was nailed on in tongue-and-groove slats, leaving a small ventilation space behind. The slats themselves had to fit together tightly so that rain would run off.

Luckily, the build went well and the glass was only slightly delayed. When it was fitted the interior was transformed: no longer a box but an elegant house that opened up into unexpected spaces. The bank was suitably impressed and granted John and Terri a higher mortgage, so the last-minute kitchen and bathroom came in on schedule - just like the rest of the build.