Friday 14 November 2014

Yours for 200K


The proud (not to say smug) bloke standing in front of this half-timbered house built it himself for a total cost of £200,000, including the land it stands on. I think it is wonderful, but I don't think the planners would allow it in Bath.

Living in a 21st century, Tudor-style house might go against the grain for many of you young go-getters, but it wouldn't bother me at all - especially given my self-confessed liking for good pastiche, or even pastiche which verges on fantasy. Bad pastiche is rotten, but the really good stuff is, well, really good.

I expect that he has been forced to water-down aspects of it to do with energy-saving, which probably explains the dead-flat and boring glass in the windows. Details like this are very important, I think, although looking to the outside through optically imperfect ribbon glass or lead diamonds could get a bit tiresome in a modern house.

It just goes to show how much money successful builders make, though. It was valued at £600,000 as soon as it was finished.

I have a friend who builds cob-houses with green oak timber-work, and it takes about a month for him to finish one. The roofs are made of turf, so the whole thing is very eco-sound in terms of energy efficiency. One of his clients even grows an edible crop on his roof.

The trouble with cob-houses is that it is very difficult to prevent them from looking like something that a Hobbit would dwell in, what with round windows in thick walls to get rid of the need for lintols, etc.

The trouble with good mock Tudor is that it is very difficult to prevent them from looking like something from Harry Potter, but I know which I would prefer. You can divide the world into two sets of people - the ones which hate Harry Potter films and books, and the ones which hate anything to do with Lord of the Rings. Now I come to think of it, the ones which love the Tolkien stuff often hanker to live in New Zealand, which says a lot about them, I think. No offence, Kiwis.

I am just about to do some work for a genuine Tudor house in Oxfordshire, but they paid a fair bit more than £200,000 for it.

26 comments:

  1. When Lady M read about this house, she commented "Oh, they're just like us". Well, hardly dear, we're just playing at being builders; these guys were serious. Well done them!

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    1. I notice it's called 'Wild Thyme Cottage' - not 'Wild Times'...

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  2. Such a pretty house Tom… I usually like original period houses, as we have always lived in old houses BUT, they build some really good ones now { unlike the 1960's !! } …… I could definitely live there.
    I thought from your last sentence that you were being paid £200,000 for the work you're doing …. I thought that it was your little plan coming to fruition !!!! XXXX

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  3. There was a time when I envied my friend's 14th century timber framed farm house (complete with moat) but nowadays I yearn for modern comforts and easy maintenance. I love our crumbling, ancient pile in France but I could happily live in a 21st century new build, preferably oak framed with a hint of character.

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    1. Not forgetting the underfloor heating and staircase suitable for a stair lift...

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  4. The facade looks a bit busy, but I guess they just haven't discovered Buddhism yet. All in good time.

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    1. Buddhism wasn't as popular in the 1500s as it was in the 1960s.

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  5. Fortunately for all, I'm no architect. I think the facade of Tudor style homes are too busy. It was/is quite the building style here in the Connecticut Western Reserve, and I have many to look at. I haven't seen one worth a million dollars, though, and certainly none with a swag of vegetation. Is that authentic? Harry Potter wouldn't need vines to get from the ground to the second floor. Although I've never equated Tudor architecture with Harry Potter, either.

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    1. Up until the 1970s, there were Tudor houses so covered in vegetation that you could see how busy they were at all. Many of the sets in H.P. were real streets with real houses. That's certain parts of the UK for you.

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    2. Oh, the movies. I've only seen bits and snatches. I've been through the books twice, so it's a mind's eye problem here.

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  6. In Hildesheim, where we lived for almost 20 years (and have a genuine listed Art Deco house - with a lot still to do) they rebuilt the Historic Market Place under heated debates: no nail was used, old craftmansship revived - but there were people speaking of 'Disneyland architecture'.
    I like it - if you want to have a look: http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/display/18497260

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    1. Thanks for sharing with us. It looks fantastic :)

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    2. They just carried on going up, didn't they? I think that Deco houses are better suited to the Mediterranean than German or UK climates.

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  7. I love traditional style houses Tom. Especially humble rural dwellings. Nature doesn't work in straight lines it works in curves. I use to love allotments in Britain with their ramshackle sheds and lumps of concrete to hold down the corrugated iron sheeting.. Great post!

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    1. The Manor house that my client has just bought started off with straight lines, but has warped and bent so much over the years that it would not look out of place in Diagon Alley.

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  8. I love that house Tom, mock or not.
    Sorry you are getting music = hope it is 'good' music!
    Interestingly, sometimes I have extreme difficulty in getting on to your blog to leave a comment, so there is definitely a communication fault between us. Please let us both be patient and hope it all sorts itself out - I would be lost without you!

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    1. Unfortunately it is really nasty music, Weave. I don't know what is going on, but I am pretty sure it's at your end - somehow you are being used for free advertising by someone.

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  9. A small thatched cottage is my dream. Of course that will never happen.....

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    1. And I will never get my Tudor hall either, I think.

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  10. No offence taken, Tom. Personally, I can't stand all the LOTR nonsense, though I have to admit that it's been good for the Kiwi economy.

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    1. I bet. The National Trust village of Lacock near here has benefited greatly from H.P. as well.

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  11. I think the house is great and for 200K more power to the blokes elbow :)

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  12. I LOVE that house! I'd live there in a flash ... but not here in Oz. It wouldn't suit the climate.( bloody hot !)

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