Episode Information Clapham: The Curved House

Date Published:

13/06/2008

David and Anjana's tiny coach house was proving too small for them and their two children. So they decided to build a new house in their own garden, which was big by London standards. But this particular grassy plot came with problems. It was overlooked by huge blocks of flats, and in the middle of it stood a chestnut tree they weren't allowed to cut down.

They came up with an inspired solution: they would build a curving house along the borders of their plot. What's more, they would do a lot of the work themselves.

Budget And Build

Budget (excluding plot) £230,000
Total cost £230,000

Architect Peter Romaniuk designed them a house with blank stretches of outer wall and a curved inner glass facade. It enclosed the chestnut tree and garden like a cloister, and was topped at one end by a timber-clad first floor, while the other end gave access to a deep basement, which was to be a womb-like library.

On the ground floor, the open-plan kitchen was separated by shallow steps from the open-plan living room, with a master bedroom and en suite bathroom beyond it. Upstairs would be three more bedrooms and a second bathroom. There were also expensive plans for the interior.

Economising

Anjana and David had already borrowed £230,000 against the value of the house, and didn't think they could raise more. So they economised by making Anjana project manager and turning David, a former lawyer, into a labourer. The architect's practice agreed to offer guidance, including on site help during the tricky parts of the build.

Consternation

The early stages went well. Foundations were laid, and a lone builder, Pat, built the basement, with David as assistant. The first batch of steel arrived and was bolted together to make the ground floor frame. Here was a hint of the problems to come: precisely accurate measurements would be crucial, but a missing central column meant that adjustments to the frame would not be 100 per cent correct.

Anjana discovered whole new areas of the project still to be managed - such as planning the electrics - and the child minder gave notice, so she now had to run the build while taking care of her children full time.

Incredible Speed

During the summer, Pat built walls at incredible speed, with David gamely labouring alongside. In June, the steel frame for the first floor was bolted on. A sizable discrepancy between the first- and ground-floor frames was solved by welding on an extra length of steel. In the beginning of August, Pat left the build and David roped in a friend, Ben. For the next few months they worked together, putting in roof joists, rendering the concrete walls and fitting insulation.

Anjana freed up her time by hiring an au pair. She promptly went into overdrive, sourcing flagstones, tracking down designer fittings, and commissioning windows that, unusually, were not only curved but double-glazed.

Telephone Advice

It was now October, the original completion date, and the build was well behind schedule. The fitting of the curved glass was started, but serious problems were almost immediately apparent. The concrete base did not curve to the exact measurements of the steel window frames, and it took some heavy-duty 'sculpting' of the concrete with a power saw before the curves aligned.

Then the glass for the sliding doors turned out to be too big and had to be reordered from the factory.

Anjana brought electricians on site too early, and the architects announced they were closing their practice and from now on could only give telephone advice, not on site support.

Severe Pressure

David and Anjana battled on, under severe pressure of time and budget. The boat builder who was cladding the curved top floor with timber ran out of time and had to leave the job half-finished. David hurt his back carrying flagstones and was temporarily out of action. When he recovered, Anjana realised they needed another £120,000 to finish the house, so they hurriedly applied for an extension loan.

Meanwhile, it was time to start ripping apart the coach house to bring electricity and water supplies through to the new build. Where would the family sleep? With the Christmas holidays approaching, the children were sent to the seaside with the au pair and David and Anjana threw themselves even deeper into the work.

As it turns out Anjana and David didn't have a habitable house either for that Christmas or for a few months afterwards. Although the coach house was pulled down and Anjana's much needed mortgage came through, It took another year of hard graft before the end was in sight.

But it is finally complete and to show for all their hard work David and Anjana have a wonderfully original building perfectly suited to its setting. Inside, they have worked tirelessly to create a colourful and vibrant interior with hand crafted elements that make this house unique.