In September 2008, Kevin returned to visit Alex and Cheryl in their completed house. So 18 months on, has living in the rebuilt house given them the rewards they fought so hard for?
Kevin is delighted to find that the house offers as warm a welcome as it ever did. The woodwork and thatch has mellowed to reflect what was once there, before the fire three years ago. The garden has been landscaped to include an organic vegetable plot and a curious domed greenhouse. But the biggest transformation of all is the change to Alex and Cheryl's lives.
The extension, which Kevin had always known as a garage, is now a luxury bed and breakfast holiday rental, which Cheryl has lovingly decorated and now runs as a business. With its sumptuous decor and top end fixtures and fittings, the accommodation is helping to bring in an income. Meanwhile, Alex has become a professional Project Manager. He's currently renovating a very fire damaged cottage - which of course, he's uniquely qualified to do.
Finishing the annex has pushed the whole project cost up to £300,000 - which, on top of their original mortgage, leaves Alex and Cheryl more than half a million pounds in debt - but now they're looking to the house itself to ease the strain. The two new incomes mean that the couple are not only financially surviving but have been able to ditch their hectic London jobs in the music industry for a far more peaceful existence.
Don't forget to check out photos from the revisit in the Hampshire gallery >>
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Want to be a self-build guru? Then read on....
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