The dream
It’s long been Ian Jewell’s dream to build his own house. “My father built three houses, so it’s in my blood,” he says. “I remember carrying blocks and bricks and pieces of wood around when I was a boy. He even built a house on the same road as this one. Maybe it was fate.”
Choosing Sean Parker Construction
But when it came to fulfilling his dream, as an ex-Quantity Surveyor and Commercial Director, he had understandable doubts when looking for the right contractor to take on the build.
“It has strengths and weaknesses”, said Ian, pointing out that his background in construction finance can make it hard to trust contractors. “You tend to go out and get your own numbers and prices.
“But with Sean, I got to a point where I’d spoken to three or four people, and I just began to get a rapport with him. When he said he would do things, he did them. He always took a call. And if we found a problem, we’d always work it out.
“My wife was also a key factor. She trusted him as well. When you build a house, it’s a team thing. And we all formed a really good team.”
A dream come true
Thanks to this team effort, Ian’s dream is now reality.
Their new luxury home has a large open plan area upstairs, so Ian and Michelle now spend their days nestled among the treetops, with a view through the large picture windows over the balcony and all the way down the river. Their forever home also boasts four bedrooms, a large cinema room, gymnasium, jacuzzi, sauna, and a large two-storey garage.
And it’s not just beautiful. It’s future-proof, too. With solar panels, solar glass, and its own water supply, Ian and Michelle’s new home achieved an impressive 96 energy rating (A on the EPC certificate).
“It’s a gorgeous place,” says Ian of their new home. “I absolutely adore it. Put it this way, the saddest day I can think of is if we ever have to think about leaving it.”
Preparing for the build
The land Ian purchased already came with well developed drawings, so Ian opted not to employ an architect.
Instead, he worked closely with Sean Parker Construction to alter the design. We provided cost and buildability advice, making sure the finished design was both achievable and affordable while giving him and his family the home they’d always imagined.
“Sean and I made some alterations to the build, making it about 25% bigger and more useful. We would ask him, what would happen if it were half a metre longer here? And he would give us a price. Then we shaved some dimensions to make way for things we wanted more.
“He also gave us great advice on where we could get good deals on kitchens and bathrooms,” says Ian. “Those kinds of things are so important. To get the quality we had, our kitchen would have cost 50% more anywhere else.”
During the build
It wasn’t just cost advice that made sure Ian had the things he’d always dreamt of. When he came to us saying he wanted to put a jacuzzi on the balcony, we employed our engineering expertise to make it possible.
“The jacuzzi is actually on a suspended slab,” reflects Ian. “I told him, ‘that’s what I’d like’, I gave him the information, and he spec’d the structure so that it could hold the jacuzzi. Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to put it there – it just wouldn’t have been sound.”
Now, family and friends can enjoy jacuzzi sessions whenever they want, hidden away in their own treetop spa.
Working together to solve challenges
Anybody who’s watched one episode of Grand Designs will know that no build project is without its challenges.
Says Ian, “it might have been my dream, but you can’t expect to go into these things and not expect a degree of stress. I often spoke to Sean more than I did my wife during a day!
“But we trusted Sean right the way through. I would drop into the site on my way home from work, and anything I thought was unclear or needed to be changed, I’d message Sean. He would then speak to his team the next morning to make sure things were cleared up.
“Even when we had problems with some of the contractors we’d employed ourselves, Sean supported us in changing contractors and sorting out the problems.”
We also helped make sure the large amount of water running off the surrounding fields during heavy rain wouldn’t pose a flood risk to their home and garden. By liaising with Ian’s drainage consultants, we came up with some design alterations to the garden and driveway that not only enabled water to drain quickly, but also saved him money.
No passing the buck
Our problem solving didn’t stop when Ian and Michelle moved in.
After five years, they began experiencing issues with the borehole. Upon further investigation, we found that the subcontractor responsible had provided the incorrect specification, which was causing dirty water to leak onto the driveway.
After speaking to the company to establish the correct specification, we negotiated a deal whereby we would do half of the remediation work and they would do the other, fixing the issue at no further cost to Ian and Michelle.
“The company probably would have been less helpful if I hadn’t had Sean on my side. But he came back and fixed it, no question. I think those types of things are very, very important. They make all the difference, because you don’t want hassle with your dream.
“I said to him after, ‘I really do appreciate this. I’m not sure how many people would do this, even if they thought I was in the right.’. There are still people that don’t have that integrity. And he does.”
Saving money where it counts
At Sean Parker Construction, money is a key focus for us and our clients throughout any build – not just for ex-Quantity Surveyors. If budgets aren’t carefully managed, a build can grind to a standstill, not only delaying the all-important move-in date, but also putting our subcontractors’ businesses at risk.
That’s why we made sure Ian and Michelle were aware of where every pound was going before we began, providing regular updates throughout the project.
“Sean told me what every square metre would cost based on what I wanted. Some of the things we changed, swapping some materials we really wanted for alternatives elsewhere because I wanted to come in on budget.
“To make sure every pound counted on the build, we came up with solutions to save money on things you wouldn’t even see in the finished house. Like the cost of removing spoil from the garden created by building into a slope.
“Sean came up with some solutions that saved some hefty sums of money, which I was very pleased with. He knew the budget, he knew what we were working with, and he was very concerned to make sure it all worked out.”
By changing the design of retaining walls in the garden, we were able to take the spoil from the back garden to form a front garden, instead of paying an estimated £45,000 to have it all carted away.
This solution cost Ian just £1,000. An astonishing saving of £44,000 – money he was instead able to put into luxury, high-specification fixtures and fittings the whole family will enjoy for years to come.
Looking after the neighbours
Reusing the spoil on site also kept the neighbours happy and reduced disruption in the local area.
As the build was taking place in a small village, having lorries coming and going to collect spoil might have risked local roads being marred by mud and dirt. But this solution meant we kept the roads clear and clean, and Ian and Michelle didn’t alienate their new neighbours and future friends.
“Remember, when you finish your build, you’ve still got to speak with your neighbours. Thankfully, Sean was very good with them, making sure he scheduled the foundation works, etc. early in the year to avoid blocking roads during busy periods.”
Six years later
Looking back at the process six years on, we’re all incredibly proud of what we achieved.
Says Ian, “our favourite thing is just sitting in the living area and looking out. It’s just lovely. It feels like you’re in the canopy of the trees. We spend a lot of time here.
“And I love the fact that it’s high energy rated. The environmental component is very important to me, so I was really pleased with our 96 energy rating. Plus it saves us money. Heating this big house and charging our electric car still costs less than our friends pay to run their three-bedroom, semi-detached house.
“It says a lot that we’ve not even had the house valued. Why would we need to? We’re not going anywhere if we can help it!”
Looking to the future
So, having lived through a life-changing build, would Ian do it again? And would he recommend Sean Parker to anyone else managing their build?
“I’d recommend Sean to myself!” says Ian. “I hope we never have to leave here, but if a patch of land comes up, you never know – maybe we’ll do another one!
“Even with my background, I don’t think I would have been comfortable managing a project of this size myself. I might have been able to get it done, but it wouldn’t have been as pleasurable an experience.
“And I doubt very much whether I would have had it done in time. I would have needed to make the build my 100% focus. But I was working 10-12 hours a day myself – I just couldn’t have committed that much time to it.
“It’s quite an accomplishment,” Ian reflects. “I get a big sense of achievement from having done this, having always said I wanted to.”
Well, we look forward to maybe working with Ian again in the future. In the meantime, we wish him, Michelle, and their family many happy years in their beautiful new home.
