The Building – before and after
Our renovation of the building began in April 2018 and we moved in in January 2019. We did most of the work ourselves with the help of friends and family. This included stripping off the asbestos cement board roof and replacing it with a highly insulated steel one, a complete rewire and plumbing, dry-lining all the upstairs walls to meet modern insulation standards, and the replacement of all windows and doors with modern aluminium ones. The main living space upstairs opens out onto a south facing balcony, which overlooks the garden and pond. We bought three small plots of garden from owners of neighbouring Albany Street houses which gave us much needed access to the rear of the building as well as some extra garden space. The ground floor provides us with a large studio space, a workshop and storeroom, office and utility room.