11. We have found a small building plot and want to build a home for our retirement". It must have a bedroom on the ground floor, it must be compact and easy to run and maintain.

Mr. and Mrs. James owned a property with a large garden. By careful sub-division planning permission was obtained for a new chalet bungalow. The new design was developed with a garden designer. This combination of design skills is important if the value of the existing property is not going to be substantially reduced.

The design shows a chalet bungalow (ground floor plus rooms in the roof) with a ground floor bedroom and small ensuite bathroom which used the Ideal Standard Space Saver suite. Note how the bath is designed to combine a shower. Cisterns and pipework are all built into a duct arrangement. Underfloor heating was provided throughout by Thermofloor UK (ref. Chapter Eight for contact details).

The roof pitch, in this case at 35° gives 2 double bedrooms, a single bedroom a study, a separate bathroom and an ensuite bathroom! (not all of the floor area is full height).

The roof used natural slates, the walls were rendered externally; maintenance is kept to a minimum by ensuring that rendered surfaces were easily accessible.

The dwelling relates to the garden with a verandah accessed from the lounge and dining room. An open-plan arrangement is used between kitchen and dining room; a useful feature allowing contact between the occupants of the house and guests, grand children

The new building regulations require wheelchair access; thresholds are controlled at the front door and internal doors have minimum widths to allow access for a visiting wheelchair to get to and manoeuvre within a bathroom and toilet.

All plumbing was designed and installed by a Corgi registered installer; it has a gas fired condensing boiler providing maximum energy efficiency.

The garden was planted prior to construction starting; this took around 6 months which meant that the garden was maturing nicely when Mr. and Mrs. James moved in, The Garden Designer has made the most of a small site by changing focus and shape. He also provided focal points in the garden (e.g. a water feature).

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