Wendy Hamm

In Autumn 2020 Wendy Hamm and her family approached iHus as they were contemplating an annexe build in their back garden to house Wendy’s mother. Wendy’s mother Jane, 82, was living over an hours drive away from the family. Wendy’s day to day responsibilities meant that visits to Jane were a lot less frequent then they would have wished.

Wendy told us that over the last few years her mother had a few health issues which had knocked her confidence which had lead her to feel more vulnerable than before. The family discussed the potential of ‘future proofing’ Jane’s current property in order to make it more accessible for her long term, but living in an old 3 story terraced cottage it turned out there were no viable options. As well as Jane’s health needs, her emotional well-being started to become affected. Wendy, her husband and Jane all agreed that it would be advantageous for Jane to live much closer to their family home, enabling an enhanced support system to be set up.

Once the family had decided that a garden annexe would be the ideal solution, they took the time to research a number of options, one of which included hiring an architect and building their own. However upon finding iHus and talking to the team, our unique signature move put their mind at ease that everything from planning to build would be taken care of; there was no looking back from there!

Signature Move ‘Turn key service iHus’s signature move process involves 4 simple steps to get you into your new home:
– A free consultation to really understand your needs with a personalised quotation
– We apply for planning permission on your behalf. We’re so confident our team will secure your planning permission so we provide a special no risk money back guarantee.
– Our world class project management will look after the build process and when its time, we will take care of the removals.
– Our iHus handyman can be with you on the day you move in to ensure everything is perfect in your new iHus.

Wendy said ‘iHus took care of the entire annexe build process, from planning to the complete build’. Wendy talks about her experience with iHus and the fact that the turn key nature of the business was very straight forward and stress free for the family, giving everybody a piece of mind that absolutely everything was taken care of and Andrew, our sales consultant was on call to answer any questions or queries the family had at the time.

Building Individuality
We believe that each iHus should be as individual as its owner. Personalisation is available throughout the entire annexe, so families are able to customize every detail to make it their own. From the layout of their annexe to the kitchen and bathroom appliances and wall colour.

‘Because of the site being unusually tricky there was a lot of ground work to be completed, but once this was done the annexe went up very quickly’. Due to COVID most of the family’s contact with iHus was via video call, however Wendy states that once they were finally able to talk with our sales consultant Andrew face to face to discuss finishing touches and bathrooms it was very exciting! Jane said that she felt very able to customize as she wanted, for example a request for underfloor heating and engineered wood flooring. The family kept a close eye on the build process, and were incredibly impressed with the build quality and attention to detail.

Challenge; Stilts Build Process
Set in the hills of Batheaston overlooking the Avon Valley, this iHus build was slightly more complex than a regular build as the garden was on a downwards slope and thus required stilts. 

With a two and a half meter fall across the site, to achieve a positive planning outcome the site was excavated by one meter, keeping the building below the neighbours eye line and the main dwellings eaves. Running across the site is a public drain requiring trial holes to accurately locate. Pads were offset to  accommodate and the solution agreed with Wessex Water. 

Pads for the steel posts were offset for eventual concealment of the feet, and to ensure the proposed decking connects precisely with existing decking by the main house. Exposed to weather and high wind loads the steels were galvanised, with fitch connections for lateral strength, and to allow a standard floor structure to be fitted. Typically the floor cassettes would be supplied pre built, however, on this occasion the floor structure was built on site for both safety/manual handling reasons and flexibility with the fitch connections.

Result
Credit where its due! iHus operations were able to overcome numerous challenges throughout the build of the Hamm annexe, concrete delayed due to the extreme heat, Covid cases wiping out the team, tricky access and supply chains under pressure – delivering this on time was no mean feat.
The Hamm family were delighted with the build and Jane moved in on the date planned.

Jane told us that it makes her feel very confident knowing both Wendy and Chris are a short distance away from her now.

Wendy said: ‘ Having the annexe has made things very easy for us, we’re able to come and help whenever we need to for ten mins here and there. Mum can have her complete independence and we do too, but the ability to be there for one another when we need it is fantastic, its amazing!’ Jane said ‘I’ve only got one granddaughter but I’m really getting to know her now, she didn’t always want the 2 hours journey to see me but now it’s so easy. so I’m loving it – from the moment I walked through the door I have loved it! I wake up every morning happy thinking yes I’m here!’

To find out more about the Hamm family’s story watch their walk through video and interview here. If you have any questions regarding an annexe build, look no further. Give our friendly customer service experts a call on 0808 164 1111 today