51 Coppice St, Shaftesbury

This is a centre-terrace former council house built in the 1930s and within easy reach of Shaftesbury town centre. The present owners, Richard and Rachel, bought it late in 2017, but made changes before moving in 18 months later. Theirs was a relatively new later-in-life relationship and they were combining two households. Their modifications were designed to give them adequate but compact space for sustainable living into their older age.

The house now has a timber-framed south-facing rear extension with underfloor heating and a sedum roof, a loft conversion, high spec double glazing, a refitted kitchen, a lot of additional storage space and a small solar PV array. Throughout the building works and associated internal changes the couple aimed to reuse existing materials and for new fittings to be as sustainable as possible. Heating and hot water is currently provided by the pre-existing gas combi-boiler (less than 5 years old). There is also a wood burner which is used sparingly.