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Author: Lucy Cowell

  • HPH301 : Energy | People | Buildings – with Hattie Hartman

    HPH301 : Energy | People | Buildings – with Hattie Hartman

    Hattie Hartman, Sustainability Editor at the Architects’ Journal, shares insights from her new book Energy, People, Buildings.

    Interview with Hattie Hartman

    Hattie is an architect and sustainability editor at the Architects’ Journal, but by her own admission didn’t have a conventional route into the profession. She attended university in the 1970s wanting to change the world and thinking that working in politics or studying law was the way to go about it. However, a course on renaissance architectural history, and some inspirational teachers, changed her thinking and set her off on a path into architecture and journalism.

    Together with Judit Kimpian and Sofie Pelsmakers, Hattie is co-author of Energy | People | Buildings – Making Sustainable Architecture Work. She also hosts the Climate Champions podcast.

    Architecture is fundamentally about people

    Hattie admits it is incredibly challenging to design a really good building and says that ultimately it is about understanding how buildings really work, to make them comfortable and good for the people occupying them.

    She says that sustainable architecture has typically had a reputation for “doing with less”, but it doesn’t have to be about doing without, rather doing things differently in a lean way. Hedonistic sustainability is one such idea that promotes sustainability which actively improves the quality of life and human enjoyment.

    The book is based on the collection of feedback

    Judit Kimpian approached Hattie to collaborate with her on their book, Energy | People | Buildings – Making Sustainable Architecture Work, before also inviting Sofie Pelsmakers to work with them. It is a RIBA Publishing book that Hattie says is aimed at design professionals, engineers, students, and people that operate buildings.

    Hattie says that Judit knows everything that there is that can and does go wrong with how buildings operate, based on Innovate UK building performance studies that she worked on, and this work formed the basis for the book.

    An important takeaway from the book is that feedback isn’t something that you just do at the end. It has to be built into the whole process right from the beginning.

    “When you keep track of all the things that are going to impact a building’s performance from the beginning, and you have buy-in, not only from the whole design team and the client, but from the contractor, and the real critical point is you write that into the procurement. You can actually track these things and make sure that buildings perform, and you can troubleshoot, and you can find problems and solve them quickly before they become huge, expensive things to sort out or lawsuits.

    Cost of monitoring is not a barrier if planned for from the outset

    If left to the end then it can incur additional time and expenditure to find and collate the data, but when it’s been planned from the outset it can be a minute cost in terms of the overall budget for the building. An example Hattie gives is if the energy meters are part of the contractor’s responsibility, then the right meters will be installed and any problems will be sorted out immediately. This scenario is preferable to the alternative which could be the wrong meters being installed, they’re not properly commissioned and you can’t get the right data from them.

    Architype are leading the way at making building performance standard practice

    Architype has spent several years developing their work processes, training their staff, carrying out research projects, and working with a PhD student to bring the expertise in-house. This investment and dedication mean clients are now approaching them, asking for a building that will perform.

    A case study from the book is the Enterprise Centre in East Anglia, which Ben himself has visited and describes being asked for details when signing-in on arrival about how far he had travelled, what vehicle he was driving etc, in order to be added to the data about the carbon footprint of the building. Hattie credits the Enterprise Centre for being a visionary client and explains that none of this is hard, it just needs to be made a priority.

    Ben at the Enterprise Centre
    Learn more about thatching in our podcast with Stephen Letch
    ©DennisGilbert/VIEW
    Enterprise Centre at UEA

    The operational performance gap needs to be reduced

    Hattie points to ACAN’s recent report about the role of embodied carbon in buildings as being an excellent resource in explaining what needs to be done to regulate that, which is an important part of getting to net-zero. And she says equally important is the operational performance gap which still needs a lot of improvement. Their book sets out a demystifying process of how to get to grips with the operational emissions of buildings,

    Integrated design is crucial

    Hattie stresses the importance of getting all the expertise around the table right at the start, before anything has even been sketched, to think about the passive design and the fabric of the building. Even for a small project like a house extension, having that expertise can reduce the embodied carbon by perhaps opting for timber solutions over steel or concrete. That expertise can also be continually revisiting and challenging the design decisions along the way.

    Carrowbreck Meadow features in Energy | People | Buildings

    You can’t know where you are unless you have targets

    The book has a section about targets, and while Hattie agrees that targets will change and perhaps become out of date, it is important to have them and be measuring to get an idea for how you’re doing.

    Technology in buildings needs to be tested and understood

    There are benefits to keeping things simple and, with added technology, there can be more things to go wrong. For example, Architype used to use lots of actuators on windows, but now try to keep them to a strict minimum. The more that can be done manually the better!

    There is a learning curve for everyone!

    One of Hattie’s podcast guests is Sarah Wigglesworth, an architect committed to sustainable design for many years and who built her straw bale house 20 years ago. At that time sustainable design was more about a “loose fit” and the building wasn’t designed with airtightness or thermal bridges in mind. When it came to retrofitting she worked with an environmental consultancy and spent many months measuring and collating data to come up with a prioritised checklist of things that they could do to improve the building.

    With so many buildings in the country that need retrofitting, it shows that if you don’t measure then you don’t know what the priorities are.

    Feedback is important for future improvements

    Hattie says that quite often architects don’t want to know how well their buildings are performing (or under-performing!) or indeed make their clients aware because there can be a question of liability. She was pleased however to have case studies in the book where people were willing to share what hadn’t gone to plan and where things could have been done differently. She says this is the only way to be able to make future improvements.

    The podcast and book aim to make a technical subject accessible

    Hattie hosts the Architects’ Journal’s new Climate Champions Podcast. And while she says she’s pretty sure that it’s mostly people who are already interested in the subject that are listening, she’s hopeful that the influence of people like Greta Thunberg and groups such as Architects Declare and the Architects Climate Action Network are helping to spread the message further and drive a real thirst for change.

    Find out more

    Check out the Climate Champions podcast

    Follow Hattie Hartman on Twitter

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Hattie Hartman.

    Please connect with me

    Subscribe, rate and review the podcast in iTunes

    Rate and review the podcast on Stitcher

    Like our Facebook page

    Follow us on Twitter

  • HPH298 : Do I need self build insurance? – with Andrew Reardon

    HPH298 : Do I need self build insurance? – with Andrew Reardon

    Andrew Reardon from ProAktive explains the insurance options that are available to anyone carrying out a self build or renovation.

    Interview with Andrew Reardon

    Andrew Reardon is a Senior Account Handler at ProAktive, a company that specialises in insurance and risk management. He works in the self build department, providing insurance for new builds, renovations and extensions.

    Self build insurance has similarities with standard house insurance

    It covers many of the same things as traditional house insurance would, such as cover for theft, accidental damage and fire, but also covers you through the construction phase. The biggest difference between the two comes from the types of claims involved. Many of the claims they receive are related to thefts from the construction site, because they don’t have the same level of security that a larger developer would have and therefore tend to be targeted. They also receive many public and employer’s liability claims, where injuries occur to workers on site, or to members of the public who may have wandered onto it.

    Employer’s liability and public liability are covered

    The employer’s liability provides cover for if you are held negligent for an accident that occurs on site. If you have hired a main contractor or have sub-contractors on site, then they should all have their own public liability insurance, but your self build insurance will be a fallback in case that fails or there are any grey areas. It also covers for claims related to casual labourers, or friends and family that might be helping out on the site who wouldn’t carry their own public liability insurance.

    Check your contractor’s insurance cover

    Rather than waiting until there’s been an incident on site and asking your contractor for their insurance details, it’s far better to get that information in advance of starting and steer clear if they can’t provide it. Even if you’ve employed a main contractor to run the job, you’re relying on them to make sure they have contract works cover, are keeping up with their payments, and have the right limits to cover the value of your project. If they don’t have the correct levels in place then their insurance won’t be sufficient, which is when your own cover can provide the fallback.

    Theft is by far the most common cause for a claim

    Andrew says that they don’t have too many claims for accidental or malicious damage, but the most common ones after theft tend to be for damage caused by storms, leaks and frozen pipes.

    Theft tends to be of machinery and tools, rather than materials, so quite often a self builder will build the garage or other outbuilding first in order to keep these things more secure.

    Other things that can help to reduce the incidence of theft, is to use fencing to keep people off the site, which also helps in terms of public liability, and CCTV if possible. Having a sealed container on site will also help with security, as will keeping deliveries of boilers and kitchen items out of view or away from the site as much as possible until they’re installed.

    Keep your invoices and receipts safely together

    This will help in the event of needing to make a claim, as you will need to provide evidence of your purchase. Having quick access to these will help speed up any claim too. If you don’t have a traditional receipt for things like eBay or other second-hand purchases, then make sure you keep copies of emails or take photos of things to prove what you have bought and that they have arrived on the site.

    Andrew gives the example of one claim which was for the theft of a £20,000 roof which had only been delivered the previous day. In that case, the delivery driver had tipped someone off that it would be there and unsecured. His advice is to be fully aware of everyone who is on site, and even take note of IDs. Most importantly, secure the items whenever possible, ideally by installing them straight away.

    One point to note is that you can only insure things like machinery and tools that belong to you or that you hire in your own name. A contractor or other tradesperson on site will be responsible for insuring their own tools and equipment.

    Renovation projects might not be covered under your standard household policy

    People often assume that their standard house insurance will cover them throughout a renovation project, but often that’s not the case. It may depend on the level of work that is being undertaken at the property, and particularly if the work involved is structural.

    Your first step in this situation should be to contact your household insurance provider and advise them of the works to be carried out, to determine what cover they can provide. Your existing standard policy wouldn’t cover for the new elements of the work, such as the fixtures, fittings, and materials once they arrive on site, so a policy should be taken out for this. Your existing insurer also would reject a claim for something like a fire caused by a tradesperson on the property, if they haven’t been notified in advance of the works.

    Carefully consider what your renovation policy needs to cover

    The main thing to consider when selecting a policy for a renovation project is that it will cover your existing structure, as it will often be unoccupied during the build. Also notify the insurers of any intrusive work that will be carried out, such as deep excavation or piling which have the potential to cause damage to neighbouring structures. Depending on the nature of this work it can also be worth considering an additional non-negligence cover, which is designed to cover you in circumstances where there is damage to neighbouring structures through no fault of you, your contractor, or architect. It can be quite an expensive policy, depending on the proximity and value of those neighbouring buildings, but definitely worth considering if you’re doing intrusive work like retrofitting basements.

    The next thing to ensure is that it will cover your fixtures, fittings and materials when they arrive on site.

    The employer and public liability elements should have adequate limits, so £10 million is standard for employer’s liability, and £5 million is the minimum for public liability. Councils and utility companies generally won’t attend unless you have at least that minimum, so it would be pointless to have less than that.

    It’s worthwhile doing a Schedule of Dilapidation

    This is a survey of neighbouring structures which is worth doing if you’re going to be carrying out intrusive works that have the potential to cause them damage. Take photos and keep this schedule to show any existing damage to them before you start, to ensure you have proof if these are claimed for later on down the line.

    Even keeping photo and video documents of your own progress can be a good idea for if you need to make a claim at any point, such as for total loss due to fire. The more you are able to evidence the better.

    The cost of a policy will depend on 3 key criteria

    Primarily this will depend on how long you require the policy for, whether it be 9, 12, 18 months or more.

    The second factor is the sum that it is being insured for.

    And thirdly, the construction type might influence the premiums. A typical brick and block construction would be fine, but something like ICF or SIPs, which insurers might not deem to be a standard construction type, may incur a higher cost.

    There may be some projects which insurers will refuse to cover

    These would typically be projects of a non-standard construction, which perhaps have combustible elements to them. Particularly since the Grenfell tragedy they have been nervous around projects with polystyrene and wood cladding, forcing self-builders to change their plans or pull out of projects altogether.

    Insurance isn’t a legal requirement

    Although it’s not a legal requirement it is something which Andrew wishes people would think about before they even start building. There might be reluctance to take a policy out right at the beginning as people think there won’t be many materials and tools around, so it’s not necessary. But actually, even at that early stage it’s important to have the cover in place for the employer and public liability elements. If left too late into the project, a self builder may find they can’t get cover until it’s been signed off by building regs, because until that point it won’t be considered by a normal household insurer.

    Find out more

    Visit the website of ProAktive

    Check out ProAktive’s YouTube channel

    Read ProAktive’s Guide to Insuring Your Project

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Andrew Reardon

    Passive House Accelerator Podcast

    Ben Adam-Smith recently featured on the Passive House Accelerator podcast, hosted by Zack Semke and Matthew Cutler-Walsh. You can listen to the episode here.

    Please connect with me

    Subscribe, rate and review the podcast in iTunes

    Rate and review the podcast on Stitcher

    Like our Facebook page

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  • HPH296 : How to connect a new water supply to your home – with John Hernon from Thames Water

    HPH296 : How to connect a new water supply to your home – with John Hernon from Thames Water

    John Hernon from Thames Water explains the process of installing a new connection to a water main. He also outlines the role of water services company that delivers clean water and takes away waste water.

    Interview with John Hernon

    John is a strategic development manager for Thames Water. He has been working in the business for nearly 20 years, with much of that time spent dealing with developers and working on connections.

    Thames Water provides clean and waste-water to millions of customers

    Thames Water is the largest of the water companies in the United Kingdom, with 9 million clean-water customers, and around 50 million waste-water customers. Their role is to provide clean water to households, and take their waste away.

    They have a network of over 30,000 kilometres to service and maintain, made up of the strategic network, which is the massive pipes that transport water across the region, and the local distribution network.

    They also have 350 sewage treatment works. Once the sewage has been collected through the network, it has to be treated to a stage where it can be put back into the water course.

    Solids are separated from liquids before being dried, with some of the by-products being sold on to farmers. Liquids go through a process of treatment and screening before being put back out into the environment.

    Much of the network is over 100 years old

    Being such an aged network, much of it is made up of cast iron pipes. There is a massive project underway to replace and upgrade the aging network, but as this brings about inevitable disruption, it has to be managed carefully.

    Booster stations help control water pressure

    Providing clean water uses a pressurised system in order to guarantee a certain amount of pressure to each customer. And where gravity can’t be used, such as when water needs to be taken to properties on a hill, booster stations can boost that supply.

    The guaranteed minimum at the boundary of a property is 1 bar of pressure, but much of the network operates at a higher pressure. One bar of pressure is, if you were to put a nail through that water main, water would spray ten metres in the air.

    Contact them as early as possible

    John suggests that anyone wanting a new connection, whether for a large or small development, should get in contact with them as soon as possible, and ideally even before the planning stage.

    “By getting early visibility and someone saying, ‘we want to build a new house and it’s somewhere where we haven’t got a water network’, we might have to do significant reinforcement to our mains network to supply that. So, we would want to speak to that person as soon as possible to understand the constraints that we need to face and whether we’d need to cross a third party’s land and so on.”

    He says there’s usually a solution, but it can get costly if the new build is in a remote area which has a long run to the nearest connection point. Their pre-development process can offer the customer an estimate about what they’ll need to do to their network, even before it goes for planning approval, so it’s always advisable to get in touch early.

    John says that Thames Water have upgraded their website with a focus on their single-build / smaller customers to try and help them through what could be a confusing process for a novice.

    Once an application has been received, a quotation will be sent out within 14 days. When the quote has been paid it will be valid for 180 days.

    Things that will impact on the cost will be the distance from their nearest assets, any traffic management, lane rental charges etc.

    The most significant thing to potentially impact on the schedule is local authority restrictions, which is why it’s so important to contact the water company as soon as possible. Digging up a road can cause disruption and traffic management problems, so balancing the needs of the customer with local authority requirements can take a number of weeks to resolve.

    Their responsibility is to provide the water supply to the boundary

    Once the supply has been installed, their responsibility continues to that customer. They have to ensure that the meter is installed and logged onto their network and that the account is setup so the customer can be charged for the services. They also have a duty of care to ensure that what has been built and connected to the water network is fully compliant, and will carry out inspections to make sure it is.

    The self-builder should appoint an approved plumber

    This plumber will run the pipework from the inside stop valve out to the boundary. They would need to lay a run of 25mm or 32mm pipework out to the boundary, at a depth of one metre, and leave a little extra pipe there. This helps with frost protection and summer heat gain, and will enable them to link up with the existing assets in the street.

    Thames Water would then carry out an inspection to make sure it is to the right location and using the right material. Occasionally a protective pipe / barrier supply will be needed if it is deemed to be in a contaminated area, but ideally the pipes are just laid onto the soil without sleeves. Sleeves could hamper the chances of identifying a leak if there was an issue.

    The meter will generally be installed at the boundary in the footpath. This clearly marks the point at which Thames Water’s responsibility ends and the customer’s begins.

    Thames Water and their contractors would then take over and liaise with the highway authority, to do the final connection of the pipework to the main in the street.

    Choose water-efficient products

    John recommends that people are careful about the products they buy, and consider that although cheap products might save money upfront, they may not actually be very water efficient. He uses the example of dual flush toilets, where a lot of the cheaper ones fail and end up wasting lots of water. He would encourage people to choose the most efficient products that will save water.

    He also advises people to be especially careful to avoid misconnections on the waste side of things. It’s important that the waste isn’t accidentally connected to a drain, which could potentially pollute a watercourse. In order to avoid this, consent from Thames Water to connect to their waste system must be obtained. They will arrange an inspection to make sure that a proper connection to the sewage system has been carried out.

    Thames Water have plans for improving the network

    John says that Thames Water are looking to install a network of smart meters across the region which will aid their understanding of what customers are using and where there are issues with supply. It could also identify a supply that’s running 24/7, which would mean there’s probably a leak somewhere between the meter and the property.

    They are also actively looking into ways of introducing grey water systems for flushing toilets, which don’t need to be done with the clean water they currently use.

    Most of the network across London is a combined network, which is where the rainwater and sewage are combined. This puts a lot of pressure on the aged network, because when there is heavy rain the sewers become inundated. So, they’re looking at how they might be able to separate the surface and foul networks to ensure that surface can be sent to a water course, and the foul can be taken back to the treatment works.

    Leakage is a big issue for Thames Water so they have set a massive target to deliver on within five years, to drive down the amount of water being wasted.

    And finally, improving the customer experience is a focus for the next five years too. There is work going on to upgrade their website so that if a customer has a query they should be able to find the answers online without having to join a queue in a call centre.

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Thames Water

    Follow Thames Water on Twitter

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with John Hernon.

    Please connect with me

    Subscribe, rate and review the podcast in iTunes

    Rate and review the podcast on Stitcher

    Like our Facebook page

    Follow us on Twitter

  • HPH295 : How to connect a new electricity supply to your home – with Neil Clarke from UK Power Networks

    HPH295 : How to connect a new electricity supply to your home – with Neil Clarke from UK Power Networks

    Neil Clarke from UK Power Networks explains how to get mains electricity to a new build home.

    Interview with Neil Clarke

    Neil has been working for UK Power Networks for over 32 years, and currently heads up their connections services division. This covers new builds of up to four plots, highway services (bus shelters, speed cameras, streetlights), as well as the disconnection side when buildings are being demolished.

    The main electricity network is broken into 12 separate regions, which are owned by six different companies. UK Power Networks cover the Eastern, South Eastern and London regions. Their role isn’t to generate electricity, but to enable its distribution, through maintenance of the wires and sub-stations in the network.

    If you’re not sure who your distribution network operator is there’s a useful search tool on the Energy Networks Association website.

    New builds account for 40% of their connections

    UK Power Networks receive around 60,000 inquiries a year for small, domestic connections services. This generates around 24,000 quotes, with approximately 60% take-up.

    Applications can be done online

    There are two approaches that customers can take to get the connection process started. The first is to complete an online application form, which is something that regular customers would be most likely to do.

    For anyone that needs a bit more help, the second approach is where the customer can request a site visit. A representative will arrange to meet the customer at the site, talk them through the process, and assist with filling in the application form and processing it through the system.

    They provide online videos and tutorials to assist with the application, whether it be for a new service, an alteration, connection on the highway, an electric vehicle charger, etc.

    They will work with the homeowner or their electrician

    Neil says that if someone is making an application then they usually know roughly what it is that they need. Sometimes this will be because the homeowner will have an electrician applying on their behalf.

    If that’s not the case then Neil’s department will work with the homeowner to explain what kind of supply they would need. Most houses would be a single phase, one-hundred amps. But if they have larger pumps and machinery then a three phase might be needed to even out the voltage across each phase.

    Their behind the scenes technical checks will be included in the price and will look at volt drop, the size of the substation, any differences for being in a rural area where there’s no electricity, etc.

    Larger developments of four units and above will be handled by a different department, as they may need to have network reinforcements.

    “All we’re trying to do is support the integrity of the network, to make sure that whatever we supply is sufficient for the homeowner but also fits in with the network.”

    Anything is possible, but there will be costs attached

    Neil says that even in rural areas anything is possible. But it’s worth considering if you’re having problems with getting an electricity connection, then you’re likely to also have issues with getting water and gas to the site too, and at this point the decision might be that a self build isn’t going to be viable.

    The most efficient and cost effective way of going about it is to tie-in with the other utilities, rather than trenches needing to be dug each time. When permits are requested from the local authority they can say whether gas and water are going in, and there can be a collaborative working between them to reduce costs and disruption, and get the work done more quickly.

    Their responsibility isn’t as a supplier or meter operator

    UK Power Network’s responsibility is up to the termination, from the house outwards. This termination will be 100 amps. From there, a single or a three-phase cable will come out of the property, into a ducting which is usually on their property and runs to their boundary line. At that point it goes to the public footway, or possibly across the road, depending on where the mains cable is.

    Plans of where the cables are, are available from their plans provision team, but in the case of a new connection, a surveyor would be sent to map out all of the cables and plot them on the drawings. These are cross-checked with their logged records to make sure they match up correctly.

    Staff receive continous training

    How many UK Power Networks staff you have attend will depend on the site specifics. Generally, in addition to having a surveyor visit, the field staff will usually come in teams of two. This could include a civils gang, a jointing gang, and a reinstating team.

    All staff are fully trained and have refresher sessions every six months to keep their competency up. At six month intervals they are also monitored and tested on site, and have regular safety briefings.

    Costs are dependent on a number of factors

    Every job will be site specific, but there is a basic cost for a new supply into a house. This would be sufficient for most houses, whether detached or otherwise, and covers up to 40m. Anything greater than 40m and they might need to lay a three-phase cable to stop volt drop, which would start to put the price up.

    Other things that may prolong the process and add to the costs, can include having to cross a high-pressure gas main, which would need a specialist on-site for safety reasons, or needing to apply and give notice for a road closure. Other road conditions that could impact the cost, might be if specialist traffic management is needed, parking bay suspensions are required, or if it is crossing red routes.

    Underground supplies are preferred

    If the property is in a rural area and the only supply is overhead, then they would supply that property overhead, but generally they try to avoid working at height and run it underground into the property if possible.

    Cables that are laid in the road are between 600mm and one metre below the ground. In the footway they is usually a minimum of 450mm deep.

    The cables are plastic coated with an aluminium core and a copper neutral.

    Programme timings can be driven by the customer

    At an initial site visit, you might be advised to install a temporary builder’s supply (TBS) for use while the building work is being carried out. This would need to be in a lockable, waterproof housing and could be changed to a permanent supply if required later.

    UK Power Networks will provide a quote within 5 days of the application being submitted.

    Once the customer has paid they aim to provide the supply within 25 days, on a date of the customer’s choosing. Five days before the date of supply they will call the customer to check everything is on schedule, and a couple of days before they will pop by to check everything is ready.

    Contact them as early as possible

    Neil’s advice is to communicate with them as early as possible, even if it’s just to understand a process or how much it’s going to cost. He uses disconnections as an example, where a site has been demolished but their termination has been left standing, potentially being a danger to the customer or their staff.

    Other parties involved could include electricians and a meter operator, so it is important that early communication involves those parties to ensure everyone is collaborating effectively.

    Find out more

    Visit the website of UK Power Networks

    Follow UK Power Networks on Twitter

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Neil Clarke.

    Please connect with me

    Subscribe, rate and review the podcast in iTunes

    Rate and review the podcast on Stitcher

    Like our Facebook page

    Follow us on Twitter

  • HPH294 : Using a package supplier to deliver an ecological home – with Adrian Reith

    HPH294 : Using a package supplier to deliver an ecological home – with Adrian Reith

    Adrian Reith explains why the joined up design, engineering and quality of a Baufritz home appealed to him.

    Interview with Adrian Reith

    Adrian considers himself to be a creative person and, following a career in advertising, he was inspired to re-train and become a business coach.

    He and his wife Judy live in the centre of Cambridge, where the opportunities to purchase self build plots are few and far between.

    His persistence paid off

    Over the years Adrian has been very active on the Land Registry website, paying a small amount to find out who owns various sites.

    He used to live over the road from this particular plot, which at that time accommodated a number of small garages, not built for modern sized cars.

    Every year, he would write to the owner and ask if they would be willing to sell, and each year he would receive a letter of rejection back. On his sixth year of making the request, they replied that they would be interested in talking to him about it.

    The land was owned by one of the Cambridge colleges, and at that meeting, Adrian emphasised how they had roots in the area, loved Cambridge, and were looking to build a family home. His initial offer of £350,000 was rejected. He immediately increased the offer to £450,000, which was put to the college committee and accepted the following day.

    The plot didn’t have planning permission but Adrian sought advice from a planning officer before making his offer, who thought it had potential to get planning. It was nevertheless a risk to buy what could just have ended up being some very expensive garages!

    Adrian says that he is a creative person and believes in holding onto your dreams, which is something he thinks probably helped in his pursuit of the land. He also thinks he was fortunate that the plot never came onto the open market as he knows of other people who had also been keen to purchase it.

    Planning permission wasn’t a foregone conclusion

    The site has 16 adjoining properties so they were quite concerned at their prospects of getting planning permission.

    Having lived in the vicinity for a number of years already, Adrian and Judy worked hard to communicate with their neighbours about what their plans were. They even managed to have a number of letters of support for their project, which is quite unusual.

    The application went to committee as there were a couple of objections from people who hadn’t engaged with them in the process. The committee were hugely positive, understanding of the eco-credentials, and granted them permission to build.

    The location had access constraints

    The house is hidden from view from the road, which is made up of mostly large, Edwardian villas, and is approached by the side of two mock-tudor style semi-detached houses.

    The site is roughly the size of two double tennis courts, and Adrian thinks that a developer would have put quite a few houses on there. When considering their options they did contemplate building two houses, one to rent out and one to live in, but decided on just a generous four bedroom house for themselves.

    The groundworks were carried out by a separate company, which was particularly challenging, given the narrow access down the lane and a tree in the way! Being a timber-framed house the foundations had to be extremely flat and accurate.

    The Baufritz approach had great appeal

    Adrian and his wife are well connected in the area and were keen to build a home that would enable them to welcome people into it. They wanted it to be ecologically responsible and easy to look after as they move into older age.

    From his previous experience of having architect designed, experimental glass extensions on the backs of big Victorian houses, that weren’t executed all that well or comfortable to live in, he was keen to go for something that wouldn’t be causing them problems later on.

    The Baufritz approach of joining up the issues of design, engineering, materials, function, execution and low maintenance, was something that had appealed to them for quite some time already, after researching them for a previous project which hadn’t gone ahead.

    He also liked their emphasis on it being not just an eco house, but a healthy house, making sure that there’s no PVC, VOCs and glues. The fact they’ve built many of these houses before, with tradesmen working together and not against each other, meant they weren’t dreaming up a house from scratch, hoping it was going to work.

    The design developed during a visit to the Baufritz HQ in Germany

    The first step for Adrian and Judy was to write down lists of all the things they liked or disliked in previous houses, including room dimensions. That formed their brief which the architect gave to Baufritz to cost.

    Once they had planning permission they spent a week in Germany at the Baufritz headquarters, where they were given an office for the duration, and were able to bring their ideas together.

    They were then taken through a series of checklists during the week, covering flooring, bathrooms, toilets, doorknobs, stairs, windows etc. They loved the experience but were glad of the advice of a former customer that they knew, who had suggested doing a reccy some time before where they had time to take stock without any pressure.

    A novel approach for them was that the factory had movable components, where they could wheel sinks, toilets, baths etc around to end up with the actual physical layout they would have in their own house.

    Ultimately, Adrian is pleased with the decisions they made, although, being a perfectionist, he was bound to have some things he wished he had done differently. Having been in the house for five years now, and making the decisions about it seven years ago, times have moved on and he wishes he had opted for an electric car charging point for example. He also says it was difficult to visualise quite where things were going to go inside the house, as to where electrical sockets would need to go, and how many of them would be needed. He thinks this is something he probably underestimated.

    The factory-built approach gives quality of workmanship

    What they liked about the factory build approach, was that the house components are put together in ideal conditions. So for example, a window is sealed into the wall, in ideal conditions, using ideal tools, and not by someone in the rain on a Friday afternoon plugging a gap with some expanding foam!

    Theirs is a timber frame house with walls filled with a wood shaving waste product. There is plasterboard on either side of the walls to keep the insulation in, with a void before another plasterboard layer to run the services in. On the exterior there is another void before the external covering on the outside of the house.

    There were logistical challenges in getting the house components to the site

    Once the foundations had been signed off, they had the go ahead for the house to be built in the factory, and Adrian and Judy were given a date for delivery.

    Adrian negotiated with a local airfield to have a crane stationed there, for lifting the loads off the six, 20 metre trucks, onto a smaller truck to shuttle back and forth to the site. Once at the site, two cranes lifted the pieces of the house over the tree.

    The house is around 26 metres long, and the facade arrived in only four pieces with the triple glazed windows pre-installed. The first wall was swung over on the Tuesday lunchtime, and by the time the sun was going down on the Thursday, the roof was on and the house was watertight.

    The internal works, such as the underfloor heating, screeding, taping, decorating, plumbing, wiring, kitchen and bathroom installation etc, took a further five months to complete. That work was also done by Baufritz, and they actually moved in ahead of the estimated time, and on budget.

    “This is a modern house with soul”

    This was how one of their friends described the finished house, and Adrian believes it does have a human quality about it that speaks to you. He thinks the oak flooring and doors contribute to this, and give it a sense of calm.

    Image copyright Joakim Borén
    Image copyright Joakim Borén

    Something they particularly enjoy is returning to the house after a period of time away and finding that the MVHR keeps the house still smelling fresh.

    Image copyright Joakim Borén

    The house has an upstairs laundry room, with zoned, controllable heating. They hardly use heating anywhere else in the house, except for in this room where the clothes are washed and hung up to dry. The hot, moist air is extracted from the room, with the heat being recycled and the clothes drying quickly.

    The landscaping will give them privacy

    Adrian and Judy spent time with their architect to understand the light and work out which aspects to look out onto. From the office at the top of the house they look over the mature gardens of their neighbours, and downstairs they face across their own garden.

    Image copyright Joakim Borén

    To create privacy for themselves and their neighbours they planted 30 small hornbeam trees, which will create a high level hedge for screening and leave them feeling less exposed than they currently do.

    Image copyright Joakim Borén

    In hindsight, Adrian would have imported a few tonnes of topsoil for the grass, as he wishes he had sought advice on that from a gardener and not a builder!

    Image copyright Joakim Borén
    Image copyright Joakim Borén

    It is at the premium end of housebuilding

    Adrian accepts that it is not a cheap house, and all the convenience does come at a price. However, its central Cambridge location means that it warrants the investment as they would get their money back should they ever wish to sell.

    He very much enjoyed the process of having a menu of options, and tinkering around with their choices to see what impact that would have on the price. One example was they decided during the planning stage to enlarge the hallways and staircase, even though they knew this would have a heavy cost impact with extra roof, foundations, floor, ceiling, wall etc.

    They are happy to share their ideas

    Adrian and Judy have opened their house to hundreds of visitors over the years as part of Cambridge Open Eco Homes.

    “As a creative person, everybody needs their inspiration, everyone needs to steal ideas. That’s the best way, not to come up with your own ideas but to take someone else’s and adapt it. That’s the best thing. So, I’m delighted to show people around and to help them see a vision of how they can do something that they want to do in their own place.”

    Image copyright Joakim Borén

    They recently published “Act 3”

    Building the house in their 50s is evidence of their attitude towards life and, during the lockdown period, Adrian and Judy published a book that links into their work as life coaches.

    They found themselves repeatedly meeting people of a similar age and stage in their lives where they were thinking about their roles and responsibilities to themselves, their families and the world.

    Their book, Act 3: The Art of Growing Older, is designed to be a framework for helping people answer those questions, based around the ideas of looking at your values, what’s important to you, finding purpose, and sorting out your key relationships. It is their belief that starting with those fundamentals will make the rest much easier to work out.

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Act 3

    Find out more about Baufritz

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Adrian Reith.

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  • HPH293 : What is Passive House Accelerator? – with Zack Semke

    HPH293 : What is Passive House Accelerator? – with Zack Semke

    Zack Semke explains why he’s passionate about facilitating the communication and flow of information around Passive House.

    Interview with Zack Semke

    Zack is based in Seattle, where he works in marketing consulting services for the high-performance building industry. He is also a director of Passive House Accelerator: a website that brings together different sources of information to educate, inform, and promote the work that is being done by the Passive House community.

    The construction industry has lacked innovation

    Compared to other industries, construction has been famously lacking in innovation, but Zack says that Passive House is changing that. By using physics to understand how to design and construct buildings better, Passive House is re-thinking the basics of the skeleton and skin to improve performance.

    The learning from new technologies will drive down costs

    Zack uses the example of solar energy to show how there has been a massive drop in the cost in recent years.

    He attributes this to Wright’s Law and the learning curve effect, which applies to all technologies. It says that for every doubling of units produced, there will be incremental reductions in the costs. This is brought about by the additional learning and micro-innovations that happen across the supply chain. In the case of solar energy, Zack says it looks as though every doubling of solar panels across the world brings about a fall in prices of 30%.

    The same principles can be applied to Passive House buildings, so that costs can be driven down to more of a cost parity with conventional construction.

    There has also been progress in the components supply chain over recent years, with triple glazed windows for example coming down in price.

    And once costs become on a par, it becomes a no-brainer to build Passive House, with all the lower energy and health benefits too.

    “That’s why I’m so passionate about facilitating communication and flow of information between practitioners, policymakers, marketers and whoever it is, because we want to accelerate this process as much as we can so that when a project happens in the UK and there are lessons learned from that project, we can see that learning being applied in Seattle for example.”

    We know what we’re getting with Passive House!

    Zack credits the focus on physics as providing such an important contribution to the sustainability movement. The development of tools like PHPP, which are not too complex or too simplistic to use, mean that there won’t be the performance gap that can be found with other green building standards.

    There will be a wave of uptake

    Zack is encouraged by the explosion of Passive House that is happening across parts of North America, particularly in Vancouver where enlightened public policy is incentivising Passive House and net zero construction, and New York City where carbon emission restrictions on existing buildings are being imposed, paving the way for huge numbers of deep energy retrofits.

    And whereas the Living Building Challenge has been incentivised, it was designed to be exactly what it says – a challenge. Zack says that it doesn’t factor in scalability and is seen as the moon-shot of green building. Passive House on the other hand is set up to be cost optimised.

    “As cities become actually serious about delivering on climate goals, they’ll recognise that there is no other green building standard or approach that rivals Passive House on reducing operational carbon emissions.”

    He gives the example of affordable multi-family buildings in Pennsylvania. The body that oversees the funding, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, has prioritised Passive House in their scoring for projects that are looking for funding. It doesn’t cost the state anything to add that as a priority, and the result is that developers know if they include Passive House in their schemes they will be at greater chance of securing funding against competitors. This has seen a wave of Passive House construction of affordable housing in the state.

    Pax Futura Passive House apartment building in Seattle. An example of the kind of urban infill, multi-family Passive House building that we will need to see more of in order to address the climate crisis.
    Image Copyright Cascade Built

    Embodied carbon is a challenge we have to address

    “Operational carbon is the first thing that we need to tackle in my view, but just like so many things in the climate action space, it’s not an either/or conversation.”

    Zack credits the Living Building Challenge for the new zero carbon certification, which is one of the first to consider how to reduce and offset embodied carbon.

    He says the Passive House community is embracing embodied carbon as a challenge, and the Passivhaus Institute is dedicating resources to its research and thinking about tools for how it could be addressed. He would be keen to see them including energy-related embodied carbon calculations and looking at the implications of those decisions.

    The Passive House Accelerator shares information and innovation

    Created just over a year ago, the Passive House Accelerator is an open source global platform, that is partly a place that shares content that others have created about Passive House. They also host virtual weekly presentations by Passive House experts, followed by Q&A sessions on screen.

    In addition, they present a podcast, and host roundtable discussions, on a variety of related topics.

    Find out more

    Visit the website of Passive House Accelerator

    Follow Zack on Twitter

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Zack Semke.

    Climate Champions Podcast

    Hattie Hartman, Sustainability Editor at the Architects’ Journal, has launched a new podcast with architect George Morgan from One Point Five Architecture.

    It aims to share knowledge in an era of climate emergency, speaking to change-makers and innovators who are transforming architecture as we know it by designing in ways that respect planetary boundaries

    Find out more.

    Please connect with me

    Subscribe, rate and review the podcast in iTunes

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  • HPH292 : What home automation do you really need? – with Mark McCall and Scott McMurray

    HPH292 : What home automation do you really need? – with Mark McCall and Scott McMurray

    After years of dabbling with various smart home technology, Mark McCall and system provider Scott McMurray explain how a fully integrated system is providing home automation in Mark’s new self build.

    Interview with Mark McCall and Scott McMurray

    Having spent years experimenting with smart technology on his first self build, when Mark decided to build for a second time, home automation was always going to be integral to his plans. After meeting Scott from Epitome Living at a trade show, they worked together to create an integrated system for the house.

    Mark has been blogging on the subject for 25 years

    While not claiming to be an expert in the field, Mark started blogging about home automation when he did his first self build, back in the mid ’90s. Automated Home was born as a result of Mark being unable to find much useful information about smart homes. Over the last couple of decades, Mark has been writing about his experiences of trying out numerous different systems, and says he knows a little about a lot, which is why he went to Scott for his expertise in the particular system he had chosen.

    It was Loxone, or nothing!

    For Mark, the Loxone system provides the right balance of security, reliability, functionality, integration, and affordability. Although not as cheap, or as expensive, as many other systems, Mark felt the extra benefits Loxone provides were more than enough to justify any higher price, and it became the only system that he wanted to use.

    And for Scott, his research across Europe had convinced him that at the heart of his business was going to be a Loxone based solution. He cites the fact that half of all new homes being built in Austria are using a Loxone system, as being evidence of its reliability and reputation.

    Design the system as early as possible

    It is important to try and avoid a situation where you are having to retrofit equipment and cables into a building that is already going up. It should be a case of designing a system that is going to work for the occupant, rather than having to make it fit around what is already there. Ideally the best time to be designing it is around the time the planning application is submitted.

    Be prepared to extend your wishlist!

    Mark’s initial brief for Scott was largely based around what he had already tried out and got on well with in his previous house, such as the automated lighting that switches on when walking into a room.

    From working with Scott and finding out about the different capabilities available, his original modest specification grew and grew into a fairly comprehensive system. The appeal was that the individual systems could be integrated and work seamlessly together, incorporating things like heating, multi-room audio, the doorbell to ring through chosen speakers and text to speech alerts.

    It contributes to the minimal feel of the house

    Most of the hardware and infrastructure are contained in a plant room so there is very little on show. Some speakers have even been concealed in ceilings and the sub-woofer is hidden in the kitchen island.

    A screen in the kitchen controls all of the subsystems and each room has a glass switch that can control lighting, audio volume, and operation of the blinds.

    To keep things minimal it is important to have a good cabling plan. Ideally have all the cabling in the walls when the house is being built, even using extra to allow for additions later on, but wireless, battery-powered additions can also be incorporated if needed.

    The system is not reliant on the internet

    The Loxone system doesn’t use an internet connection or cloud servers to operate. Instead, it has it’s own mini-server within the house.

    It is possible to enable remote access to the system though using a secure SSL link, which can provide access and monitoring when you’re away from the home.

    By keeping the system off the internet you aren’t opening yourself up to possible security failings that WiFi enabled bulbs and speakers etc could have, or risking operational failure if the internet connection goes down!

    The more subsystems that feed into it, the more intelligent it is

    Mark’s is a high performance home and the smart technology can feed into controlling energy usage. The system can pull-in weather forecasts and they are hoping to work out a way of using information from that to have the heat pump adjust automatically to compensate for likely solar gain during the day.

    The same system that controls the heating can also control the shading. So if shades come down automatically based on time of day, sun position, or external temperature, the heating will know that it shouldn’t be on. And if a window is opened to cool down a room it can automatically turn off the heating.

    The rooflights are also connected to the system so that if the room starts to overheat they can open automatically. There is a connected weather station on the roof, so if it starts to rain or the wind picks up, the rooflights will automatically close again.

    Mark says there is a synergy from all the subsystems being interconnected.

    The more complicated the system, the easier it is for the occupant

    The installer will tackle the complexity of the system, meaning that there is inevitably less for the homeowner to do. With much of the heating, lighting, window and rooflight opening etc being reactive and controlled autonomously, it can mean little more than reaching for your mobile phone or using a touchscreen if needed.

    Smart home is not the same as integrated home automation

    The usual understanding of a smart home is based around different apps on a mobile device providing a remote control function of different parts of the home, such as curtains, lighting, heating, audio, etc. Mark says these don’t always provide a great user experience and he is keen to point out how this differs from what he calls integrated home automation, which is entirely customisable to the individual.

    One example in his own house, is where the operation of a light switch in his utility room as he exits the house will activate the garage door so that it is open ready for him to drive away.

    Don’t be put off by bad experiences

    Scott explains that some people might be put off the idea of home automation, based on previous experience of bad DIY products that homeowners install themselves and then find out don’t work terribly well.

    He recommends they try and put those experiences to one side and go somewhere where they can fully experience a truly smart home.

    “It’s not the kind of thing that everybody feels that they need, but then not everybody needed automatic lights in their car, electric windows in their car, remote central locking, all these things that we’ve come to maybe expect from our vehicles. For some reason, we still put a key in our door and open our windows manually and adjust the heating manually.”

    Find out more

    Check out Mark’s Automated Home blog

    Follow Automated Home on Twitter

    Find out more about Epitome Living

    Follow Epitome Living on Twitter

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Mark McCall and Scott McMurray.

    Please connect with me

    Subscribe, rate and review the podcast in iTunes

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  • HPH291 : Having the freedom to build what you want – with Werner Brouwer

    HPH291 : Having the freedom to build what you want – with Werner Brouwer

    Werner Brouwer explains why being able to build a house without restrictions in Oosterwold is also about working together to build a community.

    Interview with Werner Brouwer

    Since its conception 50 years ago, there has been much interest in the Oosterwold development of the Almere area in the Netherlands.

    From the first houses being built around five years ago, there are now around 500 houses, from a total of 15,000 which are expected to be built.

    Werner Brouwer works for the municipality of Almere as Director of Development at Oosterwold.

    “The very special thing is you can choose anything you want, but the difficulty is you have to choose.”

    Without many regulations in place, or indeed a designer or planning officer, decisions need to be made by the residents. While this appears on the face of it to be an exciting prospect, it does leave them with the problem of having to make those decisions, even if they’re difficult to do. For example, with even the road-building needing to be self-organised, it is left for future neighbours to cooperate together.

    “That’s not an easy part because everyone has a different budget, different ideas, and you have to come to one end.”

    The difficulty is not in building the house

    Building the house, or getting someone in to design and build it for you, can actually be relatively easy, in comparison to other aspects of being a homeowner at the Oosterwold site. For most people, it will be the first time they have done something like this, and what they are finding is that it took a lot more time and was considerably more difficult than they thought. As novices, trying to find out how to go about building roads and wastewater treatment systems, and particularly in collaboration with your future neighbours, can be extremely challenging and time-consuming.

    Road building can be a contentious issue

    At Oosterwold, when you buy a plot you will have a drawing that shows where the road will need to go. As you can only start building your house once you have a road, you are dependent on that cooperation with your neighbours for getting the road built. While this can be a chance to bond with them, it can also lead to tensions.

    There are some regulations about the dimensions to ensure it is suitable for emergency vehicle access, but beyond that it is for the neighbours of their particular area to agree on what it is going to be made from, and how to divide the cost. They could decide the percentages will be based on the number of houses, the size of the plot, income, number of cars owned, etc.

    Werner is already involved in a legal procedure where people are in dispute about the road.

    “People choose things that are not common, and you have to fit in with them”

    Plots are allocated in sequence along rows, so when you see a plot you like you have to contact the one there before you. It is the nature of the development that people might want something outside of the norm, but in order to achieve that there has to be collaboration with your new neighbours. For example, if someone wants a circular plot, they will need to find someone that wants a concave plot for next door.

    The freedom to make their own choices means there is a lot of diversity, with houses being built out of straw, car tyres, wood, steel, and shipping containers, all next to each other. With no say about what your neighbour can build, it’s a development that might not suit everyone!

    Community sustainability contributes to the conscience of behaviour

    Sustainability in terms of energy consumption is generally done at an individual level, but a big focus is on developing a sustainable community. As part of this there is an obligation to contribute 50% of each plot to city farming for food production. This could be by way of keeping sheep, planting fruit trees or a vineyard.

    Wastewater and sewerage is also dealt with locally in the development, with residents being responsible for their own treatment systems. One positive that comes out of this is it has meant that individuals at Oosterwold have an awareness of the circularity of water and what their own needs are.

    However, lessons have been learned that it’s actually a very technical solution so they are planning for the government to take back some of the responsibility for the wastewater treatment.

    The process is the same for schools and public transport

    With a development of this size there will need to be community facilities, but these follow the same rules as for the house building. In Holland, there is a financial deal whereby if an initiative and backing are raised to build a school, then the government will have to pay for it. But that initiative, like all the others, will have to take its turn, be involved in the road building for that section, and provide the necessary agricultural space.

    Developers are not allowed!

    Werner accepts that while sometimes developers could do it better or faster, this provides an alternative for people who don’t want to live in a standard home. With a shortfall of one million houses that need to be built in the country, Oosterwold draws on the experience gained from fast development at Almere to offer choice for those that would like to build a house themselves.

    Time needs to be taken to implement lessons learned

    With Oosterwold covering an area of 4,300 hectares, Werner says one of their objectives is about slowing down development. If 1,000 people rush into building, it could mean 1,000 mistakes being made. Better to let it move at a slower pace and have time to respond to issues.

    There is currently an evaluation taking place looking at what has gone well, what has gone wrong and what could be done better.

    Find out more

    Find out more about Oosterwold

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Werner Brouwer.

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  • HPH290 : Being resourceful to bring down the cost of a build – with Colin Rice

    HPH290 : Being resourceful to bring down the cost of a build – with Colin Rice

    Self-building an annexe in an area of coastal erosion meant a low-cost but high-performance build was a priority for architect Colin Rice.

    Interview with Colin Rice

    Colin is a partner at Cullinan Studio, but one of his first jobs after graduating in 1980 was working with Lyall Addleson. Lyall was well-known for his “Handbook of Building Failures”, and Colin worked with him on his investigations into building defects, and subsequent book “Performance of Materials and Buildings.” The time spent having Lyall as a mentor has shaped how Colin has approached architecture throughout the rest of his career.

    Colin has spent three years applying principles he learned during that time to his own self-built annexe at his Green Tiles coastal home.

    Five principles guide how Colin designs

    These are principles that came out of Colin’s work with Lyall and which he has always kept in the back of his mind since.

    First is the constraint which he calls high to low. This applies whether you’re thinking about rainfall or structure and the force of gravity from high to low, but also to things like air pressure and thermal gradients that affect the building envelope.

    Separate lives is his second constraint. He says that lots of buildings suffer defects from ignoring the fact a building is a process, and understanding how the different thermal and moisture properties of the materials will work together or against each other over time.

    The third principle is the objective of continuity, and particularly the continuity of performance. To use the example of a Passivhaus where there is a greater extreme between inside and out, there has to be continuity of all kinds of things, including the air barrier.

    “You’re trying to manage a much greater differential between high and low and you have to do it by thinking very carefully about continuity in the face of the challenge of separate lives.”

    The objective that you’re trying to do is to hold that in balance, which is the fourth principle.

    And finally, creative pessimism is the fifth principle. It could also be thought of as ‘whatever can go wrong at some point will’. By thinking ahead to what could go wrong, Colin says you can come up with smart solutions more creatively.

    Colin’s home is in an area affected by coastal erosion

    Colin’s Green Tiles home is backed by sand dunes along the coastline of Norfolk. It is an area where the cliffs are being eroded at a phenomenal rate, which is only expected to worsen further with the predicted changes to sea levels caused by climate change and global warming.

    Being somewhat unwise to therefore invest huge amounts of money in the project, applying the five principles to his project also helped with keeping the costs down.

    The annexe provides a warm overflow space

    The existing house on the site is a timber frame building of around 6m x 8m, which they have owned since 1998. There was also a 6-berth caravan adjacent to the building which they used as a playroom and then a workshop, before it went into a state of disrepair.

    With the existing house being very cold during the winter months, they managed to get planning permission for a self-contained annexe in which they could stay comfortably during the colder periods and also use as overflow space for accommodating guests.

    Think of planning as being part of the work

    With Colin doing all the work himself, he would use alternate weekends for planning and carpentry at home, and then being on site. While he stresses the importance of careful planning it shouldn’t be at the expense of allowing yourself to make changes and improvements.

    A circular economy style of re-use requires storage space

    As the caravan was in too bad a state of repair to use as a workshop, Colin purchased a shipping container as a replacement. He dismantled the caravan and salvaged components where he could, and used the container for storage.

    A flood strategy was needed for planning consent

    Being situated in a low-lying area at the bottom of a hill, which can have standing water for several months, they were unable to use traditional foundations. Instead, they have used damped down crushed aggregate with railway sleepers on top. The timber frame, which Colin simplified by planning around standard timber sizes, is strutted off the sleepers to allow any floodwater to flow underneath.

    Prioritising performance doubled his initial budget

    Originally Colin had a budget of just £12,000 for his build, but that was before he made the decision to prioritise performance and apply for building regulations approval.

    Taking that decision meant an increase in costs of glazing and insulation so his final spend was just under £25,000, which works out at slightly less than £850 per square metre, including VAT and all the internal fitting out.

    Colin built the annexe himself at weekends

    He spent £2,000 on the double glazed units, which he designed on a “drip dry” principle where the sheet of glass overhangs the wall below, and is overhung by the wall above.

    Rather than using off-the-shelf I-studs, which would have weighed 90kg and cost £90 each, Colin made his own C-studs weigh 60kg and costing £60 each. He says they wouldn’t be strong enough for a multi-storey building, but for his single-storey dwelling they are perfectly adequate, thermally efficient and light enough to handle more easily when doing the construction yourself.

    The roof and walls are insulated by filling the cavity with Warmcel cellulose insulation. The roof joist insulation is held in place with plasterboard and a thin layer of OSB on the underside.

    The cold roof has a deck which carries the waterproof membrane. It is designed to be cold because it has a ventilation space underneath it. It relies on air movement through the cavity to clear moisture and things that can cause decay of the timber.

    Being thrifty can be fun!

    Colin has tried to reuse as many materials as possible in the construction and fit-out of the annexe, even down to the microwave glass plate fixed into a hole in the wall to make a window into the bathroom!

    He never throws things away as they might be useful someday, and says he is also an opportunist. He has utilised off-cuts of wood from Cullinan’s previous office and among other things has taken apart an old bench sander to use the cogged rubber belt drive on a drop-down window in the annexe.

    Reused features in the Annexe

    Ask the question “If I take this apart, will I be able to use it again?”

    Colin’s tips for tackling a high performance project on a small budget are:

    • Use eBay and similar sites for sourcing materials
    • If you have the space, use a shed or container for storage
    • Plan on a modular basis for avoiding waste
    • Design in a way that doesn’t rely on glues and sealants

    Find out more

    Visit Cullinan Studio’s website

    Follow Colin on Twitter

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Colin Rice.

    Please connect with me

    Subscribe, rate and review the podcast in iTunes

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  • HPH289 : Retrofitting period properties – with Roger Hunt

    HPH289 : Retrofitting period properties – with Roger Hunt

    Author Roger Hunt explains why period properties need treating differently when it comes to achieving successful retrofit projects.

    Interview with Roger Hunt

    Roger Hunt co-authored Old House Handbook back in 2008, about repairing old buildings, at a time when retrofit was barely on the agenda. Not long after, people started to recognise the importance of retrofit and sustainability which led to their companion book, Old House Eco Handbook. It has since been updated with a second edition, incorporating new thinking on how to make buildings energy efficient, and the surge of new materials available that can make it happen.

    Not enough progress is being made

    Roger recalls attending a conference not long after Old House Handbook was published where, to meet targets, it was claimed that a city the size of Coventry would need to be retrofit every week.

    “We’re nowhere near that. We haven’t scraped the surface. We are so far behind in terms of retrofitting old buildings that there is absolutely no way we’re going to meet the targets we need to meet as far as I can see. And we can’t build new homes to solve the problem because we can’t build them quick enough; there isn’t the land to build them on. And the environmental impact of knocking all the old ones down to build new ones isn’t sustainable either.”

    Typical UK housing stock – Copyright Roger Hunt
    Copyright Roger Hunt
    Copyright Roger Hunt

    Pre and post-1919 buildings need treating differently

    Roger defines old buildings as being anything from medieval through to Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses. They were houses typically made from breathable materials, such as lime mortars, renders and plasters.

    Getting the retrofit techniques wrong in a breathable type of construction can store up problems for the future in terms of damp and condensation.

    It is important to make the distinction between those breathable buildings, and ones from around 1919 onwards, when construction methods changed to concrete and cement being used with a focus on keeping water out. Those buildings need to be treated differently, as getting the retrofit techniques wrong can store up problems for the future.

    Start with a plan for the whole building

    It might be that you won’t intend to do a full retrofit straight away, just elements of it to begin with and the rest spread over several years, but it’s important to think of your long term plan of everything that will need doing.

    For example, starting by draft-proofing all the windows and floors will cut down air movement within the house and cause a build up of condensation and poor air quality, if controlled ventilation isn’t considered. That might be achieved by controlled opening of windows, or a mechanical ventilation system.

    Using controlled ventilation – Copyright Roger Hunt
    Opening windows as a form of controlled ventilation – Copyright Roger Hunt

    Roger says that some sort of mechanical ventilation is almost inevitable, particularly for kitchens and bathrooms, but heat recovery systems don’t necessarily work well in old buildings.

    Reducing drafts is as important to comfort level as insulation

    Drafts actually make you feel colder than the building really is, so introducing secondary glazing or draft proofing around windows can make a big difference to comfort levels.

    Other uncontrolled ventilation can come from gaps in floorboards. If they can be plugged and a window opened when required then you can have controlled ventilation.

    Copyright Roger Hunt

    Buildings must be properly maintained

    Roger stresses that maintenance is particularly important for old buildings. Blocked gutters for example can lead to thermally inefficient wet walls, and a slipped roof tile can lead to leaks, rotten timbers and water coming through ceilings. The repair job is going to be costly and a lot less sustainable than just maintaining the building properly.

    Copyright Roger Hunt

    Reduce energy use within the house

    Before even thinking about how to heat or light the home, you should be thinking about a fabric first approach of how to insulate, cut drafts, and increase daylight. From there you could incorporate solar arrays or air and ground source heat pumps. The heat pumps won’t work so well if it is a leaky building, so these all need to be considered as part of the bigger project.

    “You have to think of the best solution for heating combined with all the other things you’re doing. So, an air source heat pump is not necessarily going to be the solution until you have tackled some of the other issues with the building.”

    Simple things that can be achieved quickly with an instant impact include changing high energy bulbs to LEDs and putting in loft insulation.

    Copyright Roger Hunt
    Copyright Thermafleece

    EnerPHit projects can be incredibly successful

    With fairly disastrous consequences to getting it wrong, one way to have a successful outcome is to work towards the EnerPHit standard. This will probably mean employing an architect or other specialist with experience of what they’re doing. It might not be cheap or easy but will deliver on energy efficiency and comfort.

    There is a delicate balance between sustainability and retaining character

    A risk of coming in and doing a complete retrofit of an old building is that it can lose some of the character which makes us love them in the first place.

    “I’m passionate about trying to make buildings sustainable and cut our carbon but at the same time we’ve got to have places that are accessible, enjoyable and important to people.”

    Roger says it’s a complex subject as we have to embrace the value of the building in terms of beauty, aesthetics and our love for them, along with the monetary value.

    Take time to understand your building

    Roger’s tips for tackling a renovation of an old building are:

    • Don’t rush in. Live in an old building for a year, through each of the seasons, to really understand the damp and the light. That will also help with your interior decoration.
    • Don’t try and use modern materials that are incompatible with an old building. Particularly don’t use an insulating material that is going to stop your building from breathing.
    • Do your research, talk to people, go to events, look at products, don’t trust everything you read on the internet. Cross-reference everything to check that you have the right solution. What might be right for one building isn’t necessarily right for another, even in the same terrace.

    Find out more

    Visit Roger’s Huntwriter website

    Transcript

    Download a transcript of the interview with Roger Hunt.

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