Mark Doodes from Mark Doodes Planning explains what we mean by applying for planning permission to demolish and rebuild a house, how it is done, what some of the challenges might be and how to do as much as possible to improve your chances of a successful outcome.
Interview with Mark Doodes
Mark Doodes is a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and the founder of Mark Doodes Planning. After starting his career in local‑authority planning and working on e‑planning projects during the early 2000s, he moved into private practice and, twelve years ago, set up his own consultancy. Mark combines public‑sector insight with private‑practice pragmatism, helping self‑builders and developers navigate the often‑confusing maze of UK planning policy. His experience ranges from small rural bungalow replacements to large housing‑scheme negotiations, and he is known for a clear, step‑by‑step approach that keeps clients realistic about timelines, costs, and risks.
The planning system is a patchwork of legislation and policy
Planning in England draws on national statutes, secondary regulations, local plans, neighbourhood plans, case law and appeal decisions. Each of these layers interacts to guide a planning officer toward either approval or refusal. Because the system pulls together many sources, it may sometimes seem confusing to newcomers. Understanding which document carries the most weight for a particular site helps focus efforts and avoids chasing dead‑ends. As Mark puts it, “the planning system is actually quite difficult to define and very difficult for neophytes to navigate.”
Local plans dictate where development can happen
Local plans are the primary tool councils use to allocate land for housing, industry, commerce and other uses after years of consultation and evidence gathering. These allocations are the first checkpoint for any planning proposal. Mark says that sometimes these plans will be out of date, which can add in another layer of complexity.
Neighbourhood plans add a hyper‑local layer
Neighbourhood plans are drafted by communities and can refine the broader local plan for a village or suburb. They may set limits on the number of new homes, design standards, or specific constraints such as preserving the character of a village. Because they sit below the local plan, they can introduce additional hurdles—or opportunities—that are invisible on a county‑wide map. A quick glance at the neighbourhood plan can reveal hidden constraints before a formal application is submitted.
Replacement‑dwelling policies vary between councils
Each council publishes its own guidance on how much larger a new house can be compared with the one it replaces. The wording is not prescriptive which gives decision‑makers some flexibility. This means applicants must negotiate with the council and demonstrate why a modest increase is justified.
Exercising permitted development rights can help you
Many small alterations—side extensions, dormer windows, raising the roofline—fall under Class AA or other permitted‑development rights. Before drafting a full planning application, it pays to map out what can be done without consent. Using these rights wisely can shrink the scale of the formal proposal, improving the odds of acceptance and saving time and money.
Staged approaches smooth the path to larger schemes
Rather than applying for a dramatically larger dwelling in one go, breaking the project into incremental steps (e.g., first getting permission for an extension before returning with another application) often yields better outcomes. Each stage is judged against its own impact, and the cumulative effect can eventually reach the desired size or the approvals gained can be used to negotiate.
“Going A → B → C → D has a much higher chance than jumping straight to D.”
In most negotiations both parties stand to gain something, but as Mark points out, a planning officer may be relatively ambivalent to the outcome, just wanting the case to be concluded.
Some ecological surveys have to be carried out at specific times
Ecological surveys for bats, great‑crested newts and other protected species are bound to specific windows (bats May‑September, newts March‑June). Missing these periods forces delays and can push a planning schedule back by months. Early engagement with specialists ensures that required evidence arrives in time for the application, keeping the project on track.
Outline planning permission offers flexibility with reduced paperwork
Submitting an outline application secures the principle of development without committing to detailed designs. This can be advantageous when the exact layout is still evolving or when you want to establish if a consent will be given. The outline still requires supporting reports—transport, drainage, ecology—and is recorded publicly, creating a tradable asset that can be sold or transferred.
Avoid short-term financing if waiting for a planning decision
Planning timelines can stretch well beyond optimistic estimates—often 12–16 weeks for a decision, plus additional weeks for appeals if needed. So relying on short-term financing based on a promised approval can be asking for trouble and expose you to high interest if the process stalls. Mark has seen this crop up too many times before and therefore he would always advise against using bridging loans.
Planning permission is valid for three years
Once a full planning permission is granted, the applicant has three years to commence development. There is no statutory deadline for completion, though prolonged inactivity may trigger Section 215 powers to clean up an abandoned site. Most owners start work well before the three‑year limit and are keen to get on with their projects.
Give the planners all the information they need
If there is any doubt about a particular aspect of the application it is wise to preempt requests for further information by producing the relevant report ahead of time. These might include ecological reports, drainage calculations, heritage assessments, and transport impact studies, etc. Missing these can stall the process or invite objections. Providing a well‑organised application demonstrates professionalism and reduces the likelihood of back‑and‑forth queries, increasing the chance of a smooth decision.
“Nobody gets the end of the process and says, gosh, that UK planning system was so predictable, inexpensive and consistent. No one says that! So allow plenty of time, plan for the worst case scenario.”
Be aware that policies can change
National policies such as the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) are updated roughly every year. A local plan that was favourable when an application was lodged may be re‑tested against a newer national framework, altering the weighting of criteria. Keeping an eye on upcoming policy revisions helps anticipate potential shifts that could affect a pending case.
Jeffrey Hart from the Earthen Floor Company gives us the lowdown on natural earth floors, explaining what the components are, how they are mixed and the process of installing them. He also outlines the benefits and limitations, and highlights what makes them a great choice for an eco home.
Interview with Jeffrey Hart
Jeffrey Hart got into natural building in Oregon, USA, where he was an apprentice of earthen floors expert Sukita Reay Crimmel. He spent five years constructing various buildings and installing earth floors in each of them, before returning to the UK. Although he started out as a ‘generalist’ natural builder, as demand grew, he found himself focusing exclusively on earth floors through the Earthen Floor Company. He credits Sukita’s influence for both the modern earth floor technique and the resurgence of this historic building method.
Earth floors have been used for centuries
Historically many buildings would have had an earth floor just because it was the ground beneath the building. At some point, people realised that cow dung reacted with the earth to make it a harder, more waterproof surface. It was also noted that when blood fell onto the floor of farm slaughter houses it made the earth rock solid, so over the years different methods have been used to make the floors harder and more durable. Sukita developed a way to use linseed oil to seal and harden the clay, making it a lot more palatable for the modern world and the way we live now.
All earth floors have a binder, an aggregate and fibre
Earth floors – also known as earthen, cob or adobe floors – all have a binder, an aggregate and fibre. In Jeffrey’s case the binder is clay, the aggregate is sand and the fibre is either straw or hemp.
The process of making an earth floor is similar to that of a concrete or limecrete floor, but clay’s ability to hold together is lower than lime or cement, which is why linseed oil is added.
“The linseed oil turns the floor from something that’s relatively soft and quite easily damageable, to this hard-wearing, leathery rock.”
Earth floors can be structural or just the top coat finish
An earth floor can serve as a thin finish over an existing concrete, limecrete or even timber floor, or it can be built up as a full‑thickness slab. The minimal approach involves a 20 mm top coat, while the full build‑up typically incorporates foam‑glass insulation, optional under‑floor heating, a rammed‑earth base and a top coat.
Jeffrey’s preferred full build-up
Moisture must be managed to avoid problems
Moisture is a critical concern for earth floors and Jeffrey will use membranes if damp conditions exist and foam‑glass insulation as it acts as a capillary break, preventing upward moisture migration. It is also important that the floor dries out sufficiently before the linseed oil is applied.
Linseed oil is used to cure and harden the surface
Linseed oil is the “magic” component that transforms a relatively soft, clay‑based mix into a hard‑wearing surface. Once the clay dries, the oil polymerises, linking long‑chain molecules to create a leathery, rock‑like finish. Without sufficient oil penetration, the floor remains soft and prone to damage. The oil also imparts the characteristic warm brown hue that many owners associate with earth floors.
The embodied carbon of earth floors is extremely low
Switching from a conventional concrete floor to an earth floor can reduce embodied carbon by roughly 83 % (according to calculations using the BEAM Estimator). The reduction stems from using locally sourced clay and sand, eliminating the need for high‑energy cement, and the floor’s ability to be broken down and returned to the earth at the end of its life cycle.
“It’s about an 83 % reduction if you were to swap like for like.”
It is possible to use clay from your building plot
If you’re digging the foundations of your house and the spoil is clay, one option is to reuse it in your floor. Jeffrey believes this is the ultimate local and sustainable floor, but there are a few considerations. Most important is to test the soil to confirm that it is clay rather than silt, which lacks the necessary binding properties. Tests assess shrinkage rates, strength, and colour consistency. Variability between layers can lead to inconsistent performance, so careful excavation and sampling are essential. Unfortunately, using local clay isn’t necessarily cheaper because of the required testing and processing, so the Earthen Floor Company offers pre‑bagged mixes with clay sourced from reliable brickworks and pottery suppliers.
A lot of the cost is down to the labour
The current rate for a finished earth floor from the Earthen Floor Company is £160 per square metre for the top‑coat package, which includes materials, labour, buffing, and waxing. Prices vary with location because of the extra travel but if money is tight, self-builders can do the final oiling and waxing themselves.
You can’t walk on the floor for a month while it’s drying
Although an installer might be able to cover 10 m² per day the whole floor must be completed in a single day. This means multiple installers coming to site, the number depending on the size of the floor. After the mix is laid, the floor must dry out before the linseed oil is applied. The drying time depends on ambient temperature, humidity, and air flow; heaters and fans can help accelerate the process, but Jeffrey recommends not trying to speed things up too much as there can be unintended consequences. Once dry, the floor is oiled and then left for a further 14 days to harden.
“From install to you being able to use the floor it’s three weeks if everything goes well.”
Underfloor heating works well with an earth floor
Earth floors store heat efficiently, making them ideal for radiant heating systems. The heating pipes are usually positioned between the insulation layer and the rammed‑earth base, though some projects place them higher in the slab for a faster response in properties that may not be used all the time (such as holiday lets). The thermal mass of the earth floor prolongs warmth after the system cycles off, reducing temperature swings and improving comfort.
Repairing minor damage to the floor is quite easy
A well‑installed earth floor would be expected to last at least 30 years, becoming more beautiful as it ages. If you damage the floor, making a dent or chip, it’s actually not too difficult to remedy. By crushing leftover “biscuits” (small pieces of the original mix), mixing them with oil, you can fill the crack. While repairs are relatively seamless, they may be visible in certain light conditions. To protect your floor it’s a good idea to oil and wax it as part of the maintenance cycle; the oil’s polymerisation continues slowly over the years, gradually increasing hardness.
“We make little biscuits from the mix leftovers; they’re used to patch dents.”
It is possible to choose the colour of the floor
The natural colour of an earth floor ranges from earthy browns to greys, dictated by the clay’s mineral content and the colour of the linseed oil. To achieve brighter hues, pigments can be blended into the mix, producing uniform colour throughout the slab. Alternatively, a coloured hard wax applied as a surface finish can modify the appearance without altering the underlying material, though this layer may need to be reapplied every couple of years. Most self-builders prefer the authentic, warm tones, but designers increasingly want something bespoke.
“People are becoming more aware of this material now; it’s no longer just a niche.”
There are lots of reasons to love earth floors!
As natural materials are much more accepted these days, earth floors are seeing a revival. Jeffrey has also been doing his bit to train the next generation of installers. He is trying to make earth floors as accessible as possible as he really believes in them. They look beautiful, they feel incredible under your feet, they soften sounds and are good in terms of carbon emissions.
“And at the end of the product’s lifespan, you can break it all up, chuck it in your garden, and it will break down to be just earth again.”
Ben Adam-Smith shares a few thoughts about what to look for in a plot of land for a low energy house build.
Start with realistic expectations
Ben starts the podcast by sharing a few pieces of advice about the whole exercise of looking for land:
There is no such thing as a perfect plot. Chasing an ideal site can drag the search out for months or even years, so it’s better to accept that compromises will be necessary.
Remember how the design process works. You don’t start with the house design and then hunt for a site that will accommodate it; instead, identify the constraints and opportunities of each site. Good design embraces these and responds to them.
Recognise that this is a lengthy process. Sometimes it can happen quickly but brace yourself for a journey that could take months or even years.
Be flexible. This allows you to make the most of the opportunities.
The good news is that those who stay determined normally find a building plot in the end.
Define your needs versus nice‑to‑haves
Splitting your requirements into “needs” and “nice‑to‑haves” is a great way to prioritise. Also identify what you can do without. This information can help you calculate what size plot will be enough. For example, a good sized house doesn’t need an acre and could fit on a plot a fraction of the size. However, if you also want to be set back from the road, have a driveway, garage, garden, patio or paddock then this will quickly add to the spacial requirements.
Find a neighbourhood that aligns with your values
Choosing a location is deeply personal, and will be about finding somewhere that resonates with you. Consider proximity to work, schools, medical facilities, shops, and leisure activities, as well as the overall safety and vibe of the neighbourhood. Visiting the area at different times of day reveals hidden issues such as traffic noise, smells, or activities that could lead to unruly behaviour. Community values matter too; a plot embedded in a supportive, like‑minded neighbourhood can enhance long‑term satisfaction. Just be careful not to restrict yourself to a tiny search area, as this can dramatically reduce the pool of viable sites.
Make sure the plot has good solar access
If you want to build to Passivhaus standard then solar access is really important. In the Northern Hemisphere south facing sites are ideal because you can maximise the gains in winter whilst also easily managing shading in the summer. Another advantage is that if you plan to install solar photovoltaic panels then these will also be more productive on a south facing roof.
Be realistic about what you can afford
Sometimes our dreams go beyond our financial means, so it’s really important that we take in the whole picture when considering our building plot. Don’t forget that there is an equation to value land:
Land cost + construction cost + 20‑30 % profit margin ≤ value of the finished home
So land price is only part of the equation; you’ll have to factor in professional fees, material costs, groundworks, utility connections and a contingency budget. Regularly updating a spreadsheet with quotes and estimates keeps the project grounded. Ben also highlights the psychological toll of overruns, noting that stress, health, and relationships can suffer if finances spiral out of control.
Don’t buy a site without planning permission
For first-time self-builders it’s a really good idea to buy sites that already have planning permission for a dwelling in place. Normally the drawings can be swapped out for the design you want so long as you stick within the key parameters.
When you’re looking for sites the main types you will come across are greenfield, brownfield, infill, and replacement dwellings. Greenfield sites rarely get planning permission because they are assigned to agricultural use whereas sites within a settlement boundary stand a much better chance. Checking your local authority’s planning portal for recent applications is a good way to gauge what kinds of projects are getting approved in the area.
Understand the additional costs of sloping sites
Flat land is generally cheaper and simpler to develop, while slopes introduce extra costs for foundations, retaining walls, and drainage. Ben references Mark Brinkley’s “slope law,” which quantifies cost increases for every five degrees of gradient. In other words the steeper the slope the more it’s going to cost.
However, a sloping site can also provide attractive views and unique architectural opportunities, such as an “upside‑down” house. Understanding how you’ll manage excess soil (“spoil”) from excavation is essential; disposal or reuse plans affect both budget and environmental impact.
Find out what’s in the ground and around the site
Soil composition—clay, chalk, sand, gravel, or rock—directly influences foundation design and drainage solutions. Ben shares anecdotes about historic mining areas where unexpected subsidence posed serious risks. One option is to commission a geotechnical survey, which involves boreholes, trial pits, and laboratory testing to produce a detailed ground‑water and soil‑strength report. Local engineers and contractors can interpret these results to optimise foundation type and avoid costly redesigns later. Additionally, finding out what the site was used for before may put your mind at ease when it comes to possible contamination. There could also be ecological considerations, such as protected wildlife (e.g., newts, bats), and trees that you can’t remove (tree preservation orders).
Ensure the site has legal access
Legal access is essential; a “ransom strip” or missing right‑of‑way can render a plot unusable without negotiation. Ben recounts the situation at Denby Dale where the Tunstalls were forced to purchase an additional piece of land to gain access to their proposed site.
Assess whether the site has power, water, sewerage and broadband connections as extending services can be a significant expense. Public footpaths, private roads, and other legal challenges must be identified early, and a solicitor familiar with land should verify that all rights are documented. Ben also notes the importance of planning for delivery vehicles and construction traffic when evaluating access routes.
Add in your gut feeling about this opportunity
If you’ve whittled it down to a favourite plot then are you getting excited? If a plot has lingered on the market for a long time, or if a site feels “off” during a visit, it may signal hidden problems. So walking the site at different times, speaking with neighbours, and observing any recurring nuisances such as noise, anti-social behaviour, or flooding will give you a better grasp of the site’s pros and cons. When doubts arise, it’s sometimes wiser to walk away than to convince yourself it’ll all work out. Ben concludes by encouraging listeners to leverage the free “finding land” course and to join The Hub to get more support.
Award-winning architect Kirsty Maguire shares her experience of designing and building her own Passivhaus on a challenging sloping site in Newport-on-Tay, Scotland.
Interview with Kirsty Maguire
Kirsty Maguire runs an architectural practice and consultancy in Scotland, that blends good design with environmental responsibility, to create buildings that people love. One of her clients used the phrase ‘dream catching’ to describe the process of working with Kirsty, who helps people explore what’s important to them and then turns their dreams into reality. Kirsty does this on all her projects, including her own and feels that building a house can be an enjoyable process. She remembers as an architectural student wanting to create a space for herself, to be part of that world and have that experience. It took over 20 years for her to pinpoint where she wanted to live, find a suitable plot and have the funds available to put this into practice. Here she shares her journey and experience of building her own home.
Accessing a number of plot opportunities is part of the process
The idea of building her own home was there in the background for a long time before she really started looking at sites. Her grandmother’s garden, which had an outbuilding that could be replaced, was her first serious consideration, but the timing was not right for her to do the project. However, the thought process she went through, developing her ideas there, became a stepping stone in the right direction.
When Kirsty is working with clients who don’t already have land, she will help them look at different plots to clarify what they want, what they need and what’s most important to them. Thinking about the future is also important, we don’t know what the future will bring, so having some flexibility is ideal.
Get to know what your plot priorities are
As time went by, Kirsty set up her own practice, went on some adventures, and then got a bit more serious about plot hunting. Some plots came up in Newport-on-Tay, where she was living, but although she visited them and did sketches none of them really floated her boat. But she could identify what was important to her in this location; she had to be able to take advantage of the stunning views, be able to walk to the shops, be part of a community where she didn’t have to drive everywhere. Other people will have different priorities in their plot finding, so it’s knowing what’s right for them.
Eventually Kirsty saw an advert for the plot where she now lives when she was travelling on a 10-month sabbatical. When she came back, she realised it was a great spot, a really challenging site, steeply sloping, north facing site, amazing views, but it turned out someone else had bought it. She was disappointed, which was really telling, but it came back on the market and she managed to buy the plot.
A site with a lot of constraints can become a positive
Kirsty describes it as a tricky site with strict planning restrictions, which limited the overall size of the house, the direction of the build, number of bedrooms and amount of parking. There was also an existing planning consent for a dreadful building all of which put other people off the site and worked in her favour.
It was a garden when she purchased it, but Kirsty believes it was always seen as a building plot, with the house next door maybe having bought two plots, but never getting round to building on this one.
The main challenge was the topography, as it’s a narrow site on an extremely steep slope. There is a three-storey level difference between the front and the back of the house. Properties on either side restricted the placement of windows and she needed to ensure the right to light as well as making sure she wasn’t overlooking the other properties. From a Passivhaus point of view, it’s north facing, which is a challenge and most of the views are to the north.
In Kirsty’s experience once a site has planning permission it is much easier to adjust the details of the building, if you keep within the parameters of the local plan. Kirsty took all the restrictions that had been imposed on the site along with the physical nature of the site itself and used them creatively to create the shape of the house.
A lot of the core decisions fell into place
Kirsty knew she wanted it to be a Passivhaus using eco materials, so from that point of view, some of the design decisions were already made. As timber frame building is traditional in Scotland, this was also an obvious route.
‘Upside down’ living is a good fit for a sloping site
Kirsty describes her home as an upside-down building, with an open plan, living, dining, kitchen area upstairs. This has a partial separating wall with holes in it, so that you can sit at the dining table in the south facing sunshine next to the garden and also see the views all the way to Dundee. It’s a two storey, rectangular box with a pitched roof, but the ridge of the roof runs front to back, which is the opposite direction to what you might expect. There is then a box on the side, to accommodate the stairs, bathroom and utility. From the street you see the gable end of the building, with the ground floor of the building already a storey up above the street, and then it’s two storeys up above that to the ridge. The living space is a tall, generous space, where you could potentially add a mezzanine, but Kirsty doesn’t need any more space.
Thinking about privacy is also part of the window design
Kirsty knew that she wanted a big window to the north to enjoy the views and some rooflights to get east and west sunlight into the building to make sure it was light and bright. But, as well as ensuring that she wouldn’t be overlooking other people, she didn’t want them to be overlooking her. She therefore did lots of sight line analysis, which resulted in the big picture window in the living room being raised by 400mm. Architecturally, you might have put in a floor to ceiling window, but having the raised cill gives a huge amount of privacy. People walking along the street, or even in the house opposite, can’t see in and likewise, when Kirsty is sitting on her sofa, she can’t see out.
Talk to your neighbours to get their support
Kirsty went round to her neighbours to make sure they knew what was happening and that resulted in lots of letters of support for the building. It’s important to acknowledge that you will be changing people’s local area and most of us don’t like change. If we feel included in the process, we tend to be more comfortable with it.
The people opposite had built their own house and Kirsty’s house was going to slightly reduce their access to sunlight because of the steep slope, but they were positive because she had thought of them and worked out how to minimise the impact on them. She also feels lucky because the people around her are really friendly.
Variety in the neighbourhood is often a good sign for a self build
Kirsty thought a lot about how the cladding of the building would fit into her neighbourhood. There is an eclectic mix, with Victorian buildings, a 1990s period piece opposite, a small brown bungalow next door and some lovely new builds in the village. So she ended up incorporating motifs from some of the buildings around, the big picture window is echoed in the building next door and some of the Victorian buildings across the street, as is the relationship, with the pitched gable roof.
Some features of the house were not optimal for achieving Passivhaus
Kirsty explains that some of the constraints led to architectural features that are not optimal in terms of Passivhaus. For example, there are rooflights because she couldn’t have many windows in the walls along the length of the building. Also the desire for a big open space with a cathedral ceiling creates extra volume to heat. All this means is that the insulation must be slightly thicker to compensate.
The form factor is around four, which is similar to many of the detached buildings that Kirtsy works on. For the Passivhaus certification Kirsty used heat load rather than heat demand. The heat demand is calculated at around 20 kilowatt hours/m² per annum, whereas the heat load is 10 kilowatt hours/m². Her actual energy use is more like 13 kilowatt hours/m² per annum for heat demand, which is a lot lower than the PHPP had suggested. One reason for this might be that Kirsty prefers setting the temperature a little lower in winter at 19 Celsius rather than 20 Celsius.
The size of the windows matters
Kirsty stresses the importance of getting your windows the right size, both in terms of heat loss and overheating. It might have been tempting to open the whole south gable end to glass, but she knows she would have cooked in the summer. She still has one large feature window and several other generous sized windows, and says the PHPP process really helps to show where there might be a problem and how to adjust things accordingly. Even though it’s looking at averages and could be regarded as a crude tool it did allow her to model her overheating risk to 0%.
Skylights can be tricky to shade
Kirsty included skylights as replacements for vertical windows along some of her walls and explains that you will lose more heat in winter through a window directly facing the sky and it will be harder to shade in summer. She doesn’t feel she has enough of them to cause a problem and one benefit is that they work extremely well for stack ventilation.
Strathclyde University have been monitoring the performance of the house and office for the last 18 months and both of them are working really well.
Finding time to work on the project was challenging
Kirsty is building houses all the time, so from that point of view, building her own was quite straightforward. She knows good consultants who are part of her normal work team that she could bring into the project. The hardest thing was setting aside enough time, because she was having to do all this in her own time. At least she was passionate about it, but remembers finishing some drawings whilst on holiday with friends!
Be prepared for a lot of digging out on a steeply sloping site
The groundworks phase started with digging out a lot of material from the site due to the steep slope. There was also a 2.5m high wall along the street edge that had to be taken down and soil removed to make it level with the street to create the parking area and the site for the new office. Kirsty was able to reuse the wall to create the gabions needed on site and collected more stone from other building projects around the village. And her dad even carved her house number onto a piece of stone, which was built into the new wall.
The house is on an Isoquick raft foundation, with the area around it built up with a concrete block retaining wall, which is insulated on the outside with XPS insulation. There is also a tanking layer to keep the water out, which so far has been working well. Around a third of the building sits below ground. The timber frame is filled with wood fibre insulation with a wood fibre “tea cosy” all the way around the outside including the roof to avoid thermal bridges. Kirsty often uses this technique, particularly when doing a stick build on site. She explains that there used to be few timber kits of Passivhaus quality that were manufactured off-site but now there are some good ones, including Eden Insulation that was used at The Seed.
Find out more about Eden Insulation in our training session with Stephen Gurney in The Hub.
The steep slope also meant it was harder to bring materials to site
Everything had to be carried up the steep slope, most of it by hand. Only the large windows and ridge beam were brought in by mechanical means. Kirsty says it’s also worth checking the largest size of window that can be carried on a normal truck, so you don’t have to cover the cost of non-standard transport.
It’s about choosing where you spend your money to make the best impact
Upstairs, there is lots of volume due the cathedral ceiling and this gives it a light and airy feel. There is oak flooring throughout the house with quite simple detailing and lots of plants adding interest. A local craftsman, Imric made some beautiful shelving and built in cupboards, with bespoke worktops coming from another craftsman in Edinburgh. However these items sit alongside an IKEA kitchen, Howdens flooring and bog-standard skirtings, architraves and doors.
Kirsty tells us that people often comment on a yellow globe light that can be seen from the street, which cost £20, whereas other handmade more expensive light fittings go unnoticed. She also made light fittings herself using coloured cable and used a number of long drop cables to separate spaces. It’s not just about putting up walls up to separate spaces, there are more subtle ways of dividing spaces that create layering and different views.
If you have a dream explore it with an architect
Rather than always wondering “what if”, Kirsty’s advice is to find an architect to help you to explore your dream building. It doesn’t mean you are committed to the project at that stage, but it’s good to put all your ideas on the table, sift through them and see where it takes you. You’ll probably end up prioritising them, but later you might find a way to return to these ideas that were less of a priority at the start. Kirsty loves going through this process with clients, even when they don’t know how to articulate what they want, because there are so many opportunities. She finds getting to know her clients and creating that relationship with people a really special part of being an architect. She sees private clients as really invested in the process, with many of them bringing so much of their own creativity to the conversation.
Passivhaus delivers a healthy and comfortable internal space
Kirsty sells this level of comfort to her clients and visits them in their houses but still thinks it’s difficult to understand how great it is until you’ve lived in it yourself. She was living in a small, 200 year old flat before building this house, which had all the pros and cons of an old building, but is mostly cold and slightly draughty! Much as she liked being there, she can’t really express how comfortable she is now and how nice it is to have constant fresh air.
When designing the building, Kirsty layered up so many interactions between the spaces, some subtle and some not, to capture different views. She finds it hard to pick out one thing as a favourite, but it’s probably the views through the building, being able to sit in the living room and look out all the way across the Tay Estuary to the mountains.
Stephanie Kyle from Floyd Slaski Architects explains how we can design for disability, gender, religion, and anything that’s considered a protected characteristic under the Equality Act. She also highlights the biggest challenge of inclusive design which is people’s differing needs, and suggests how we best go about designing spaces.
Interview with Stephanie Kyle
Stephanie Kyle is a Senior Architect and Inclusive Design Consultant at Floyd Slaski Architects, who specialises in design for neurodiversity.
Stephanie was diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) when she was a child, but it wasn’t until her 20s that she found out she was autistic. APD is a neurodivergent condition and because this was identified early she didn’t have to grow up masking her behaviour to fit in, and got the support she needed at college and university.
Her inspiration for entering the world of architecture came early on during a workshop at her school. An architect wanted to hear their ideas about an aquarium that was being proposed in the town. When it was built, she went on a school trip to see it, thought it was atrocious and that she could do a better job herself!
Throughout her education and architecture training she was drawn to inclusive design, which includes designing for disability, gender and religion, everything that’s considered a protected characteristic under the Equality Act. She now specialises in neurodiverse, inclusive design and nonvisible disabilities; focusing on how we can design better for dementia, autism, ADHD and all the nonvisible conditions, like epilepsy or chronic pain conditions.
All architects and designers have a duty of care to the end users
Under the ARB Code of Conduct all architects and designers have a duty of care to the end users, no matter what their religion, gender or disability. Knowing the needs of the people who will use a building is the most important thing. It’s an opportunity to address varying needs and tailor the space in better way.
There are three neurocognitive profiles that each have differing sensory processing
The three neurocognitive profiles are neurotypical, neurodivergent and neurodegenerative. All these profiles describe the way that the brain is set up, its instruction manual.
The majority of people are neurotypical, but neurodivergent and neurodegenerative brains receive, process and label information in a different way.
Our senses help us navigate our environments
In addition to sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, we have three extra senses that help us relate to the built environment.
Proprioception – this is our sense of hand eye coordination, essentially where our body is in relation to itself.
Vestibular sense – this is where our body is in relation to the space around us, so being able to sense movement, maybe in a lift moving up or down, or in a car speeding up or slowing down. It’s also the sense that causes car sickness.
Interoception – this is the sense of what’s going on internally in our own body. So being able to sense if you’re tired, if you’re hungry, if you need to go to the toilet.
We have probably experienced a temporary sensory processing difference
If we are drunk, we perceive our environment differently. The speed at which we process is different, the way we speak, how we move, and think is different. Another example is a migraine. Lights may be really bright and sounds really loud, which is our brains processing that sensory information differently.
Stephanie explains that some people with sensory processing differences may experience those things all the time, but it will vary from person to person. If somebody is autistic, they might be hypersensitive to sound, which is why something as simple as a hand dryer going off might cause distress. Visual processing is often different; colours might be perceived as significantly more intense or any high contrast patterns might look like they’re moving so for some people it might look like an optical illusion all the time.
There is no such thing as one design solution fits all
Stephanie says we have a stereotype of autism based on films that show a nine-year-old boy rocking in the corner, who screams if you touch him. Although there will be some people that match that description, autism presents itself differently in each person, with individual sensory needs. This makes designing spaces for the public difficult as it becomes impossible to cater for everyone’s individual needs, so instead we design for the majority of neurodivergent people.
Fixed elements should be muted, natural and calming
By using lower chroma colour palettes we can create lower sensory environments for the primary surfaces. Things that you can’t change easily, like walls and floors, should be as muted and as natural and as calming as possible. You can then add in boldness, in removable features, things that can be changed easily, like a multi-coloured zigzag rug. You can still have feature colours and design elements if you keep them at a lower chroma intensity.
Needs can even change during the day
Stephanie points out that an individual’s needs may also change during the day, with more energising spaces perhaps needed in the morning and then a more calming space in the evening.
Two people sharing one space may have conflicting needs
When designing spaces another consideration is hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity. For some people an environment can be over-stimulating, whilst for others they may require more stimulation.
“As an autistic person, I need complete silence to work, but my brother has ADHD and he is the exact opposite. He can’t concentrate if a room is silent, so if he goes to a cafe where there’s background noise.”
Similarly, some people may require absolute silence to sleep, whereas others need to play music or have some background noise to help them sleep.
We can design for most senses
After our visual sense, smell – or our olfactory sense – is the most powerful in terms of way-finding and navigation. It is possible to design for this sense too. For example by planting scented flowers at different ends of a building, the prevailing winds will carry those scents through.
It is much harder to design for taste. Some autistic children or people with dementia may want to explore their sensory environment by putting things in their mouths. By using low VOC paints and non-chemical materials we can make sure they come to no harm. Similarly with landscape planting, avoid anything that is toxic to humans or animals.
Your home is one space that can be designed to your individual needs
The one space you can control is your home environment. Stephanie shares her preferences, although she stresses that someone else with autism might want something completely different.
When working she cannot stand any noise whatsoever, so her office is soundproofed. She controls the light levels and glare from intense light with light filtration blinds as well as blackout blinds. She has colour-changing lights and individual thermostats in each room to control the temperature depending on her needs.
All the colours she uses are low chroma, with a lower intensity than ‘brilliant white’. Each of her rooms has a different approach depending on the type of energy she needs for that space. When she’s cooking, she needs high energy so having a more energised space helps her.
Sometimes simple measures can improve soundproofing
Stephanie’s own house was built in the 1960s and needed updating. She started by insulating the ground floor, using mineral wool in the sub-floor. Her office has a separate acoustic lining that she put in using acoustic insulation boards.
There are, however, a few simple solutions that can transform the acoustics of a room. Stephanie suggests changing the floor finishes and putting up acoustic noticeboards. Rubber underlay, for example, is more soundproof than other types of underlay. Check out the noise reduction rating of each product. Typically, anything that reduces the sound by 14 decibels or more is going to be a significant improvement. You can also add acoustic absorption through soft furnishings and floor-to-ceiling thick curtains with linings. If you want to go further you can add another wall lining to the existing wall with a small stud frame that you fill with acoustic insulation.
Consulting people with ‘lived experience’ is really useful
It’s important to understand how many different conditions exist and that it’s impossible to know them all. Therefore in Stephanie’s role as a Inclusive Designer, whenever she meets somebody with a disability that she’s not encountered before, she asks them about what would make the environment better for them.
Asking the right questions is important
Meeting people with lived experience of having a specific disability or characteristic is always the best way of learning. Find out about their day-to-day needs, what they find challenging, what they would like to be improved, and so on. Then it is up to the architect to work out how to design the space to suit that client.
Building regulations don’t go into much detail to allow things to get built
Stephanie says that the building regulations are broad and general, because if they were too onerous, it would be difficult to get things built. The main criterion is that all people should be able to use all parts of a building. Everyone should be able to access it and operate everything within it in the same way. That means disabled entrances shouldn’t be put round the back of the building or windows have controls that require two hands to operate them. Touch screens and app-controlled devices for lighting controls are all beneficial.
Part M of the Building Regulations provides a guide on how to achieve this accessibility but it’s limited. Guidance BS 8300 is significantly better as it provides more detail, including the difficulties people have with certain things. For example, rather than it just telling you put an oven at 900 to 1000 mm off the floor, it tells you why you need to do that.
PAS 6463 is a guidance document specifically about neurodiversity and designing for neurocognitive and sensory processing differences. It provides a lot of detail on the issues for people but doesn’t tell you how to fix them. It’s then left to the designer to come up with a solution.
Social media can help you connect to people with lived experience
Stephanie’s top tip is to speak to people with lived experience, because that will be so much more enriching and insightful than consulting guidance documents. Social media is a great tool to help connect with people who have specific conditions and are willing to share their experience. Search using different hash tags.
We could all do better in our approach and the language we use around this topic
Disabilities can be dynamic so on some days a person might need a walking aid, or a wheelchair and then on a different day, they might not be using anything. It doesn’t mean they were faking their condition on the other days. This also applies to neurodiversity, where people can have really good days and really bad days.
Stephanie says that ‘disability’ and ‘disabled’ are not bad words, and we don’t need to avoid saying them. We need to acknowledge that disabled people exist, that they are living in a world that is not designed for them. Typically, disabled people are disabled by the environment, because if the world and all the buildings were set up to be inclusive for everybody, there wouldn’t be as many problems with using the built environment.
Finally Stephanie asks people not to say ‘people are suffering with an illness or condition’. Stephanie definitely doesn’t feel she is suffering; she’s having a great time!
Laila Dudhill explains some of the challenges she faced when planning her new build home at the bottom of a sloping field. Not only did she have to deal with drainage across the site, diverting the natural flow of water away from the house, but also come up with a foul drainage strategy that would off-set phosphate discharge into the local watercourses.
Interview with Laila Dudhill
Laila Dudhill has a 40-acre farm in Herefordshire, in one of the river catchment areas in the county that is sensitive to phosphate pollution. Her land is partly situated on heavy clay and on a gradient, so a lot of thought has had to go into dealing with all aspects of water run off and foul water treatment. In the early stages of planning her project she developed rheumatoid arthritis, which increased her determination to step away from the responsibilities of the farm and influenced her designs for the new house.
The original barn and field
‘Class Q’ permitted development allows for a change of use
Class Q planning permission allows for a change of use from agricultural buildings to residential dwellings. Laila’s barn was a 1990s steel frame structure and the Class Q permitted development allowed her to build to the same footprint, same envelope and same size. The steel frame was a problem for Laila as the steels would have created thermal bridging and heat loss. This meant she had to go back to the Local Authority after receiving Class Q permission and gain consent to replace the steels (in other words, build new). She also needed to alter the angle of the roof slightly so that it would be optimised for solar PV. This resulted in the pitch being slightly higher than the original barn.
The old barn is dismantled
Any new home must address phosphate pollution
Herefordshire has a large number of intensive poultry units, which has resulted in high phosphate levels in the River Wye and the River Lugg. The Council is concerned about more phosphates coming from the foul drainage of new properties, so every planning application in this area must demonstrate what measures will offset the phosphates.
There are ways to off-set phosphate discharge
Laila explains that her foul drainage strategy will double the offset requirement. Her main system is a willow bed and a septic tank, rather than the more common biodigesters. A biodigester requires a large drainage field, which was a problem for Laila being on heavy clay soil. It also cleans the effluent much better than a septic tank, so wouldn’t provide enough nutrients for a willow bed.
The willow bed satisfied her planning requirements, but Laila has been able to continue to add to her phosphate off-setting in various ways. Taking agriculture off the land gives you a phosphate credit along with planting trees, particularly fruit and walnut trees.
The contours of the land and the flow of water
The natural water flow was straight past the barn
The site’s drainage has been of particular concern
Topographical surveys and drainage studies were carried out, including percolation tests to determine the speed water drained through the ground. The field in front of the house was clay, with very poor drainage, whilst the woodland at the back had extremely fast drainage. Neither situation is good for a drainage field. Either the water sits on top of the soil with potential run-off to the watercourse or it goes through the soils so fast that the nutrients aren’t retained in the soil. The septic tank and willow bed will retain all nutrients from her foul water system, with periodic de-sludging of the tank required.
Having lived on the site since 2006, Laila had a good knowledge of how water flowed through the site to a pre-existing pond (that’s shown on Ordnance Survey maps). She tells us about springs that issue from within the woods, but that she had not experienced any flooding around the barn until last winter, which was then repeated this year. She is not in a flood zone and believes this is because she is on a slope, so water doesn’t rise around the property but flows past in extreme weather. A new flood alleviation pond has been created to hold excess surface water and the recent severe weather tested the system and showed that some adjustments were needed.
A flood alleviation pond was dug
Water is piped from the flood alleviation pond under Laila’s driveway, to the head of a brook that emanates at the edge of the woodland and also picks up the woodland springs. Water from the brook eventually feeds into the River Arrow within the Lugg catchment which is why the foul drainage from the house needs to be managed separately to the rest of the surface water run-off. The rain water which falls on the house can simply be discharged into a free draining area of the woodland.
Digging the giant willow bed
Lining the willow bed
Back-filling the willow bed
The willow bed is an effective way to treat the sewage
From the house, all the sewage goes into a septic tank, which links into a willow bed. This is lined so nothing can escape into the surrounding soil. The bed is backfilled with soil and planted with willow, which uses the water from the foul drainage in transpiration and uses the nutrients to grow. Laila is researching which varieties to grow, how close to plant them and how often they should be coppiced so that people will want to use the willow.
The willow bed requires a lot of space
Laila’s drainage consultant Alan Corner looked at a Danish study and an Irish study to work out how big the willow bed needed to be. The specification is based on the number of bedrooms in a house, as that generally determines occupancy. Strictly speaking, Laila’s is a four bedroom house, although she will usually be living there on her own. The specification for the willow bed has come out at 47 metres by 8 metres, about the size of an Olympic swimming pool!
“I’ve coined a phrase, I’m going to grow a crop from my crap”
Financially, it’s been expensive and probably it would not be an option for most people, but Laila says it was a really interesting process and a good test case.
Get recommendations when building up your team
Laila tells us that she has found the whole process positive, with one thing organically leading to another and people always happy to explain things and answer questions. Initially she had a recommendation for a planning consultant, who then guided her through the planning application process and put her in touch with a groundworker. She interviewed a few architects and selected one.
Building a house can be stressful
Even when people are fantastic and things are exciting, Laila points out there is still stress, which is not ideal for her rheumatoid arthritis. But she has support from her rheumatology team, who try to keep her condition tolerable.
Dividing the farm has helped finance the new home
Laila feels fortunate that her farm can be divided quite nicely into two (by the main road), so she can sell the farmhouse, land and outbuildings on one side, whilst keeping the rest for her new home. She is currently still living in the farmhouse, but will need the sale to go through in order to complete the build.
Embracing simplicity makes it easier to build and achieve the Passivhaus standard
Laila’s father was an engineer and her mother was a mathematician, and so Laila understands the benefits of keeping things simple. Passivhaus Consultant Nick Grant has been advising and she has been happy to implement all his recommendations. This ultimately leads to doing more with less.
The foundations for the new home are dug
The binding layer of the foundations
The foundations are nearly complete
The groundworks and Isoquick base are now complete
Laila’s structural engineer was happy that the stony ground the original barn was sitting on was sound for an Isoquick insulated raft foundation. The site was excavated down to around 750mm below the finished floor level and then built up with a sub-base material, which was compacted, and a final 50mm fine drainage stone to create a flat surface. The Isoquick raft sits on top of this followed by a layer of concrete, so they are ready for the superstructure.
We will revisit Laila later in her build to hear the next steps in her journey.
Toby Diggens explains what it takes to meet the requirements of the Living Building Challenge, and working to the standard when renovating an existing building.
The Living Building Challenge is a holistic framework
It aims to create a building which is as closely tied to its ecosystem and surroundings as possible. It’s not about delivering a ‘slightly more sustainable’ building than standard building techniques. It considers how a building exists in its ecosystem, and how it can be made positive to that ecosystem, rather than neutral or negative. While the framework includes things like a ‘red list’ of materials that you can’t use, it’s about far more than the science and technology of the building construction.
Another aspect to the framework is its ‘offsetting’ concept. Because Toby wanted to develop an existing building, that reduced the offset required. But the concept also factors in the type of land being developed, and the rural farmland ‘zone’ where the barn stood meant some dedicated ecological restoration was also required.
The barn before the conversion
The standard is challenging, but offers flexibility
Renovating an existing building does add some complexity to the Living Building Challenge. The superstructure of Toby’s barn required breathable building fabric solutions, so effectively pushed him towards a more ecological approach anyway.
Another reason that Toby chose the standard over Passivhaus or BREEAM accreditation is that it gives you the opportunity to argue your case for decisions made. You have to meet the general principles of a modern ecological building, but can also justify why you’ve chosen a particular detail or bought a particular product.
The balance between traditional construction and modern building regulations is interesting
While there are few buildings accredited to the standard, humans have a long history of dwelling on the land and developing traditional building techniques to create shelter. The complexity of the Living Building Challenge comes from ‘fast forwarding’ those traditional techniques to make a modern building. Toby found he was able to hold to traditional principles throughout his project, and it really spurred him to think about details – even down to recycling the materials that came out of the building.
Sometimes compromise is necessary
Only one material choice prevented Toby’s project from using all ecological materials. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation was required under the concrete raft floor slab, because a suspended timber floor with natural insulation would have impacted on the overall volume of the space and reduced the upstairs floor heights too much. The mitigation for the insulation choice was that the raft slab itself used recycled fly ash concrete rather than virgin concrete.
The Living Building Challenge was a positive towards achieving planning permission
Several factors helped Toby to achieve planning permission. An application had previously been refused to turn the barn into holiday lets, so it was good that Toby could show the conversion would be a place for him to live and work. In an area where many people commute to Exeter, it was a significant positive to be applying for something that would create community and support local farming activities.
A ‘living building’ includes aspects of biophilic design
The Living Building Challenge references biophilia throughout its literature. For Toby, biophilia was an integral part of the design process. He had always dreamt about having somewhere in a house with a big-enough glazed area to grow plants, and the barn’s structure allowed him to create a double-height atrium.
But biophilia is more than just plants in the home. It also means designing as if your environment is your outdoor environment. The ‘flow’ of a place creates a calming environment as much as function does. When it is done right, it’s very aesthetic because it makes you feel right about your surroundings.
Trying to do the project quickly could have led to bad decisions
Toby avoided aggressive timescales, which helped in terms of managing costs. A faster timescale would have needed more people or more materials on the job, and costs would have gone up. He also feels it was important to see the design emerging and then decide what next, rather than forcing solutions onto an old building.
Extra time also allowed the opportunity to analyse the project’s finances and see where any design decisions might need to be changed. A key learning point for Toby is that there is never one way to finish a project. There are lots of ways around challenges, if you have the headspace to think things through and design a solution.
Setting your stall out is essential for creating an ecological building
Toby was clear with everyone involved on the project what he wanted to achieved, and that there could be no corner cutting. For example, a stone wall fell down and Toby insisted that it be rebuilt in the way it was originally built. His builder was incredulous, but days later was photographing it as something he was really proud of.
The logic of sourcing materials locally simplified things, in some ways. The barn features a lot of ash, because local woodland was being cut down to try and get ahead of ash dieback. Toby has friends with a company that uses native hardwoods, and they helped him to get the ash milled up. It really contributed to the feeling of the house being tied to its local landscape.
Managing waste led to interesting design solutions
As part of briefing the team clearly, Toby asked that larger offcuts and scraps of materials be saved rather than disposed of. Most people would see such collections of material as waste, but they were a resource for the project team. Design details emerged from having this collection of materials, and there were occasions when the team could marvel at what had been achieved out of a pile of ‘waste’. It took a lot of work to keep people focused on this, but it led to a lot of satisfaction with the finished result. And during the project, Toby never had to hire a skip.
Being a working farm also helped in terms of managing waste. Pallets are now used for storing hay on, and there is always a use for offcuts of timber. Local farming department stores have schemes for recycling silage wrap, so Toby was able to give them the plastic wrap from insulation and other materials.
Keeping momentum is essential – and can require some ruthlessness
One of the main things Toby has learnt is that momentum is everything. If you lose it, regaining it is very difficult. As part of project managing his build, he found he had to be ruthless in keeping stuff arriving to site and keeping people engaged with jobs that moved the project on. He worked hard to make sure people were well-briefed, had the right drawings in front of them, and that he able to answer any questions about any details.
The water requirements for full Living Building certification are demanding
Toby hasn’t achieved the drinking water requirements that need to be met for full accreditation. He would have to spend £20,000 or more on a tank to collect rainwater, and a UV filter. He would like to use his own water rather than the mains, but a mains connection will always be required to provide a top-up if required. If money was no object then he would install the system to get full ‘Living’ certification, but the project can still achieve ‘Petal’ certification.
A log burner is allowed by the Living Building Challenge
In his rural location, Toby has a sustainable source of wood to fuel a log burner. The Living Building Challenge views this an acceptable ecological approach, as it ties in to management of the land. Also, compared to a densely populated urban scenario, a log burner is not very damaging from the perspective of particulate pollution.
As well as the log burner, Toby has electric underfloor heating, but it hardly ever comes on because of how well insulated the house is.
Living Building certification is awarded only after as-built checks
Design details have to be submitted, showing things like the thickness of insulation, and an airtightness test is required. Energy use over a year is also submitted.
The version of the standard that Toby worked to required the house to be able to produce 105% of its energy, for which he has a solar system and a Tesla battery, as well as solar hot water.
Retaining character in old building means looking at features you’ve already got
It can require some foresight, but developing a design around existing features really helps with keeping character. For example, Toby had a strange opening in an existing wall that had a lintel about 12 feet off the ground. He was looking for ways to form a doorway without causing the wall to collapse, and suddenly looked at the opening and thought about making that the door. So now he has a 12-foot-high door with an original oak lintel.
Creating a ‘living building’ is a massive undertaking
Toby can’t see the Living Building Challenge exploding in popularity in the self-build community. While it is a wonderful concept, he sees it as something better suited to bigger projects where there is more resource available for project management and dealing with accreditation. Many self-builders already make such a lot of sacrifice, perhaps living in a caravan on site while a project progresses. It’s very self-willed to achieve the most important things of getting the project finished and getting into the house. You have to be exceptionally committed to also achieve all the targets of the Living Building Challenge.
Judith Leary-Joyce shares her experience of retrofitting a Victorian end-terrace house to reduce energy consumption, make it more healthy and comfortable, and leave a sustainable legacy for future generations.
Interview with Judith Leary-Joyce
Judith Leary-Joyce has a life long passion for climate justice and sustainability, being one of the first members of Friends of the Earth. This passion touches every part of her life, so when she and her husband decided to undertake an extension of their Victorian, end of terrace home, it was not long before the thread of sustainable building had been pulled and a full retrofit project was underway.
Judith and her husband have lived in their Victorian end of terrace home since 1979 and over this time have undertaken a number of renovations. But it wasn’t until they began to look at extending the ground floor at the rear in a sustainable way that they discovered the world of whole house ‘retrofit’.
“We realised, it doesn’t make any sense to stick a really good eco build on the back of a leaky house. And then after a long night of the soul, many lists, we came out saying no, we want to make the house a legacy for the future.”
Most homes a ripe for a retrofit
Judith says we must recognise the environmental impact of outdated housing and the necessity of retrofitting them for comfort, health and energy efficiency. Everything that we do has an impact on the planet, and our housing is one of the largest investments that we can influence to be greener.
“21% of UK emissions come from leaky homes. In the UK, every home built before 1990 needs a retrofit.”
Watch an entire retrofit of this mid terrace home in The Hub.
Adopt one ‘eco’ habit at a time
Judith speaks openly about how she manages to live a climate conscious life and how important it is to make small and gradual changes. Her green lifestyle includes refusing plastic wherever possible, eating vegan or vegetarian meals, banking ethically (not supporting fossil fuel companies, for example) and driving electric vehicles, but this didn’t happen overnight. Her key message is to try your best and be conscious of the impacts that your actions have on the world, but most importantly identify the areas where you might be best able to make changes.
“If you look at everything at once around climate, and it’s getting worse and worse and worse, I can get into paralysis… So my way of managing over the years has been to take one thing at a time and get to be like an eco warrior about that.”
Become an informed client
One challenge you may face with a retrofit is finding builders with the appropriate experience. Therefore it becomes really important that they buy in to what you are trying to achieve. Judith’s builder was happy to co-operate but was new to some of these principles (continuous breathable insulation, an airtightness layer, a well thought out ventilation strategy) so Judith and her husband had to ensure that they were educating themselves on the correct processes and acting as quality control.
“We had just builders, we didn’t have eco builders. And of course, they just wanted to do what they’ve always done and go down to the local building yard and get exactly what they want. We were saying, we’ve got to order it and it’ll take four days to come… That went down like a lead balloon. ”
Breathability must be maintained in old houses
For older homes, maintaining breathability (vapour openness) is essential to prevent issues like damp and mould from occurring. This influenced the choice of wood fibre over petrochemical-based products.
“It’s an old house; anything before 1930 is going to be a breathable build. So we had to be breathable and to understand why.”
Diathonite (insulated plaster) on the front bay wallInternal insulation of gable wall with wood fibre Pavaflex Wood fibre insulation under the suspended floor
Check the quality of work regularly
Judith and her husband stayed in their house while the work was carried out. Although there were challenges, such putting up with the dust and having nowhere to retreat to, they were able to be present and involved in the project.
“The real value of that was that we went round each evening to see what they’d done, and we were checking was it okay.”
Find passionate and knowledgable people to help guide you
Judith explains that not all professionals, including architects, were fully engaged or supportive of the retrofit. As a result she decided to take matters into her own hands by finding passionate and knowledgeable experts to offer advice. Judith highlights that often the best people are within the sales or tech support teams of sustainable building companies. They are often experts who are thrilled to share their knowledge.
Plan your work and then work your plan
Having a comprehensive plan before you carry out any work on site is a really good idea. Much as with a new build project, a retrofit requires a level of detail and that comes from working through the design process.
Judith has put everything she’s learned into a book
The eco renovation was a learning journey, with Judith continually researching and adapting to new information and best practices. However, she wants you to get ahead more easily. So she’s written a book called the Beginner’s Guide to Eco Renovation, which maps out the process and aims to set you up for success.
