Tag: healthy home

HPH372: Introducing the circular economy to housing
Katherine Adams and Connie Spoor talk about the circular economy and construction, and practical strategies for making reuse a priority on housing projects and self-builds.

Interview with Katherine Adams and Connie Spoor

Katherine Adams co-founded Reusefully, a partnership offering advice on the circular economy and the built environment. She is also the technical director for the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP). Connie Spoor is a self-builder working on a low embodied carbon Passivhaus and making reuse part of the process.

The existing dwelling was in extremely poor condition

Materials for reuse came from Connie’s site

Connie’s project started with demolishing an existing house and barn. She and her husband wanted to reuse anything they could from the demolition – in particular, local limestone. They chose their architect, David Holland, based on shared values towards reusing materials. All three of them looked out for things that could be reused and incorporated them into the design.

Connie acknowledges it was a more ‘informal’ approach than Reusefully takes. But because she knew what was being demolished, she could make sure it was factored into the design.

A good place to start is with a materials inventory

Katherine works on all types of buildings. The process is always the same, and starts with a materials inventory to understand what is in the building. This involves gathering information (like architectural drawings), though often there isn’t much available.

Then a site visit allows for a more detailed analysis, albeit without carrying out intrusive investigation. That can result in some guesswork, especially where there are no detailed plans or specifications. Lack of information is particularly difficult when it comes to understanding the structural performance of materials: what they were designed to do, and what they might be capable of when being reused.

Everything goes into a big spreadsheet to work out dimensions and volumes. From that, a report of recommendations is produced. Reuse is the preference, then recycling. Recycling is still valid, but the key is to try and find better recycling routes.

Stones were reused in the gabions

Different materials are reused to different extents

All materials are useful in some respect, but some are easier to reuse than others. Katherine doesn’t see a lot of timber being reused structurally, because of the associated risks in terms of knowing how it will perform.

There’s an active market in reclaimed timber, usually for internal uses. You don’t always know how timber has been installed and fixed; for example, it can be difficult to remove bitumen from parquet flooring. But there are people finding innovative ways to reuse timber.

Katherine knows a company that takes joists and cuts them into floorboards. An organisation called Community Wood Recycling takes wood from sites, regrades it and sells it on. The alternative is chopping up existing timber for panel board or biomass, which Katherine describes as, “a little bit soul destroying.”

For structural uses, timber could follow the route of the steel industry, which has come together and created a protocol for reclaiming steel, CE marking it, and ensuring it can be insured and warrantied for future projects.

Concrete reuse is tricky. Because it is so cheap, it’s not viable to re-test and re-certify existing material. There are too many processes to go through.

A lot of older brick is reused, because it has value. Newer brick doesn’t have the same value. Bricks are relatively cheap, so there’s little incentive to reuse them – especially when they’re bonded with Portland cement, which is really difficult to remove.

Plastic is particularly hard to recycle

In terms of recycling plastic, two or three recyclers have closed down recently. Even with government policies in place, there simply isn’t a market for recycling plastic. Construction sites don’t tend to produce much plastic waste, and it isn’t valued enough to segregate or clean. To avoid landfill tax, it usually goes to a waste transfer station where it is turned into pellets and burnt for energy.

Embodied carbon savings are a big driver for reuse

Katherine cites a residential refurbishment project that used reclaimed steel beams, saving 3 tonnes of embodied carbon and reducing steel costs by around 40%. Another advantage of reusing existing steel was that they sourced it in just a few days, which reduced lead times significantly. Find out more with the ASBP’s case study.

Hazardous materials affect reuse or recycling potential

It can be difficult to know if hazardous materials, like asbestos or lead paint, are present in buildings. If the available information is limited then it can lead to some surprises. Reuse or recycling potential might only become clear if materials are tested, which comes at a cost.

An important first step that Connie took was to remove anything that would make the rubble unusable, such as plastic windows and all the wiring, before demolition started.

Communication with demolition contractors is essential

Connie explained to the contractor what she wanted to achieve, and they separated brick and stone as they worked. Connie’s husband sorted a lot of the metal, separating copper, lead and some steel, for scrap – all of which should be reused or recycled.

Katherine’s experience is that demolition contractors will recover and recycle as much as possible, because they make money out of materials and they don’t want to pay landfill tax. Recovering materials for reuse often boils down to extra physical effort, whereas most demolition is very mechanised.

Katherine has found the best approach is to try and nudge companies towards doing a little bit more than they usually would. For example, instead of crushing glass and putting it with aggregate, sending it back to a glass manufacturer as part of a closed loop system.

Material value is key to making reuse viable

Connie recognised that if there was value in the material, then it was worth reusing. For example, buying new stone would have been expensive, and she doubts it would have been possible to find anything as nice to fill gabions with. She describes that as, “quite an easy win.”

Large stones are also being used for cladding on the gable end. That has made financial sense, especially as Connie’s husband is cutting the big stones down to size and installing the smaller pieces as cladding himself.

Unfortunately, material value can have its downsides, and a bagful of lead was stolen from site.

Material exchange platforms are a useful resource

For homeowners and individual sites, the volume of material generated often isn’t big enough for waste management companies to consider it viable. Material exchange platforms are a way to both source and pass on materials that have reuse potential. Although reuse still isn’t very common, the development of exchange platforms is a growing area.

Examples include:
- the ASBP’s list of digital platforms and physical hubs;
- the ReLondon website, helping to improve resource management in the London boroughs; and
- Salvo, an online directory and marketplace for reclaimed materials.
Some platforms are focused on commercial buildings. For homeowners and self-builders, the likes of Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Freegle and Gumtree will always be useful. There are also websites that specialise in second hand kitchens, for example.

Storage of materials is a barrier to reuse

In an ideal world, materials would be removed from one site and used on another straight away. There is usually a lag between removal and reuse, however, and that means having to store materials somewhere.

Buildings need to be designed with reuse in mind

Katherine says that, “a lot of the circular economy is about designing for circular economy outcomes.” Most existing buildings weren’t designed with material recovery in mind.

Industry is working on designing new buildings for disassembly and deconstruction. A lot is to do with fixings, and making sure they are reversible fixings like screws and bolts. Nails are okay, but glue should be avoided. When thinking about mortars, lime is better than cement.

Alongside design, a good set of information is essential: keeping drawings, a record of what has been done to the building, who the original manufacturers and suppliers were. All of this really helps reuse. Currently, there’s quite a move towards material passports, which record the materials that have gone in, what certification they’ve got, what their life expectancy is, and who the manufacturer is.

All of this information adds to the certainty about being able to reuse the materials, but how you keep that information with the building is the challenge – especially in housing.

Creativity is a big part of reuse

Katherine advises keeping some flexibility in the design, and shifting mindset to see a building as a ‘material bank’. Rather than having a preconceived idea of what the design will look like, be open to using materials that are already there, or materials that you can find in the various marketplaces.

Not everything has to be reused or reclaimed. But anybody self-building or retrofitting can think about the materials they’re using and where they’re coming from. Connie has done that, and her next step is to finish the interior of her home with as many reclaimed materials as possible.

Further inspiration recommended by Katherine:

Green Tiles Annexe

A ‘reuseful’ tiny house

‘Housing Reclaimed’ book review

Habitat for Humanity ReStore:
- North America
- UK
‘Reclaimed’ book

Find out more

Reusefully

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February 26, 2025
HPH370: Where your money goes on a home retrofit project – with Florence Collier

Florence Collier, founder of Humblebee, takes us step-by-step through the deep retrofit of her 1970s home. She explains the costs relating to each measure and the cumulative total as the project advances.

Interview with Florence Collier

Florence Collier, founder and owner of Humblebee is a chartered mechanical engineer and Passivhaus Designer. A large part of Humblebee’s work is around home retrofits, both modelling and carrying out retrofit assessments. Here Florence takes us through the retrofit of her 1970s house, giving us costs for each part of the project, talking through her decisions and showing us how the different aspects of the work fit together.

Front of house (before the retrofit work)

Reducing carbon emissions was the driver of the project

For Florence reducing carbon emissions was at the forefront of what she wanted to do, but she also had a desire for more community-based living. Cohousing would have been ideal, but she was aware of how much work and time goes into getting a scheme off the ground. When a property came up with a simple footprint, in a good location, that was in need of updating, she thought this was a perfect opportunity to retrofit to the EnerPHit standard, and put into practice everything she had learnt from the Passivhaus training course.

Back of house (before retrofit work)

The simple shape of the building made the retrofit easier

The house was a typical 1970s cavity wall brick construction with a ventilated suspended timber floor. Florence explains that it was basically a box, with a plastic portico stuck on at the front and a single glazed, brick porch at the back. It was clear that to do a proper retrofit both of these structures would need to be removed.

If you have skills and time, you can save money

As a professional in this field Florence was able to model the whole building, make decisions on materials and commission each piece of work as required. She did work with an architect on a few of the details and would advise anyone who doesn’t work in this industry to get a specialist on board to guide you through the process. The material and labour cost of the retrofit to date is just under £106,000, which doesn’t include Florence’s time and other items that could add an extra 10-15% to the total cost.

The plans for the project

All decisions tried to balance efficiency and embodied carbon

The plan was to get as close as possible to the EnerPHit standard, which is the Passivhaus standard for retrofit. This essentially targets a space heating demand of 25 kilowatt hours per square metre per year. Florence knew they couldn’t reduce the embodied carbon already in the building, but they could keep any new features as low carbon as possible and reduce the operational carbon. Moving off fossil fuels was the goal alongside creating a healthy home, free of mould and condensation and with fresh filtered air.

The first step is to get over any mental blocks that you’re having to starting this journey, because it’s so easy to say, well, I can’t do this unless I’ve done this.

Florence took on this step herself

Loft insulation was a small but important first step

When Florence found herself stuck at home during lockdown, it seemed like the ideal opportunity to get started. So they ordered in the materials for the loft insulation and then installed it themselves. Florence explains that although the loft insulation was less than 3% of the total retrofit cost it was an important first step, as between 8 – 10% of their heat loss was through the roof. They chose to use wood fibre and hemp, which aren’t the cheapest insulation products, but sustainable and nice materials to work with. Check out Florence’s blog to go into more detail about this step.

Material costs for loft insulation £2,700 for 56.5m²

The cavity wall was filled with EPS beads

Cavity wall insulation can be added independently of other retrofit works

Whilst waiting for other larger works to begin Florence was able to go ahead with the cavity wall insulation as it didn’t depend on other aspects of the retrofit. She found it was a straightforward step in terms of the material choice, not choosing a natural material in this instance because of the risk of drawing moisture from the ground. In a cavity wall, the cavity is there to conduct any trapped moisture away from the internal walls, so your insulation needs to be moisture repellent. They used EPS polystyrene beads, which have a decent thermal conductivity and contain some adhesive so the beads won’t pour out of your wall if you make a hole in the brickwork. Again, this was a relatively cheap step to take, and the effect was noticeable that winter. Check out Florence’s blog to go into more detail about this step.

Total cost of materials and installation £1,701 (approx. £15.50/ m²)

The new triple-glazed windows go in

Next came the replacement of the old PVC framed windows

The house had double glazed PVC framed windows that were coming to the end of their life. Florence wanted to avoid using plastic in their replacement and opted for timber windows instead, which also looked good aesthetically. They chose triple-glazed windows from 21 Degrees, but from their slightly cheaper range that were not Passivhaus certified. From the PHPP model these windows would still allow them to achieve their energy targets. An external powder coat finish on the windows extended their warranty and protects them from the weather.

Florence explains that a lot of the heat loss through windows is through the frame, so they simplified the number of panes and openable parts. Fixed windows have narrower frames, so it’s about trying to find the right balance between fixed and openable. Having fewer openable windows also helps with airtightness.

The windows sit in a plywood box

Florence was aware that installing their new windows was always going to be a challenge, as they needed to ensure both airtightness and insulation continuity to avoid thermal bridging. Installation ended up taking a day per room, with a plywood box built and fitted to each window before then lifting all of it into place. This was needed to bring the plane of the window in line with the planned external wall insulation. The box allowed the window to be pushed out into that layer, which could then be taped and sealed for airtightness. Check out Florence’s blog to go into more detail about this step.

Total cost of windows and installation £22,033

Florence putting on some external wall insulation

External insulation is like wrapping your house in a blanket

Florence explains that heat gets conducted out of your house wherever there is a junction or fixing structure that is not made of an insulating material. Wrapping the house in external wall insulation (EWI) is therefore an easier approach compared to trying to insulate internally. Florence chose wood fibre as a natural material with low embodied carbon, which would also be good to work with from a general health perspective. The brick construction of the existing house was built to be vapour permeable and wood fibre would maintain this breathability. A lime render was used on most of the house to create a weatherproof layer, with some timber cladding on the ground floor frontage to provide variety and break up the box shape.

Where the walls meet the floor can also create a thermal bridging issue, so Florence wanted to continue the wall insulation down to the sub floor. Wood fibre was used from the damp-proof course upwards and then below that they used a polystyrene plinth, that could be wrapped all the way round. A French drain type system with gravel was used to channel any water away from the building itself. Check out Florence’s blog to go into more detail about this step.

Total cost of materials and installation £26,100

The MVHR unit is in the cold loft

The siting of the MVHR unit was not ideal

Florence explains that she designed everything in parallel, making sure she could see the route for the ductwork before choosing windows. They were clear from the start that the MVHR unit would need to go into the loft. This means the main ducts are running from the unit along the loft floor into a couple of rises, with branches off to minimise the amount of distribution within the house itself. They have a couple of bulkheads dotted around and one or two ducts on display as a bit of a talking point. As they don’t have particularly high ceilings they weren’t going to lower any ceilings to accommodate the ducts and also didn’t want to go through floor joists on the first floor.

In general Florence would not advise putting the MVHR in the loft, particularly if it is a cold loft. It’s fine if you’ve insulated at rafter level, but if you’re trying to hit targets like EnerPHit, all heat loss counts and the amount of ductwork outside the thermal envelope, even insulated does contribute to the overall efficiency of the MVHR. They tried to minimise this by insulating all the ducts with 50mm foil-backed duct wrap. Check out Florence’s blog to go into more detail about this step.

Total cost of MVHR system and installation £ 9,880

Some external shading was built into the design

Shutters could be used more as a simple shading solution

Being half French, half Italian, Florence is used to shutters as a shading device. She sees them as an easy way to slash air conditioning loads in commercial buildings and to make domestic settings more comfortable. Florence was aware that her southwest facing bedrooms were going to overheat in the summer and the initial plan was for simple outward opening shutters, that you pull to and latch. Florence then realised that their windows were quite large with only a third of the window openable, so that type of shutter wouldn’t be possible. They quickly moved to the idea of sliding shutters, but it was still a challenge to find the right dimensions and the right sliders. The next issue was how to fit the solid wood frame to the external wall installation. The answer was to fit lintels above and below the windows made of a composite foam material, that would be less of a thermal bridge than timber.

The wood fibre insulation on the outside of the building has a good thermal mass so this also helps to keep the building cool in the summer. The MVHR can be put in ‘summer bypass’ mode, so when it is cooler inside than out, it can reduce the temperature of the incoming air. But the shutters have increased the comfort level and provide privacy, a sound barrier and security if you want to have the window open. Check out Florence’s blog to go into more detail about this step.

Total cost of shutters and installation £5,547

The suspended timber floor

The finished earth floor

Improving the thermal performance of their floor

Florence tells us that when she first started planning the floor there just seemed to be two options, insulate their suspended timber floor or replace it with concrete. The floor joists could be insulated with an airtight and windtight membrane but would still need to be ventilated which would compromise on the thermal efficiency. She was not keen on concrete because of the embodied carbon and saw it as a cold and hard finish. After hearing Jeffrey Hart talking about earth floors she spoke to another retrofit assessor who’d had an earth floor put in with underfloor heating. They had a deep void, so room to build up the layers needed for an earth finished floor.

They started with an insulating layer of recycled foam glass aggregate which is a lightweight, inert and hydrophobic material. This was put on a geotextile membrane to a depth of 450mm which gives you most of your insulation. Soil goes on top. Florence used MOT type one, which is compacted down to create a solid base. The earth floor finish is a clay, lime and sand mixture with added dust to give the pigment. This layer is only 20mm and is then oiled, waxed and buffed to create a smooth finish.

The original estimate was around £20,000, with most of the material cost going on the glass aggregate. However, they experienced a few delays, initially because the amount of aggregate needed had been miscalculated and so more had to be brought in. The MOT soil was then very wet, so extra time and large fans were needed to dry it. Some miscommunications over how the floor joined the interior wall led to more delays and this work had to be done retrospectively once the earth floor was finished. This all led to extra costs. Check out Florence’s blog to go into more detail about this step.

Total costs of materials and installation £30,318

Want to go in-depth on retrofit? Check out the Kinver story in The Hub.

Finally the electric hot water tank allows them to be independent of gas

Florence explains that they always planned to get off gas and had been keeping their old boiler going until they could get their new cylinder installed.

The hot water cylinder is a Mixergy tank, which Florence describes as an intelligent hot water tank. It has been installed in the loft and will have an insulated cupboard built around it. The tank heats from the top down, separating the cold from the hot, so you’ve always got an amount of hot water ready to use. It uses machine learning to heat water when needed and a PV diverter so any excess solar that is being generated goes to the immersion heater and gets stored as hot water.

Total cost hot water tank and installation £6,859

Extra heating will be from electric panel radiators when required

As the work progressed, radiators were removed from the house and once the water tank was working there was no further need for their combi boiler. The plan is to use electric panel radiators where extra heat is required. More heat may be required at the moment as the floor is still drying out. Florence also realised after a cold winter that the MVHR system hadn’t been on the right setting for full heat recovery.

Replacing plasterboard ceilings is one of the last things to do, but it’s a messy job

One key task remains which is the airtightness of the ceiling on the upper floor. Although they’ve insulated the loft, they’ve still got cracks in the plasterboard ceilings, and a leak in the condensate from the MVHR means they now have a hole in the bathroom ceiling that is just covered up with a piece of ply. They plan to take the plasterboard ceilings down, which is going to be a messy job. That will be the final stage and should reduce their heat losses to EnerPHit levels.

Are heat pumps enough or are fabric improvements needed first?

Florence says there is a lot of talk about heat pumps and whether you should do fabric improvements first or just swap your boiler out for a heat pump and be net zero ready. Florence designs heat pump systems and thinks they’re an incredible technology but feels that reducing it to either this or that option means you’re not taking into account the benefits that come from a well-executed retrofit. You might be able to get the numbers to stack up, but for Florence it is about more than just reducing the carbon emissions. A really important part of her retrofit has been about health, comfort and the general quality of life that has been achieved through the fabric improvements. Even temperatures throughout the house, no draughts, moisture or condensation and constant fresh air all add to the comfort levels. The MVHR helps asthma sufferers and allows you to dry clothes inside as the moisture is constantly being removed. Together these aspects are incredibly desireable.

Find out more

Humblebee

National Retrofit Hub

Linesearch before you dig

Transition Network

Carbon Co-op

People Powered Retrofit

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January 29, 2025
HPH267 : Self build tips, eco design and the climate emergency – with Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs
Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs shares practical advice on how to approach an ecological build, and comments on how architecture needs to change to address the climate emergency.

Interview with Kevin McCloud

Kevin McCloud has been synonymous with self build for the last 20 years. No doubt anyone planning their own project has had conversations with friends, family and colleagues about Grand Designs, as the programme has inspired a generation of people to dream about building their own home and, for some of those, to make it a reality. As well as being integral to the success of the TV show, Kevin is also the founder of HAB custom build houses.

Grand Designs has diversified

The busiest period of filming for Grand Designs is between May and October when Kevin can be filming up to fifteen hours a day, for three days a week. Because it’s impossible to know whether a project is going to take several months or several years they’re never quite sure what is going to end up in each series.

Kevin attributes the show’s longevity to being able to find interesting stories that they haven’t covered before, whether that might be about a Passivhaus construction, a new technology or building for a disability.

The Grand Designs brand has expanded to include ‘Grand Designs: House of the Year‘ in association with RIBA, and in 2019 also brought us ‘Grand Designs: The Street‘. This followed a number of self build projects taking place on a single street on the Graven Hill development in Bicester, with plans to return and film another series.

Kevin says one of the most significant films he made was in series one, which was a community housing project in Brighton called The Hedgehog Housing Co-op, that used a Walter Segal construction method. In the future he would be keen to follow another community self build co-housing scheme, but says that they’re sadly very hard to find.

There have been some stand-out eco projects

Some of Kevin’s favourite projects have been ones with a focus on sustainability. One he particularly enjoyed was Ben Law, who in 2003 built his house out of his own coppiced wood. He describes it as being a beautiful story where nothing went wrong to create a fabulously beautiful house.

“It was a film in which the word sustainability was mentioned once by Ben and I thought that was great. It elegantly told the story without hammering it on people’s heads.”

Copyright ben-law.co.uk

Another memorable one was the Lammas Project, which followed a couple building in Wales. He says it was a beautiful film about super low-impact living that was as much about the lifestyle as it was about the architecture.

“It’s rather like ecological cars. They don’t exist. There’s no such thing as an ecological car. It doesn’t matter whether it’s full of batteries or it runs on dog poo. The point is, it’s all about our consumption and use of vehicles that determines whether their use has an impact on the planet. That’s where fundamentally the largest amount of environmental impact happens, in use.

“And it’s the same with dwellings. So, you can build yourself an eco-house but if you continue to drive fifty miles to work every day and continue to live an exorbitant lifestyle, it doesn’t really achieve very much.”

Being asthmatic himself, Kevin had a keen interest in Elinor Olisa’s healthy home that featured in the last series. With two children that suffered from life-threatening allergies, Elinor researched every product coming into the home to check for VOC levels and potential triggers. She has worked with the University of York to monitor the environmental performance and the results have been staggering.

“A fabric first approach is glorious”

A theme of the recent series and also in his own work, is a leaning towards a fabric first method of building, rather than bolting things on to make them seem more sustainable. Invariably the latter is an expensive and unnecessary way of working, but choosing the right materials and using them in an intelligent way is a far better approach.

“It’s like the argument about the Americans and the Russians in their Space Race. The Americans spent tens of thousands of pounds developing a ballpoint pen that would write upside down in space, and the Russians used pencils. I don’t think that’s true but I just love the story.”

A sense of responsibility

Kevin believes the responsibility as architects and builders should be to build buildings which are super-efficient in terms of how they use energy and their resources, but they should also ‘deliver a quality of life that makes their arguments utterly compelling.’

Achieving this takes a combination of good design where homes cost very little to run, where the experience of being in the buildings is uplifting and where people want to stay and build a community.

“It’s the idea of how you use the spaces in between buildings to create social sustainability which has in itself a collective reduction in demand on the planet’s resources. In other words, if you share an allotment and you grow your own food; if you join a car club because you know your neighbours and you want to do it; if between you, you buy a bicycle for the street; or buy one trampoline for five households for the kids; or one shed; or one lawnmower between five homes; what you’re doing is actually, you’re sharing cost, you’re saving yourselves loads of money, and you’re also saving resources and making your collective imprint on the planet lighter.”

People often think of self build as a collection of ideas at the start

These ideas might be around what sort of bathrooms, kitchens, taps, sofas, lights etc that people like, and they assemble the home based on aspects which are more associated with the interior design than the architecture.

Kevin sees architecture as being:

“a process of design which is very good at resolving all kinds of issues to do with how buildings, places respond to where they are, to site, to the environment, to their location, to the passage of the sun, to how they function in engineering terms, but also how they provide uplifting and exciting spaces for their occupants that lift the spirits.”

For him architecture is about creating a connection with the outdoors, while also problem solving things like storage space, and a lot less about the taps!

Grand Designs ‘The Street’ (copyright gravenhill.co.uk)

Grand Designs ‘The Street’ (copyright gravenhill.co.uk)

Enable more people to self build, as it can be truly empowering

Kevin says that it’s pretty much established that the middle classes can go out and build for themselves, and he would like those opportunities open to more people. He believes that through community you get a far greater sense of attachment to a place and an accompanying sense of empowerment from building your own home. It’s a combination that could be life-changing for many people.

To do this, self build needs to be:
- More widespread
- Facilitated by local authorities
- Have dedicated sites, with communities of self-builders working together
- Truly affordable
- Have more co-housing community schemes
- Have housing associations working with groups of their residents as clients to build accommodation
Kevin would like to see people being empowered in as many ways as possible, and yet the system in the UK is set up to favour the large developers controlling the market. While he wouldn’t suggest a future entirely dominated by self build or community self build, he would like to see a diversity of offerings which would create a healthier market.

Large numbers of people wanting to build together within a community can put pressure on the authorities to deal with their land assets in a different way. There is even a question of whether land in public ownership should have a financial value attached to it, because of the net social capital that can be created by building together, and which is very evident in schemes across Europe. And if that community can be further enhanced with car share, improved cycle routes and better public transport and sharing generally, then that social capital has been increased even more.

Development is a dysfunctional industry

In considering what it would take to solve the housing crisis in the UK, Kevin says he would need to be the Prime Minister as the industry is so dysfunctional!

“I would empower small and medium enterprises; I would mitigate against the large housebuilders; I would mandate every single local authority to allocate land. I’d use the Right to Build Act in fact.

“The trouble is, everything I’m describing has already been tried. And that’s the difficulty. It’s not one problem. We have a crisis in numbers; we have a crisis of quality; we have a crisis in affordability; we have a crisis in planning. We have only half of the number of planners that we need. And we don’t have within central government a statement of faith. And what I would personally like to see, if I could do one thing, I would announce a national statement of faith in social housing.

“We need to move back to a world where we integrate, where tenure is blind, where you can’t tell who owns and who rents, where housing is considered a basic human right, and we need to create the mechanisms to make that affordable not just to own but to rent, to share, and to occupy by whatever means. There are plenty of tenure models around the world which work.

“So, what we have is a binary system in the UK which is hilariously out-of-date and a market delivery mechanism which is dysfunctional and broken. So, we’ve got lots to mend, lots to do, but by just saying, ‘we believe in council housing’ or ‘we believe in providing high quality housing for all and we will do everything we can to achieve that’ would be a wonderful thing.”

Grand Designs Live

The Grand Designs Live exhibitions take place in the UK twice a year. Kevin is proud that they offer tangible opportunities for people to touch and feel products and experience their quality. As part of the exhibition there is also an exchange of ideas where you can get help and advice from experts.

Milk bottle house at Grand Designs Live

With his passion for innovation, Kevin is excited by the new technology being showcased, with exhibitors now selling products on their stands that only a couple of years ago were in the ‘Green Heroes’ section.

Find out more

Catch up with previous episodes of Grand Designs

Visit the websites of:
- Grand Designs Live
- HAB Housing
Transcript

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October 16, 2019
HPH245 : How do you create a healthy home? – with Elinor Olisa

Elinor Olisa explains why her family’s health was always paramount to the decision making on this build.

Interview with Elinor Olisa

When Elinor and Born made the decision to self build, they realised they could create an environment that was a safe haven for their children, where they were free to live without restrictions as far as possible.

“This house very clearly for us was going to be about the health and the future proofing. And in doing that, we can make choices that will be good for the environment, good for our bodies, good for our well-being when we’re in them.”

Health considerations were fundamental

Both boys have severe, life-threatening, anaphylactic allergies to a number of things, including wheat, dairy, eggs, nuts, soya, pulses and oats. The severity of their reactions can vary according to their health and immune systems at the time, so it was very important to Elinor and Born that they create as healthy environment to live in as possible.

Researching building materials’ impact on health was challenging

Elinor and Born are used to researching online for clothes and products for the boys, and reading the fine detail to make sure they’re suitable. Both boys are allergic to wool and they have had to be careful to find breathable materials that wouldn’t irritate their skin.

“So, we said we’re just going to do our very best to research every single product that comes into this build and do it in the same way that we would for any other item that we were sourcing for the children.”

But when it came to researching building materials and interiors, they discovered it was much harder to find the information about how they would impact on health, particularly from UK companies.

As a consumer, ask questions

With the growing popularity and interest in gluten-free and vegan eating, and also tragedies we hear about of the impact that improper labelling can have on people with allergies, Elinor believes that it is now more acceptable than ever to be asking those questions about what is in the food, without being judged as picky eaters.

When it comes to the construction industry, she believes that companies need to start being more transparent about their products and shouldn’t be able to sell items that have poisonous paints, glues and MDF.

“The largest piece of learning that I took away from doing this build was to ask questions. It’s not to just assume anything. Don’t assume that because somebody is selling it, that this is something that is okay for you to take home and have. Do your research, take responsibility for it, and ask questions. Because I think by us as consumers asking questions of retailers, they will become more willing to label things better and to give you more honest answers about the make-up of their products.”

Environmental sustainability was an important factor

They were also very conscious on their build to be as environmentally sustainable as possible.

“(We) hope(d) that we could make less of an impact, feeling thoroughly horrified by the amount of rubbish that our build did produce. We did start to look to second-hand products, and we did look for upcycled things and we did look at what we’d already got and thought, rather than throwing it away, what could we do to it that would make it fit this space.”

Plants were chosen carefully

The choice of plants in their home was given careful consideration. They would always check whether it would have a neutral, harmful or positive impact on the house, and there was plenty of useful information available online to help.

They have used lots of plants indoors that improve the air quality, and usually avoid fresh flowers because of the pollen. In the garden they have plants that are bee-pollinated, which is more localised, rather than tree-pollinated, which can be more of an air-born irritant.

“That said, having the garden, having the outside, our children go outside, they go to the park, they go to the playground at school, they go to the woods, they do all of those outside things. So, they’re going to come in contact with it. We live near a very busy road. There are all sorts of things we cannot possibly control. It’s just what we’re doing within our little, small environment here.”

Passivhaus was an easy decision

One option their paediatrician suggested was a clean air chamber for the children to sleep in, which in studies had shown high success rates at improving immune systems and asthma and allergy symptoms. Elinor and Born weren’t keen on the idea of a chamber for the boys to sleep in, but on hearing about MVHR units, they realised the concept could apply to the whole house.

The plot was only available to families

With a lack of success at finding a property to purchase, they made a successful bid for a plot of land in London. It came with a caveat that the people who were selling it, wanted a family to live on it. Elinor suspects without that caveat they would have been unable to compete against developers for it.

Amendments were made to the previously approved design

The plot was a back garden piece of land which already had planning approval. The approved house was cleverly designed to comply with the restrictions around height and size. They felt it was a beautiful design which took into account that they would need to dig down to create a family-sized home. They worked with their design team to adapt the original plans to suit their budget and lifestyle.

Access restrictions determined build system

A temporary right of way across another plot was the only way construction vehicles could access their site. And with that other plot also being up for sale they were unsure as to who would buy it or whether they would continue to be allowed access. The necessity therefore was to build the house as quickly as possible.

Below ground they used concrete and above ground they used pre-fabricated, Passivhaus approved SIPs panels to help the build go up quickly.

In hindsight Elinor thinks what they should have done was said they needed a specified amount of time to complete the build once they’d broken ground, rather than committing to their access running out on a date in the July. Fortunately they were granted longer access but it was an additional stress on the building process.

Gaps in communication

Elinor used Enhabit for the design and build of the structure, while doing the rest of the procurement themselves. While having that level of involvement did save themselves some money and give them control over the decisions, Elinor does see the benefits that having a company oversee the whole process would provide.

Although their team all worked well together they did occasionally come across issues that seemed to fall outside of the remits of everyone involved.

Lighting can impact on health

Although lighting was not something they had given much thought about in previous homes, they employed a lighting designer on their project who was doing research into the benefits of light on health.

Lighting was a concern for the basement area, with worries about whether they would have the feeling of daylight, but they have used biodynamic lighting which is a gentle and adaptable system. Across the building they have some feature lighting, and also general lighting.

They are now aware of how much impact lighting can have on comfort within a space and how it can play an important part on health.

Everyone feels healthier

The family are loving being in their new home and are reveling in a sense of relief and achievement.

While the impact on the boys’ allergies won’t fully be known until they re-take an allergy test, Elinor has noticed they are having far fewer reactions to things and the asthma attacks have reduced. As a family they are sleeping better and feeling healthier and happier.

“If we were to give advice to anybody, it would be I think we can all make changes in our existing homes. You don’t have to build a house to do this. There are changes you can make in your existing home that can have a significant impact on your overall health.”

Find out more

Visit Elinor’s Healthy Heroes website

Follow Elinor on Instagram

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Elinor Olisa.

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April 3, 2019
HPH184 : Balancing a self build with work and family life – with Donal O’Leary
Donal O’Leary tells us about his self-build in Ireland and shares advice for a successful project.

Interview with Donal O’Leary

We catch up with Donal O’Leary, the first House Planning Help Hub member to complete a self-build project! The decision to self-build came about by accident, as Donal and his wife were originally looking for a run-down property to renovate or rebuild. The properties they viewed didn’t quite meet their needs or budget, and suddenly the right site came along.

An unorthodox approach helped them secure their plot

Donal explains, “We didn’t really need the full site as it was. It was actually too big and therefore it was outside of our price range.” After making enquiries and seeking legal advice, they came to an agreement with a neighbouring landowner to join forces and put in a high enough offer to outbid another interested party. The site would then be split into two, for their own developments.

It took a year of planning before construction started

After acquiring and sorting out the site, the second year was the planning phase, split into obtaining formal planning permission and working with architects and quantity surveyors.

In Ireland, you have a pre-planning meeting with the local authority. This is an opportunity to run through plans and get approval to apply for formal planning permission (or find out what needs to be done differently). Donal explains you don’t have to have final drawings, but you do need to provide plans showing where the house will sit, access, and services like sewage and water.

Cost dictated the final design of the house

The site was large enough to accommodate a big house. But for Donal and family, the priority was a comfortable, clean and healthy home that would take advantage of the light and aspect, as well as modern insulation and air-tightness standards. Cost ultimately decided the final design, and the overall size was dictated by that design and how the spaces were arranged.

The budget was based on some funds left over from the sale of their previous property, plus the mortgage amount they would be able to secure. Donal adds, “The rainy-day fund and the piggy bank were all broken at this stage. So, we worked out roughly what we could afford…and worked back from that primarily.”

The planning phase included very detailed specifications

Their architect and quantity surveyor filled in most of the tender document template, detailing the build specifications. Donal and his wife provided additional information (such as doorknobs, stove handles, bathroom finishes) to complete the document.

It took five or six iterations of 20-30 page documents to figure out exactly what was needed. Donal says in hindsight it was definitely worth it, but at the time it was difficult. “You’re at the stage where you can’t even visualise what the house looks like, and you’re expected to say, ‘well, I want a Belfast sink with a tap that goes a certain way’.”

Time-wise, their biggest challenge was appointing a builder

Christmas time was the deadline for receiving responses to their tender. Donal says, “I’m sure the builders were delighted to be filling out a huge tender document on Christmas Eve!” They narrowed it down from four builders to two, met both and then picked one. Availability was a very important factor, as well as previous experience and price. The tender process took a couple of months and the actual build lasted just over 12 months from start to finish.

A precise calculation helped them stick to their budget

The quantity surveyor broke the build down to a very detailed level, so they knew exactly how much it would cost. Donal says they were reasonable estimates with a bit of wriggle room to alter the spec if needed, when it came to actually buying fixtures and fittings.

There were only a few minor changes during the build stage. Donal attributes this to the time spent upfront with their architect and quantity surveyor on the spec. It gave them a baseline to go back to, which helped them manage their finances. And they had monthly budget reviews with the builder.

They tried to attend site as often as possible

The building contractor was effectively the project manager. So for Donal, the biggest challenge was not a technical one, it was just keeping on top of everything and being available. He admits it’s difficult when you have to take calls and send emails while at work, but says you just have to find a way.

Donal advises others to take any chance they get – before or after work, or at lunchtime if you’re nearby – to go to site and give an opinion so things can move on. His wife spent any spare time during the day onsite, involved in the daily decision-making. Donal recalls a few times where just being there averted a disaster, explaining, “So, if we weren’t there, they would’ve done x, but because we were there, they did y.”

Keeping their architect engaged in the entire build process was worthwhile

Laws have changed in Ireland and you have to have an Assigned Certifier; an engineer or architect signs off the various certification and documentation across each phase of the build and can be held accountable by the local authority.

Donal and his wife chose to involve their architect (who they found through word of mouth) for the whole project. So she had a vested interest not just from a design perspective, but also legally and financially. As the client, they had the reassurance of a professional overseeing the builder.

They leaned on their architect quite a lot. As Donal explains, “It’s not just somebody who draws nice designs, prints them off and you go, ‘move a wall here, move a wall there.’ It’s far more than that. It’s a design eye, it’s finishing, it’s the construction knowledge that the average client doesn’t have.” She was a good sounding board when they had to make decisions, offering suggestions and steering them in the right direction.

Sustainability had to be balanced with budget

There were times where a sustainable option wasn’t the most economical or expedient, for example they considered rainwater harvesting but the cost involved would have pushed the build over budget.

However, they tried to reduce the carbon footprint of their new build where possible:
- Orienting the house for solar gain, with canopy-style shading to reduce overheating.
- Avoiding the need for oil due to high-spec insulation.
- Using an air source heat pump.
- Leaving some of the garden as a nature area for wildlife, planting some clover there instead of grass so as to have a low maintenance meadow.
Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Donal O’Leary

How stupid is our obsession with lawns?

If you’re planning a vast lawn for your new house, is it actually the most sustainable thing to do?

Donal recommends listening to a Freakonomics episode which ponders how natural lawns are and looks at alternatives.

And if you enjoy that, check out last year’s interview with Lisa Kerslake on creating a biodiverse garden.

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July 14, 2017