Tag: insulated concrete forms

HPH218 : Stopping and later restarting a self build – with Alex Baines
Alex Baines explains the impact a mid-construction delay has had on him, his family, and his Long Barrow Passivhaus project.

Interview with Alex Baines

We have been following Alex’s Long Barrow Passivhaus project in The Hub and on the podcast since it went through the planning stages. When we last caught up with Alex his employment status had recently changed and he was unable to secure a mortgage to complete the build. It’s been two and a half years since then and work has finally resumed and progress is being made.

The ICF withstood the exposed conditions well

Alex has used insulated concrete form to create the main structure of the building. Whether this was the right choice he will reserve judgment on until they have completed the airtightness test. It has however been excellent in terms of the construction job it has done and how well it has stood up to the elements with no degradation at all in the two years that the site has effectively been closed. Had it been constructed from timber Alex would have been concerned about leaving it open and exposed for that length of time.

No stage was left incomplete

A complication with the excavations and additional costs that caused meant that they didn’t have the funds available to complete the airtight and watertight stage. So instead they stopped before putting the windows in and render on, knowing that leaving either of those only partially complete would leave the internal timber window frame at risk of water damage.

Because they had the money to complete various sections, they didn’t leave anything halfway through and ensured they they stuck to their finite stop points. They went through a checklist with the builder to sign-off on the items to show which parts of the contract were or weren’t complete.

The JCT contract they had in place covered completion, quality and cost, and very little about timing as Alex knew that was the one thing he was prepared to compromise on if necessary. The builders were contracted to finish the job, so the pause happened between specific contract items, with the next item only being started when they were invited back on site.

Costs still accrue, even while the project is on hold

One extra cost they incurred was the scaffolding. It stayed on site for four months, with Alex expecting work to have resumed in that time, so when it didn’t he had to pay for that additional time, plus the extra costs of setting it all up again when they restarted.

In the meantime, Alex has still had the additional costs of paying for rent, site insurance and third party liability insurance.

Alex has had financial assistance from his parents to get the project moving again, who have taken out mortgages on their property to fund it through to completion, with Alex taking out a mortgage at a certain stage to pay them back. This has meant that there have been emotional strains for the wider family being stakeholders, as well as for Alex, his wife and children.

Focus has been diverted during the delay

During the period of cessation, Alex has been focused on professional life, family life and getting the money to do the build. He has held back from pursuing contracts with utility companies etc, as these often only have 90 days on them.

The biggest delay has been caused by the construction company closing

Getting the project restarted and back on site has been a painful and lengthy process. In July 2016, six or seven months after they had put the project on hold, they had finance in place and invited the contractors to return. After several months of not being able to get answers about when they would re-start, they were contacted to say the company was being closed down by their parent company. They were trying to get out of the contract but Alex knew the parent company would still have to honour and complete the contract, even if the team that were doing the building and the company responsible for it were no longer operating.

It has taken until the summer of 2017 to finally get work restarted. Fortunately they were able to re-hire the original site manager, but the company that closed didn’t leave any of its data with the parent company, so the current team are having difficulties finding their way without the original details.

When the contractors finally returned to site they reviewed the waterproofing of the building. Being below the water table means that’s a detail they need to get right, and they discovered that their original plan wasn’t robust enough. This was discovered when the same method on another site failed over a period of time.

Work has finally resumed

There had been some damage during the previous winter, where the pumps and electricity on site had stopped, and had ripped off part of the external waterproofing. Progress has been incredibly slow in getting that remedied and Alex had been keen to get the render and waterproofing details confirmed so he could order the windows. The contractors have struggled to find the right team to render the building but with an 8-12 week lead time on the windows he decided to order them anyway.

As of May 2018 there has been a recent flurry of activity with the base-coat rendering finished and the windows being installed.

Current finance should be enough to make the building habitable

First on Alex’s long list of tasks is to get the ventilation system organised. He is still waiting on the final waterproofing detail before he can get the landscape contractors to do the backfill. Following that will be ordering the utilities, which come into the house at above head height on the below ground floor.

Alex is hoping that his finance will cover, at a minimum, a certain amount of first fix upstairs, get a bathroom in place, ventilation system installed and an operating kitchen, to make it a usable building.

It has been an emotional roller coaster of a journey!

Spirits are currently high with the previous week of activity making tangible differences to the aesthetics and fabric of the house.

“The process has obviously been very, very challenging. So, we are now looking at and trying to mentally break the process being awful and not associate that with I hate the whole thing, and I hate the building.”

While the last couple of years have been challenging and caused a bit of love loss for the building, Alex remains thankful that they still love the location. He is hopeful that once the building is finished they will be able to leave the negative thoughts behind as being part of the methodology and the process.

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Alex Baines.

Find out more

Follow Alex Baines on Twitter

Listen to our previous podcasts with Alex – “How a public consultation helped a rural self build” and “Constructing Long Barrow Passivhaus”.

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June 6, 2018
HPH100 : Constructing Long Barrow Passivhaus – with Alex Baines
We catch up with Alex Baines, a Passivhaus consultant who you may remember from episode 74. We spoke to him then about how gaining support for his semi earth-sheltered rural self-build from his local community helped him achieve the necessary planning permissions. Almost a year on we spoke with him again to see what progress he has made on the build so far.

Long Barrow Proposed Elevations

Excavation Work Took Almost a Month

Being semi earth-sheltered to comply with planning restrictions, a very large hole was always going to be needed! Over the winter it took 4 people, a 20 tonne excavator, an articulated truck and a roller to dig down 5 metres. They actually dug out around twice the volume they needed to prevent the sides from collapsing. Their ethos is to try not to throw away anything on site so everything they excavated will be utilised, whether that be earth for backfill or turning the rock into fixtures and fittings for the house.

Digging Below the Water Table Has Meant Extra Precautions Were Taken

Digging up to 3 metres beyond the ground water level, Alex had been expecting the hole to fill up constantly but that hasn’t been the case. Instead it’s had a dribble of water occasionally going into it in two corners, although a fair amount is trapped in after rain. To get them through the construction phase they bought a £100 pump to remove water from the hole, though it hardly needed to be used during the summer months.

There is a double layer waterproof DPC membrane going the whole way around the ground perimeter. On top of that they’re also using waterproof concrete under ground.

The Stages So Far:
- A layer of hardcore to get a level base
- Poured a very thin blinding layer of cement-concrete
- DPC
- Waterproofing line laid
- Insulation
- Base poured
- Steels in and east, west and north walls built out of ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) and filled with concrete, followed by the south side
- Roof on
The Building is Designed to Make the Living Spaces Easily Adaptable

While there is a lot of concrete going into the building, Alex feels justified because he is creating a home that should last for centuries and be flexible to the changing needs of its occupants. The steel and concrete support the structure and there are no internal load bearing walls. The result is that internal dividing walls can easily be added or removed to reconfigure the space according to the needs of the owners and styles of the time. The other benefit of the concrete is its absorbency of heat, which they hope to retain throughout the winter. Researchers from the University of Loughborough are installing monitoring equipment to see what the effect of an ICF system is in terms of the latent heat in the building.

Alex Wouldn’t Ever Recommend a Client Use as Much Glazing as he is on the South Elevation!

They are not having glazing on the east and west sides, and very little on the north. They are using the glazing on the south to try and take in heat and light to be retained in the concrete core.

“From a passive nature I’d much rather design the windows to be the right size that you don’t actually need any external blinds or any improvement to the actual glazing in terms of improving its g-value for solar glare control. But here we do have the views, we do have the space and we do have the height. And architecturally and from being on the site it didn’t make sense to restrict the window size.”

With slight changes to increase the height of the windows they are still working on calculations for how best to install the external shading.

There will however be areas at the back and downstairs of the building that will not get much light, however these have been designed to be the rooms which would need it least and Alex is not concerned that this will be a problem.

Work is Likely to be Delayed Until Further Finances are in Place

Generally the finances have been on track, apart from early additional costs at the excavation stage. Extra time was spent on the equipment hire to try and break through the rock, and they were advised to reinforce the concrete to avoid the effects of heave in the ground.

Alex left his work 3 months ago and the savings that they hoped would see them through to the windows in / watertight stage are unlikely to stretch that far. They have the details and spec sorted for most of the remainder of the house so once Alex is back in work the mortgage should be agreed and they can move to progress works quickly.

Borrowing money from family is not an option that Alex would consider. He believes it could be detrimental to relationships and he wouldn’t feel comfortable with the situation.

While the Design has Caused Additional Costs, They Would Not Have Got Planning Permission to Build a Standard House

Alex bought the land from his mother. As it is in a rural area they were bound by very strict regulations and had to work hard to achieve planning consent. Building a standard house would never have been an option that would have been approved. The result of planning approval is that the land has now increased in value from £16,ooo to around £300,000. Alex describes a situation where they could have built a standard house for a lot less money in a village setting, however the majority of their funds would then have been spent on the land purchase, leaving very little for the build.

Personally and Professionally the Build Has Been Massively Rewarding

Professionally Alex has learned a huge amount from being on site every day and seeing things that as a consultant you just don’t get to see. He has broadened his knowledge by speaking to experts on site and working through problems – all skills that will be useful for future client builds, not just his own.

On a personal note, Alex enthuses about being around to have the opportunity over the last few months to spend time with his young children and see defining moments in their development that he would otherwise have missed. While the delays on the building are frustrating, Alex wouldn’t have changed the situation, saying “actually there are things that I’ve gained out of it that I actually don’t want to give back.”

Find Out More

Follow Alex Baines on Twitter

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Alex Baines.

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September 22, 2015
HPH074 : How a Public Consultation Helped a Rural Self Build – with Alex Baines
Alex Baines talks through the plans for his semi earth-sheltered home, to be constructed to Passivhaus standard, and explains why involving the local community in the early stages was essential in gaining the relevant permissions.

Interview with Alex Baines

Alex Baines’ new home Long Barrow is going to be a contemporary design but with traditional materials. It has had a lot of input from the surrounding community, which Alex’s wife Louise grew up in and where Alex’s mother currently lives.

This is also a project we will be following at House Planning Help.

Gaining Early Support From Local Residents Was Fundamental to the Scheme

Given the planning restrictions in place at the site, Alex knew that it was going to be important to have the support of the locals. With their intention to settle in the location that was already special to their family, they also didn’t want to cause annoyance or be ostracized for creating something that was going to be upsetting to their neighbours.

The plot is an existing piece of land owned by Alex’s mother

Public Consultations Were Crucial to Achieving Planning Application Approval

By using an iterative process of developing the design based on feedback from the public consultations, they were able to present the planners with a design which had a vast amount of local support. Alex credits this as being the reason they were given planning approval, even though the planning regulations in that particular area were against it.

The Final Design Evolved Through the Consultation Process

By asking people to be more specific about the elements they did and didn’t like, the final design has evolved to be contemporary in form and traditional in the materials used. The quantity and positioning of the glazing was also selected partly in order to minimise the visual impact on the areas that people can see it from.

The final design (south elevation)

A Design Challenge Was Set for the Juniors at the Architect’s Practice

Alex likes being experimental and finding new ways of doing things, so gave the juniors the chance to create some original sketches, based literally only on the location and the number of rooms, almost as a type of work experience for them.

Submitting 3 or 4 Designs at a Time Helped the Consultation Process

By offering multiple options, people were able to point to elements that they didn’t like, and also ones that they did. Towards the end of the process the comments were quite specific, and they were taken on board to produce the final design, which actually ended up being a much cheaper and simpler concept.

The Key Requirements of the Building Were Very Simple

The family had fairly simple requirements of what they needed from the building, and it came down to the functionality of room functions and sizes. Together with the standard rooms they wanted a boot room, for stopping the spread into the rest of the building of muddy dogs and children!

Alex works as a Passivhaus consultant so achieving Passivhaus certification was also something that was fundamental to the project. He was able to explain the ecological principles to the locals who were very supportive of the concept, and worked to fit them into the design.

A cutaway graphic of Long Barrow (underground)

The Building has Been Designed to Last for Generations and be Flexible for the Needs of any Different Occupants

It was important for Alex to create something that has longevity and will last for hundreds of years, which is the reason why he will be using ICF for the floor and shell.

As the external design will not easily accommodate any extensions, he has ensured that the interior has a completely clear span so that any future generations living in the property can adapt the space to their needs.

From a professional point of view, Alex is also interested in researching the properties of the ICF and seeing how it performs over the year.

The Management of the Project is Being Split, According to the Stage

The first part of the build is being managed by the ICF manufacturer. Their contract is to manage and deliver the shell of the building. Once that has been handed over, Alex can continue with the management of the local tradespeople before his wife is able to concentrate on finishing the interior.

The ICF System Keeps Things Simple

They don’t have to worry too much about airtightness with this system and the insulation is effectively already built in, really only leaving the windows to focus on. Although it may be slightly more expensive in ICF because the price of the material, and therefore that part of the build, is known they should be able to stick more closely to their budget.

Getting Enough Natural Light has Been a Concern

With the whole basement level being underground there was a worry that the rear of the building was not going to get enough natural light. Adding space for a lift was in their plans and by changing the designs to widen the stairs they have created a space where the stairs can wrap around a lift, when the time should come that they wish to add one. In the meantime, the extra space has created a lightwell down through the stair core into the back of the house, meaning it hasn’t been as much of a problem as they thought it might be.

Find Out More

Follow Alex Baines on Twitter

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Alex Baines.

See How Green Building Store Retrofitted Stirley Farm

Regen Media has recently completed this video for Green Building Store. It explains all about a low energy retrofit that they have carried out at Stirley Community Farm.

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October 10, 2014
HPH070 : Can You Create an Ecological Building with Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF)? – with Jake White from Ecotecture
Jake White from Ecotecture shares the story of The Curly House, an award-winning project that was built using insulated concrete forms (ICF). He explains what an ICF is, why there are benefits in terms of speed of construction and durability, and why most concrete structures have the potential to be extremely airtight.

Interview with Jake White

Jake White has been a director at Ecotecture for 10 years now.

His interest in low energy buildings and sustainable design was brought about by a desire for improvement, having seen how bad the quality of workmanship and lack of understanding was in the “house bashing” industry.

Concrete’s Bad Reputation is Not Always Deserved

The manufacture of concrete and the resultant CO₂ emissions often give it a bad reputation. Jake feels that given its durable, dense, long-lasting structure, this should not be the case for buildings that are designed to last generations. In producing buildings of this quality he is disconnecting his clients from the effects of fuel hikes and fuel poverty.

Insulated Concrete Formwork Does Not Prevent the Benefits of Thermal Mass

Traditionally the thermal mass of concrete has always been exposed so it will re-emit the heat at night time that has been absorbed during the day. The experience Jake has had of using the insulated concrete formwork is that there is a lag in the heat being re-emitted and thus the benefits from it last longer than the single day.

Essentially Jake expects the temperature of the concrete core to remain stable and consistent with the interior temperature of the space.

A Single Construction Method can be Best for Cost and Energy Efficiency

This was certainly the case for the Curly House, which has a beautiful but very exposed site. Jake suspects that over time if different construction methods had been used, such as a concrete basement and timber frame, there would have been jarring against each other resulting in the airtightness being compromised.

Concrete was deemed to be the ideal material to match the undulating forms of the building with those of the landscape.

The Key to Insulated Concrete Formwork Longevity is a Dry Central Core

A tanking treatment is used on top of the regular foundations to prevent moisture from rising.

There are Key Features to Look for When Selecting an Insulated Concrete Formwork Product
- The adaptability
- The quantity of details they have and have thought through
- The technical support
Reduce Waste by Selecting the Right Thickness of Product for the Job

Even within a single project there are different thicknesses of concrete needed, dependent on the load they are retaining. The products are designed so that you only have to use the thickness that is required for the particular task.

The absolute minimum width required cannot always be achieved, given the limitations and requirements of the pouring process.

There is Flexibility in Terms of How Insulated Concrete Formwork can be Rendered

Due to the excellent levels of airtightness almost any interior or exterior finish can be applied. It is one of the rare products which doesn’t need a wet plaster finish on the interior for the purpose of achieving airtightness.

Great Results can be Achieved if Attention to Airtightness is Given

Jake has seen examples of buildings using insulated concrete formwork where, even without trying, adequate levels of airtightness were achieved. With these results almost being realised by accident it wouldn’t take a great deal more effort to achieve the Passivhaus standard.

Tapes and Membranes are Still Required for Windows and Doors

For buildings that have a full insulated concrete formwork, the only areas vulnerable to air leakage are around the windows and doors so tapes and membranes need would need to be used.

High Quality Design Requires a High Quality Contractor

The Curly House benefited from having a contractor with lots of experience in the systems being used. There had been many challenges but the level of attention to detail and capabilities of the contractor resulted in the high quality design being reflected in the construction.

Find Out More

Visit Ecotecture’s website

Follow Jake White on Twitter

Matthew Cutler-Welsh from Home Style Green chats to NUDURA’s CEO Murray Snider

Transcript

Download a transcript of the interview with Jake White.

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September 10, 2014