Walter Segal

a Segal self build house in Brighton

The Walter Segal self build approach to construction is uniquely organised so that anyone who can use basic tools such as a saw, hammer, drill/driver, tape measure, etc. can build a house. There are even one or two cases of single parent mothers, who have had only basic training in woodworking skills, building their own houses. It’s not quite Lego, but probably as close as you can get using standard building materials. This can create massive savings in construction costs.

No wet trades are used (like bricklaying and plastering) – skills which are difficult to acquire. It is a stripped down system of construction with a highly minimalist and rationalist approach. It has proved very adaptable in terms of upgrading to high insulation values and handled properly could probably achieve Passivhaus standard. More on that to be added soon.

It is a bolt-together, post and beam form of timber frame construction which relies on using all the materials in their standard sizes, as they are delivered, so there is almost no cutting or waste. The foundations are point blocks of concrete, usually 600 x 600 wide, (depth depending on soil conditions) so less concrete is used than in strip foundations. There is no oversite concrete used so this cuts down on embodied energy. Originally intended to be single storey construction, it has proved to work well up to three storeys.

Although there are many excellent examples of Segal houses in the UK, the development of the system has recently become somewhat moribund because the people involved with it, mainly architects working with the more radical aspects of the green building movement, are busy with other things. This seems to go hand in hand with the recent demise of grass roots collective housing initiatives in the UK (unlike eg. the co-housing movement in much of northern Europe, North America etc).

There are a couple of exemplary group housing developments such as Hedgehog Housing Co-op in Brighton at Hog’s Edge and the houses at Walter’s Way in London.

There are also many individual houses which have been built to the same principles. A good example is Ken and Sylvia’s house at Lampeter Velfrey near Whitland in Pembrokshire. Ken runs Water Margins, an aquatic plant nursery and next to the business they have built a single storey house.

the East elevation

The form is almost square in plan and the South elevation has a long glazed sun room which helps with heating the house. The structural timber posts are all 100mm square rather than the 200 x 50 which is more common with the Segal system. You can just make out the 600 x 600 concrete pads which the posts stand on. The outside wall cladding is Minerit and the inside lining is Fermacell. There is 200 mm insulation all round using wood wool and polystyrene. The level of insulation, along with the open plan layout of the rooms, has meant that the central wood burning stove has proved sufficient to heat the whole house without a central heating system.The roof membrane is neoprene.

Some recent improvement work on the house has included a 180 litre thermal store at the rear of the stove to capture spare heat and they are planning to install a thermal solar collector on the roof which will also feed into the store.

11A,B and C Allerton Park, Leeds. Click the snap for more details

 Segal links:

Walter Segal Trust (web site needing some TLC)

Self build article by Mike Dalegan

Architype architects were the designers of the Brighton Hedgehog project (pictured above) and are a ground breaking ecological design company! See their ‘Projects’ > ‘Housing’ > ‘Pioneering self build schemes’ page for lots more photos of it being built.

Project sheet – various examples

Books

The Self-build Book: How to Enjoy Designing and Building Your Own Home by Jon Broome, and Brian Richardson. It documents the building of a Segal method timber frame house and also goes into some community self build initiatives. There is very little written about self build timber frame in the UK (unlike say the US where it is usually the starting point).