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Although not self built, the two passivhauses at Ebbw Vale may be very relevant to many self builders. Built in 2010 as show houses mainly for the attention of housing associations, they are attractive and innovative while being relatively modest. The 3 bed Larch House is clad with a locally sourced larch rain screen and [...]
straw board Straw board is made from waste straw with usually about 2% MDI adhesive binder. In the past the reputation of straw board has suffered mainly due to people trying to skimp on the thickness, a bit like with hardboard. It can make for very economical internal surface linings with good thermal and [...]
novolit magnesite / woodwool board There are various types of cement/wood wool board combinations with Heraklith (which uses a magnesite cement) being one of the better known makes in the UK. Although the cement component is a cause of embodied energy, there are several ‘green’ advantages which count in its favour high timber content [...] The Lancaster Cohousing group have recently purchased land near Halton on the River Lune near Lancaster. They are intending to build a number of Passivhauses and a communal building. There are some existing industrial buildings on the site which may be improved and converted. This is likely to be an example of communal self build [...] October ’09 Home of Alexander and Vinny Burnett, Kashentroch is an elegant and spacious open plan timber frame house in a beautiful setting close to the Dee. The original part of the house (with the pitched roof on the right of the picture), built about 5 years ago, has recently had an addition of [...] It is becoming increasingly popular to incorporate elements of steel framework into timber frame and kit houses in order to achieve larger spans than are normally available with timber. This is often down to the preferences of the engineer doing the calculations rather than being an inherent necessity. Very often laminated timber would do [...]
It is becoming increasingly popular to incorporate elements of steel framework into timber frame and kit houses in order to achieve larger spans than are normally available with timber. This is often down to the preferences of the engineer doing the calculations rather than being an inherent necessity. Very often laminated timber [...] In day to day terms, managing a building site is somewhere between a science and dealing with a madhouse full of demented jugglers, especially if you have never done it before. Partly this is because of the number of variables which can occur. The best strategy is to have a firm clear plan and then [...] Make a contract! With anything but the smallest of jobs it pays to have a contract with any sub-contractors you may employ.There are various contracts available but two of the best know sources are: Federation of Master Builders. These are a free download F220. Domestic contract for minor building work for work up to the [...] Very often outbuildings happen as an afterthought and people go off and buy various kinds of prefabricated sheds, garages or summer houses. Usually these buildings are the worst possible in terms of green design because they tend to have travelled a long way and be made of materials which are high in embodied energy [...] The elements in a building are roughly divided into two parts the envelope of the building like walls floors, doors etc. the services such as wiring and drainage. Thinking of a house as a number of elements is the traditional way of organising the construction process and works well around the various trades involved. However [...] The Approved Documents are ‘standard’ ways of getting Building Regulations approval. If you follow the principles and rules given in the documents you can be sure that they will be approved The documents are as follows: Part A (Structural safety) and see also the archived 1992 version which gives span tables for timber in floors, [...] October 2009 On the Hill of Bandodle, Aberdeenshire, stands a beautiful timber frame house designed by architect Genevieve Jones for her family. Incorporating high levels of insulation (in the form of 350mm of shoddy obtained from Elgin woolen mill) and mainly locally sourced materials, Larch, Douglas fir and Caithness slate, the house also has [...] Hedgehog Self Build Co-op, Hogs Edge, Brighton august 2009 Started in the late 1990s this development of ten timber frame houses is based on the Walter Segal approach to construction. They incorporate high levels of Warmcell insulation and benefit from south facing solar gain. The living roofs are of Sedum. It may [...] A very interesting terrace of three houses, on a curved road junction, has recently been completed in this Somerset village. Some of the main features of the design are: Very high insulation levels provided by insulating concrete forms (ICF) with added exterior face insulation Structural insulated panel (SIP) roofs Eco-slab ground floors and upper [...] Walter Segal self build This is made up of 3 adjoining houses which were built by three families, starting in 1993. They were constructed according to the Walter Segal self build approach to construction and incorporated a number of ecological principles: High insulation values. Most of the external surfaces have 200mm of insulation, some [...] Self build eco houses in the Field of Dreams, Findhorn Foundation Over the last decade or so the green building movement in the UK has gone from being fringe to mainstream. Architects, builders and suppliers are falling over each other to declare their green credentials Self builders have something of a tradition of trying [...]
Earth Heart is a community of 22 people in 8 homes based on a large converted farm in Derbyshire set up in 1998 around home education. Although not initially concerned with eco-build, they have embraced the concept thoroughly during their upgrading of an old farm house and several outbuildings into dwellings. There [...]
The five earth sheltered houses. Image by WindandSun who provided the PV installation The Hockerton Housing Project is the UK’s first (and almost only) earth sheltered housing development. It is a remarkable place, not only because of the five houses which are built into the side of a hill and are almost zero energy [...] ‘Energy use’ is usually associated with how much energy is used to construct a new building. However, this is only part of the story. Most buildings get altered and repaired and redecorated a considerable number of times during their lifetime and taken to an extreme, some houses are constantly having ‘makeovers’. This can vastly increase [...] October 2009 The Findhorn Foundation near Fores in the North East of Scotland has a couple of interesting areas of eco-housing and a whole approach to living lightly on the earth including 750kW of electrical energy from 4 wind turbines recently installed for Findhorn Wind Park Ltd which is the trading arm of Findhorn Foundation. [...] As a very rough rule of thumb, in average parts of the UK the cost of house building (excluding the land and excluding design fees) will vary between about £800/m² for a very simple design with no frills up to about £1,800 for a house with quite a high design standard and a high specification [...] January 2010 Building Regulations deal with whether the building is built properly and is safe and energy efficient etc. more+/-» They are not to be confused with Planning Consent (which is to do with the size, location and appearance of a house). The building inspectors are either employed by the local council [...] |
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