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 [...]
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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 [...] Aberfeldy, October 2009 This is a timber frame house of 76 sq,m. built in 2001. In terms of heating it benefits from its double storey living area facing south and the limited amount of glazing to the north. There is 200mm cellulose insulation in the roof, 150mm in the floor and 145mm in the [...] 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 [...] Where can I buy recycled plastic sheet made from kids wellies? At Smile Plastics of course The world of suppliers to the building industry is a very mixed bag varying from the excellent to the appalling. When you are purchasing building materials it is of course good to go in with a positive attitude [...] 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, [...] 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 [...]
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 [...] High thermal mass is generally seen as a useful quality in a building because it can be utilised to trap and save any spare heat which might turn up. It can also do the same for coolth during hot weather. This quality is utilised in passive solar design, including the Passivhaus design standard. However [...] 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. [...] autumn 2009
from left to right – individual houses, the communal village green area, bungalows, the terrace of houses and, (bright red), the flats above the workshops and community centre CLICK ABOVE FOR 3D PANORAMIC IMAGE WITH DRAG AND ZOOM This is one of the most interesting recent examples of group self-build in the [...] |
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