Automatic low-level lighting is a feature internally
lot of glass was incorporated into the design. However, explains Jackie, “one of the things we didn’t really realise was that this would mean it gets very hot.” The design process was therefore delayed while various technical calculations were done to combat the possibility of overheating, as they wanted to avoid having to install air conditioning. An IES model was used to calculate the risk of overheating using typical summer temperatures, based on the amount of glass and number of opening windows.
In particular, the couple were concerned about the house retaining heat overnight and so the model analysed the temperatures likely between 10 pm and 7 am. They ran the tests using glass with a 0.28 ‘g’ value – ‘g’ being a measurement of solar gain. “It’s one of the darkest, most heat- resistant types of glass you can get in this country,” Jackie explains. “It cost more but it means we don’t have to have air conditioning.” A high-performing triple glazed unit has an average g value of 0.5, while a Building Regs-compliant double glazed unit is around 0.7. By using this glass and including additional opening windows, the tests concluded the overnight temperature wouldn’t exceed 26 degrees, aligning with the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) guidelines. In addition, pipework for air conditioning has also been incorporated so it can be easily installed in the future if necessary.
Once the glass issues were ironed out, they 18
www.sbhonline.co.uk
After the initial hiccups, the build finally got into full swing
were finally ready to start onsite in February last year. The couple had moved into a cottage just to the side of the site where the new house sits, having portioned off the land and sold their house in August 2017. “We could have built while we still owned the house, but we didn’t want to end up owning two,” explains Jackie. One of the first jobs to take care of was connecting to utilities – which should have been relatively simple as they were already connected to water and electric, and had a sewage treatment system. At the last minute, they learned the electric supply needed to be improved. “We found we had to improve the earthing after we started onsite, it hadn’t been flagged up,” Jackie says. “Nobody realised until the electrical engineer turned up, so that was an extra cost.”
MOVING FORWARDS
After the initial hiccups, the build finally got into full swing. The house is constructed using a traditional brick and block system. Jackie says:
may/june 2019
HIGH POINT
“The day they dug the first hole – actually getting started onsite.”
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