CONTACTS/ SUPPLIERS
RENEWABLES (MVHR & PV
PANELS SYSTEM) EcoInstaller
ecoinstaller.net
TIMBER FLOORING
Oak Flooring Direct (BOEN Ash)
www.oakflooringdirect.co.uk
KITCHEN CABINETRY Ikea
ikea.com LARCH TIMBER CLADDING
Osmo
www.osmouk.com
HOME LIFT Artico
www.aritco.com/products/h ome-lifts
WINDOWS & DOORS Velfac
adds: “Joan’s roof certainly stands out. Let’s put it this way: she doesn't have to give detailed instructions when giving directions to where to find her in the village, she just tells people to look for the house with the butterfly roof!” The look of the exterior walls and materials used outside were also decisions worked out between Joan and Ian, and project architect at Mole, Susie Newman. Overlapping rough-sawn larch cladding boards will eventually weather down to a soft grey colour, while at ground level, where one can touch the cladding, there is a finer timber that’s stained white. The cladding was partly inspired by fenland agriculture barns, and also the huge stacks of pallets that you often see in this part of the world come harvest time. Central to creating a home with ‘green’
credentials is the passive house timber system installed by Beattie Passive, which is completed using closed panels, insulated with micro beads. Combined with Velfac triple glazing, the result is Joan has no need for gas-fired central heating, although there are two small electric panel radiators she can use. A mechanical ventilation system ensures that fresh air is brought into the house, but it is also capable of cooling internal temperatures when needed and recovering heat from expelled air to raise the temperature. On the roof, which was craned into position by Beattie Passive, are six solar panels that are capable of producing up to 10 kw of electricity a day. This provides most of her power, although she’s also hooked up to the grid: “My target was to cut the power I use, not to be self-sufficient. I may put up a wind turbine at some later date but that does need further planning permission,” she says. Joan’s main living space is filled with plants, and she has tried to reduce the use of petrochemical materials through choices like
42
www.sbhonline.co.uk
velfac.co.uk ARCHITECT
Mole Architects
www.molearchitects.co.uk
BUILDING CONTRACTOR
Burmor Construction Ltd
www.burmor.co.uk
PASSIVE HOUSE BUILD SYSTEM CONTRACTOR
Beattie Passive
www.beattiepassive.com
QUANTITY SURVEYOR Sheriff Tiplady Associates
www.sta-cambs.co.uk
using Marmoleum flooring, which is made of sawdust and cork. Just one other example of an ecologically driven interior design decision is using hemp and silk for her curtains – hemp is said to be more sustainable than cotton as its production uses less water. Says Joan: “I’ve spent hours and hours looking into these ecological and sustainability issues – both to do it properly and to stay within my budget – but I enjoyed doing it.” She also persuaded a carpenter working on her home to make a TV table and shelf out of the kitchen work surface off-cuts. A garden wrapped around two sides of the house meets the design stipulation for outside space at Joan’s self-build creation. When completed it will include a wildflower meadow, walk-in vegetable cage (that means netted to keep out butterflies and birds for you non- gardeners), a domestic polytunnel, a Japanese zen garden area and half a dozen fruit-bearing trees. Here too, Joan has tried to be green with a shed made of recycled plastic and builders’ ‘waste’ like pallets, cladding off-cuts and left-
february/march 2020
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
