RIK’S ADVICE
“Get in a good architect and take time on the design, think every little detail through.”
“Once you're planning, make sure you choose a good Building Control officer, (local authority or private), get them on site early, check through all the drawings, make sure you're ticking off all the boxes as you go along.”
“There will always be issues and ‘surprises’ on any project - you just have to find pragmatic solutions. You can’t sit there crying over your problems, you’ve got to get on with it, and turn a new page.”
Rik explains why ICF works for self-builds:
“You can get the structure up, and then tender out the various pieces of work. For a self-builder it’s a lot more manageable.”
GETTING NEAR PASSIVHAUS The plan in creating a very thermally efficient and airtight build, assisted by the ICF, was “never to aim for Passivhaus standards,” says Rik, “but to get as near as possible.” Although the goal was to create a pair of sustainable homes, true passive design was not within their budget, and an MVHR ventilation system, which would have been required to meet Passivhaus air-tightness standards, wasn’t feasible. Rik comments: “In an ideal world, we would have met all standards, but sadly in this case it was a bridge too far on the cost side.”
Instead, the design uses trickle vents within a whole-house ventilation system whereby in moisture- or heat-heavy rooms such as kitchen and bathrooms, a sensor activates so that the air is removed and replaced as needed. As well as rooflights, solar PVs have been included on the flat roofs to the rear. The panels are currently making enough electricity to export some back to the grid. “Not a huge amount,” admits Rik, “but it helps, and everyone should have panels at the end of the day.” He believes that the PVs would have paid for themselves in about six or seven years.
While not scaling the absolute heights of Passivhaus, the building has achieved a commendable Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of 88 per cent – three points off
60
www.sbhonline.co.uk issue 02 2021
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 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100
