“Designing the interiors and being part of that build process was a real high point of the build for me,” says Kathleen. “I couldn’t be there as much as I wanted to be, but I trusted Ben Ridgwell and his team.” The house is constructed from masonry to


assure structural integrity, given the exposed location and the sloping plot. This required a substantial retaining wall; “a massive piece of construction,” says Kathleen. This is now accessible via steps “planted with mint, which releases scent as you walk.” The Delabole slate isn’t just on the roof, but also side-hung on part of the building, in the traditional Cornish manner. Another section has hardwood rain screening. Theres also a significant amount of stone, which was hand-cut on site by “two of the most remarkable men,” says Kathleen. “The artistry of it! They used amazing techniques we take for granted; it was a marvellous thing to behold.”


If the build was a high point for Kathleen, the low point was organising the utilities. Tackling drainage was a key obstacle, there being “a maze of pipes and access” for sewage and drains. Kathleen also had to get three-phase electricity to her new home, and this took almost a year to achieve. “I tried to future-proof by putting it


underground to protect it from gales,” says Kathleen, who found dealing with the regional supplier easy. The problem lay in the negotiations with a local landowner, across whose land Kathleen laid her power supply in trenching. While these discussions continued, she had temporary power, “but it delayed us getting into the house for a long time.” Kathleen adds: “It was more costly than I could


24 www.sbhonline.co.uk


have imagined.” Despite having little power and no heating for


a year, the house, and its contents – including furniture – did not suffer. Kathleen puts this down to the very high levels of insulation specified by Lilly Lewarne. The home is now heated by two air-source heat pumps (and this was the reason the three-phase supply was required).


Despite having the space for a ground source heat pump, Kathleen rejected this option, seeing it as a “massive intrusion” in the project. She adds further: “On a previous project we went through fie drills boring the hole reuired and I didn’t want to put my neighbours through it.” The air source heat pumps warm the domestic water for the property, and heat it via the underoor heating system. This combined with superb insulation and air tightness, led Kathleen to install a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system (MVHR). An ideal way to entilate energy-efficient air-tight buildings the MVHR expels stale air while retaining the energy used to heat the building. This is transferred to the fresh filtered air which the system circulates continuously. The glazing throughout is aluminium-framed


and provides excellent weather-tightness. This is vital in such an exposed location and aluminium is a popular choice. The inevitable Covid-related supply issues meant the frames were somewhat delayed (although Kathleen describes the supplier, Green Circle, as “fantastic.”) Another hiccup was a mysterious concrete trough found by Kathleen’s builders during excavations in what had been the rear patio of the building. “It was 4 m x 6 m and no one had any idea what this thing was,” says Kathleen. “It


mar/apr 2024


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