here once stood a tired and draughty stonewall bungalow, Jane Simpson and husband Paul Niven have created an eye-catching Passivhaus home that provides perfectly for their particular needs now and is also futureproofed for their retirement. The modern look of this self-build, located close to the Sheepridge area of uddersfi eld in West Yorkshire, would undoubtedly attract more admiring glances than it already does but for the fact it’s tucked away a short distance along a leafy unadopted road. Jane, 62, and Paul, 69, are now enjoying the
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benefi ts of their new home, which fulfi ls their ambitions for more living space, greater energy effi ciency and an environment that’s comfortable for Paul, who is partially disabled. Finishing this self-build project is the conclusion of a tale that began in 2003 when the couple bought the bungalow, built in 1911, and land for £63,000. Jane remembers: “We rented out our property and moved into the bungalow straight away – it wasn’t ideal, but we coped.” The couple’s phased masterplan was to construct offi ce and temporary living space above the bungalow’s existing garage (phase one), which they would occupy only until the bungalow itself was transformed into their new home (phase two).
n , they spent , on the fi rst part of that plan, which was completed using structural insulated panels (SIPs) and included a standout ‘catslide’ roof. However, phase two was to be signifi cantly delayed. ane says e were hit by the after-effects of the 2008 recession and it just didn’t happen, so we ended up living in the bungalow for another decade or so.”
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During the years that followed, the couple made important changes to their plans. They decided to demolish the bungalow rather than build on top of it so they could have more freedom with the new building’s design, and they reduced the size of the new house after their son left home.
ealth considerations also infl uenced their thinking. Jane explains: “Paul was operated on for cancer and is now partially disabled because of nerve damage down his lefthand side and has arthritis.”
Jane, who is by coincidence an architect specialising in inclusive design, says her husband’s mobility issues were “key” to their thinking on what they wanted from their new home. “However, overall, we just asked ourselves: how do we want to live, what do we need, how do we make it work for us as individuals? “We wanted a beautiful place to live but we also wanted space with big enough rooms for more comfortable living. We knew that we wanted an energy-effi cient property and a home that is future-proofed.” Another really big change to the couple’s plans for their new home was the decision to choose a timber-framed Passivhaus construction approach instead of working with SIPs again. Jane says: “We weren’t initially going to take the Passivhaus route, but we realised the potential that a Passivhaus self-build had for us and our needs.”
Passivhaus is a voluntary standard for energy
effi ciency that reduces a building’s carbon footprint. Developed in Germany in the 1990s, essential components include specialist
HIGH POINT
“Seeing the timber frame go up was obviously a high point because we could begin to see the building take shape in the setting for the fi rst time, but I think we were ex- cited, stage by stage, by all the signifi cant changes that we witnessed during the development of the building work, both inside and outside.” – Jane Simpson
LOW POINT
“Things mostly went well but there was some frustration around how long it took to complete the overall construction. It should have taken nine to 10 months, but it took a few months longer be- cause we had some minor electrical glitches to fi x, and also administrative issues caused a delay in the building regulations being signed off.” – Jane Simpson
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