Welcome to our blog.

This blog will follow the ultimate in home improvement: demolish and rebuild!

This is our starting point: a 1930s bungalow. While not a bad house; it is too small for us with three teenage children so what should we do? A full storey extension versus complete rebuild - ultimately the stronger eco-credentials and more certain finances of a new-build helped to guide our choice.

For a number of years we've been trying to find the right route for us to build an eco-friendly, low energy home. We tried various architects and building companies and have eventually settled with a German prefabricated build. The new house will be nearly to passivhaus standards (but not quite due to budget constraints). In any case, the house will be heavily insulated and airtight.

As a family, we have not built a house before so everything is new and exciting but the risk of making a mess of things is quite high!

This blog aims to outline the day to day steps involved in our build.

Tuesday 6 July 2010

The house is five weeks old

This morning the Neil, Matt and Paul tried to fit into the utility room at the same time. It was not very successful. It was decided that Neil and Matt would do their work first and then allow Paul space to come in. It was a challenge fitting the heat pump in with so many pipes in place already. We still have to fit the water softener, washing machine and a second kitchen sink in there! In this photo you can see some new horizontal pipes that connect the underfloor heating manifold to the heat pump.
Meanwhile, the rest of the house is undergoing a transformation as Ebi and Charlie cover the joints in the plasterboard and the fermacell. It really starts to feel more like a house now and less of a building site. Josh has been drilling holes through the ceilings and cutting the wires ready for the light fittings.
Ebi and Charlie put metal edging strips around all the corners.
then they cover them with plaster. Meanwhile, mindful of the budget, I spent most of the day trawling through websites looking for the best prices for the kitchen appliances. I've been arranging flooring and kitchen deliveries amongst many other background things.

Long after the other trades have disappeared Ebi and Charlie can still be found working. Ebi seems never happier than when half-way up a ladder! They were singing as I left.

1 comment:

  1. Fascinating blog - keep it up!

    Blog my eco-build fan!

    ReplyDelete