2022 in review

Wow, another year flew by and still no house 😬. But we are now all set to go and have works scheduled to start in June ’23. So what did 2022 bring?

Planning fully granted

We got caught out by planning last summer and had to decide whether to change our external path and stairs back to the original planning or re-submit. We opted to resubmit as it’s going to be our home and we figured chance to get it right. Thankfully, after only a few hiccups we received full planning permission with all the tweaks included in December ’22.

Here are some of the improvements made between the first and second application:

1. The lower ground floor was extended under the main terrace. This provides a useful laundry and TV room as well as providing a super solid structural support across the whole site.
2. The lower terrace and outdoor steps are more organic. The first design was clean but our architect had the great idea to pick up more on the amazing wild surrounds of the cliff top. So we changed the steps and lower terrace to be a higgledy piggledy layout of wooden sleepers with grasses and shrubs growing around them.
3. Green roof overhang. The first design had a projected wood/metal brise soleil to shelter the west facing glazing from the sun. Now the sedum/wildflower roof has been extended to provide a cleaner, greener view from above.
4. Larger kids rooms. We were a bit tight on space for the kids rooms. Finally got to accept they won’t always be small so we moved the interior walls slightly to easily afford a double bed each.
5. Solar panels placement. The solar panels were above the leg of the ‘L’ of the building near the road and path. We figured it would look nicer if the area of the roof people saw was nicely planted so we moved them to the opposite end of the roof.

Old (left)and new (right) planning applications

Detailed design

With the final shape and layout of the building decided RX Architects could move onto the detailed design. The difference between planning design and construction design is that rather than talking about concepts and feasibility we talk about thermal performance, construction detailing, material specifications and all the nerdy things which come with it.

I love that on a plan section drawing it’s possible to zoom into the details of individual batten positions between the structural wall and cladding.

Image on the right is a zoomed in section of the little red circle on the plan!

Passivhaus design

Passivhaus is a set of design principles such that a building will use minimal energy while being supremely comfortable to live in. The Passivhaus institute will test and certify a home to perform within their standards. The idea is to build the house in such a way that it doesn’t require much active heating or cooling, it manages itself ‘passively’.

The basic principles are that the building:

1. Is super insulated all the way around (a thermal envelope)
2. Is ultra air tight (no drafts sapping heat)
3. Uses south facing glazing to gather heat from the sun in the winter, uses shades over those windows to keep cool in the summer
4. Has good ventilation via an MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation w/ Heat Recovery)

There is a lot more to it than that but the end result can be a much simpler house overall. For example, this house shouldn’t need radiators to stay warm and won’t need blinds or air conditioning to stay cool. In fact, it uses so little energy that the solar panels on the roof should give it everything it needs.

All this means less equipment needed which offsets some of the costs of the additional insulation and higher specification windows. Over a 7-10 year period (with energy price inflation) the additional costs will be recovered.

Heating requirement calculations. December is the worst month requiring 3.5kWh/m2 over the month. About the same energy as 2–3 heated towel rails.

Found a builder

The architect service included a tender process for main contractors. We requested tender from around 8 firms and received detailed tenders from four firms.

The tender documents and prices varied significantly. After some deliberation we chose a firm called D&P Bespoke. We liked that they were smaller, they were primarily carpenters and the manager would be foreman on the project. They also were proactively participating in Passivhaus training and were keen to prove themselves in the eco-building field.

Another good sign was that the despite not being experienced in the chosen building system (ICF) they were keen to do the training course with myself and the ground workers.

The final aspect which sealed the deal was that I’m keen to be actively involved in the build process. I got the feeling D&P were more happy to work in collaboration than the larger firms.

So there we have it, planning sorted, detailed design complete, a builder chosen and ready to go for June 2023!