Like many people I talk to I'm a great watcher of Grand Designs and in part it was Grand Designs that gave me the confidence to start this project. The one thing that always makes Jo and I cringe however is when people embark on projects without suitable professional help.
There are occasions and projects where I can see that you can 'wing it and do without some professional help (if you wanted to build a basic box of a home and had a nice flat plot perhaps), but more often than not you see people on Grand Designs running in to extra costs and immense worry when things go wrong and over budget.
Being of a semi-cautious nature I would rather pay for help up front and be able to sleep at night and I can't recommend this too much based on our experience so far. That said, the bills do wrack up, but think of that as paying earlier rather than paying later on when things go awry.
Because of the site we quickly agreed with RRA Architects that we would have a full Site Survey. The site is sloped and sits tight between to other properties so there is no margin for error. Getting a clear indication of the the gradient was also critical.
We also decided early on to get a full Ground Survey done - which considering the amount of excavation necessary and the fact that the building would be partially earth sheltered seemed a no-brainer. Other than the architects this has been the most expensive cost so far. Although not a complete guarantee of what we will find when we excavate we are reasonably confident of what is down there....
On the back of this info the architects and the structural engineer can start to design the kind of foundations and retaining walls we will need and we can start to get some idea of cost.
The choice of architect is obviously key. Without a trusting relationship things can get very messy as we found very early on. I engaged an architect in mid Jan but soon got cold feet. Contract and terms were muddled and too vague. That could have been sorted out but the alarm bells really began to ring when they started getting unpleasant when I queried these concerns. It was on the one hand a difficult decision to terminate that relationship as we had already invested a good deal emotionally in coming to the decision to use them. Conversely, however, it was an very easy decision to terminate the relationship as it was clear that we had lost confidence in them and there was zero prospect in being able to work with them.
That's how we ended up working with RRA Architects and were very pleased that it ended up that way.
Monday, 13 June 2011
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Getting Into The Detail
Assuming we get planning permission (all digits crossed please) then we will be straight in to defining the detail of the build and starting to work out costings.
A Passiv house is an expensive thing to build. We are hoping to use ICFs (more on this in a later post) which should keep costs down and give us an intrinsically air tight house required for Passiv house type design. To have any hope of reaching a Passiv house standard we will need triple glazing - which is NOT cheap.
However if it gives us the comfort that a Passiv house should provide then I am happy to pay that premium. In fact I am not thinking of it as an "expensive" type of build but just an upfront cost for a long term saving scheme (both in cost of living and in terms of the environment).
Hopefully when we have a better idea of the excavation and basic build costs we should then be able to work out what renewable technologies we can afford to add. We will also need to work out what, if any, additional heating we will need. Even if we can't afford to add in grey water systems it would be good to get the plumbing in for this now, rather than trying to retrofit this later.
We are prepared to compromise a little on the fitting out of the new house (you can add in fancy bathrooms and kitchens later), however we won't skimp on the basic build quality and the Passiv house principle.
A Passiv house is an expensive thing to build. We are hoping to use ICFs (more on this in a later post) which should keep costs down and give us an intrinsically air tight house required for Passiv house type design. To have any hope of reaching a Passiv house standard we will need triple glazing - which is NOT cheap.
However if it gives us the comfort that a Passiv house should provide then I am happy to pay that premium. In fact I am not thinking of it as an "expensive" type of build but just an upfront cost for a long term saving scheme (both in cost of living and in terms of the environment).
Hopefully when we have a better idea of the excavation and basic build costs we should then be able to work out what renewable technologies we can afford to add. We will also need to work out what, if any, additional heating we will need. Even if we can't afford to add in grey water systems it would be good to get the plumbing in for this now, rather than trying to retrofit this later.
We are prepared to compromise a little on the fitting out of the new house (you can add in fancy bathrooms and kitchens later), however we won't skimp on the basic build quality and the Passiv house principle.
Why oh why?!
Although well in to the project, and tens of thousands already spent, Jo and I have been reflecting on why we are doing all this. It's not that we went in to this without thinking, but its good to remind yourself of the reasons that started it all off so that in the midst of the difficulties, bills and general aggro, we don't loose sight of the ultimate goal.
We both have had a long standing sense that our current way of life is going to change - in our life time and the life time of our daughter. Building this house is some insurance against these inevitable changes.
With fuel prices escalating rapidly (not to mention the effects of global warming) our thinking is that investing in home that will largely heat itself and hopefully produce some of its own electricity is an investment in our family's future.
That all sounds a bit doom laden doesn't it? Well there are more obviously tangible reasons to build a house (and a Passiv house in particular) apart from the saving on fuel bills and living in an utterly gorgeous setting.
We currently live in a Victorian terraced house - originally built @ 1910, but bombed by the Nazis during the war and rebuilt in the 1950's! I love fresh air and hate stuffy rooms, where as Jo closes windows as fast as I open them in order to keep the place as warm as possible for her comfort. A key principle with a Passiv house is to use MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery) to get the best of both worlds: the MVHR system pulls in fresh air into the house but uses the warm air already in the house to heat the fresh air up to a comfortable temperature. So hopefully Jo will have her warmth and I will have the clean air I crave!
We both have had a long standing sense that our current way of life is going to change - in our life time and the life time of our daughter. Building this house is some insurance against these inevitable changes.
With fuel prices escalating rapidly (not to mention the effects of global warming) our thinking is that investing in home that will largely heat itself and hopefully produce some of its own electricity is an investment in our family's future.
That all sounds a bit doom laden doesn't it? Well there are more obviously tangible reasons to build a house (and a Passiv house in particular) apart from the saving on fuel bills and living in an utterly gorgeous setting.
We currently live in a Victorian terraced house - originally built @ 1910, but bombed by the Nazis during the war and rebuilt in the 1950's! I love fresh air and hate stuffy rooms, where as Jo closes windows as fast as I open them in order to keep the place as warm as possible for her comfort. A key principle with a Passiv house is to use MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery) to get the best of both worlds: the MVHR system pulls in fresh air into the house but uses the warm air already in the house to heat the fresh air up to a comfortable temperature. So hopefully Jo will have her warmth and I will have the clean air I crave!
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