The fabric first approach

This week has gone well and the block work walls are up for the garden room/lounge extension. it's the roof next and the big steel lintels have been delivered  to site. 

The gap in the block work is for the large full height triple glazed windows which will give us lovely views over the garden and over the new pond. The flat roof will have a good overhang to shade the windows from the height of summer sun and we hope to run the rainwater from this single story section of roof, down a rain chain, under the lawn and into the pond.  We are going to let the pond fill over the winter so we don't use our metered tap water - re-use! 

The cavity between the two layers of block work has been filled with Earthwool cavity slab insulation which has good thermal properties and some reasonable environmental claims (made using recycled glass bottles). This is only part of the insulation that the house is going to receive.  The whole house will eventually be wrapped with another outer layer of insulation, and made as airtight as possible, before new rainscreen cladding -  (in part larch wood and part Marley Eternit Equitone facade cladding).  We are taking a fabric first approach to the house and hope that this will mean we need very little heat input from the oil boiler (too new to justify replacing with any renewable technology)  Next week we have a meeting with a consultant who we hope will be able to help us understand what the heat input requirements will be and we anticipate that we will be able to cut down the number of radiators throughout the house - but more on this after the meeting!!

Of course aiming for an airtight house can lead to problems of air quality and condensation issues so to ensure a good air quality throughout the house we will be retrofitting a Heat Recovery and Mechanical Ventilation system by CVC Direct - This needs a bit of thinking about in the existing parts of the house but some careful positioning of vent piping inside fitted wardrobes and storage cupboards means we can get vents into all the places we want them.  Tim at CVC has been great in helping with this and we are just waiting for his latest plans.  

Oh! and after selling our old coffee table and a few other bits and pieces on Ebay my latest Ebay purchase a lovely chair for my office! - Recycle!