Wrapping our house in its duvet.......

The final layer of insulation has been going on this week ready for the decorative rainscreen cladding.  We can already feel the difference inside the house.  In fact, in places, the house is almost too warm and so the need for the mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system is very apparent.  This system has yet to be commissioned but should even out the air quality once it is working. The heat recovery element ensures that heat is not wasted as the fresh air drawn in from outside is warmed using the warm stale air that is being extracted - it's all clever stuff!  The solar thermal panels are installed and working and this week's sunshine has given us lots of lovely hot water - so all good there!

Just a fun touch here - a plumber's radio!!!

Our approach all along has been fabric first so that we can really cut down our dependence on fossil fuels.  So, solar thermal for hot water, a log burner, triple glazed windows, lots and lots of insulation and a very tight build with the minimum of holes left in the envelope of the house.  We have been constantly going round looking at the work and having insulation stuffed between floors, into crevices and holes and insisting that any gaps and holes are carefully filled in. This is in line with our mantra of reduce, re-use, recycle, and insulation is the key factor in achieving this.  We still have the door through to the garage to seal, a full layer of roof insulation to add and the garden room roof to insulate and cover once the scaffolding has been removed.  

A nearly normal dining room and friends coming round to christen it on Saturday night!

Inside the house things are really coming together and it feels more like a home.  The decorators have been busy and the choice of Dulux colour Timeless (an off white) throughout has proved a good one.  The house is now light and bright with just splashes of colour from accessories and one or two feature walls. 

Dark blue feature wall in the TV room - just pictures to hang now

The original scheme has some really great black detailing in the dining room and staircase and we have kept this and we think it looks fabulous.

We intend to paint the stair spindles and riser supports black too.

The joiners and decorators have also done some great work on existing wood features and making new ones like the room divider in the garden room - below.  

One of my really comfy 1960s Ebay chairs in front of the stove!

 

A corner of the kitchen takes shape - we left the brick wall incorporated into the kitchen - it was originally  an outside passage

The beautiful Marmoleum tile floor is finished in the master bathroom and work progresses in the house bathroom with the remodelled vanity unit and hardwood coving detail.