The crane arrived at first light and by midday the floor was in and now the walls are being installed. The Gurn understands that it should be done and dusted with the roof on on Friday if the weather holds. For more about the ecological principles behind the entire process that involves the construction of this type of house have a browse of the Makar site.
Plans for the house can be seen here on the Highland Council site. More pictures here and we hope to add to that Gurn Flickr file with another visit planned later this afternoon.
UPDATE: Weds 17th - a few more images today.
Isn't the fishertown a conservation area where houses have to be stone built with traditional slate roofs?. Just wondered!
ReplyDeleteDefine "ecohouse" please; if possible with energy consumption figures with all rooms at 21°C 24/7
ReplyDeleteUnable to anon, just using a word that has had a little bit of traction in local conversations.
ReplyDeleteon the rock - if you are really interested to know more- it is my house and I can show you all the numbers - it is not certified Passivhaus as Makar have their own version - but near as dammit and as close as I can afford to carbon zero - it will indeed be very warm, low cost to run and will use no fossil fuels( only solar/PV and log stove) . There are also research studies on the low embodied carbon level of a typical Makar house with most materials( mainly wood) sourced locally and the house itself sequesters considerable carbon. If you are interested come and chat at the site over next couple days . Anon - re the slate roof- for the record -after the original plans were passed for an energy efficient build I actually submitted a second planning application for a slate roof but this was turned down by the planning committee in their wisdom .. what can you do?? Highland Council are keen to support energy efficient low carbon buildings, and took the view that the wood clad style,with metal profile roof, was in keeping with traditional net sheds common in fishertown before folk started putting up any old thing.....
ReplyDeleteI am not questioning your ambitions and competence.
ReplyDeleteMy point would be that we need a comparison level, not buzzwords like “ecohouse", “ecofriendly", "green", etc. So what are your consumption figures? But even that would not allow for comparison as it is based on individual preferences. Take the automobile industry: at least it tried to make mileage consumption under set rules a platform to compare figures. Not that they not cheat, but a similar platform is lacking for the building industry.
And by the way, would your envelope be really airtight and well insulated you would be roasted while sun is out with these big glass panels.... PHPP would have told you that!
Not having a go at the owners, mainly at H.C.. I understand that in the past there were lots of wooden sheds for nets etc., & that over the years most were torn down, with a few re-built/used as housing etc.. It just gets my goat that every time I wanted to do anything to my house it was a case of "planning consent/conservation area" talk which costs money every time! New set of driveway gates, planning please. Small extension, that has to be stone faced & slate roofed sir, as per the rest of the house & must match in to the surrounding!
ReplyDeleteAnyway my house has stood for 100yrs, I seriously doubt a lot of these new wood "eco houses" will be able to do the same! I also think it funny that in the mid 1900's the smoke control/clean air act was brought in mainly because of all the coal/wood that was burned in open fires in factories & peoples houses to provide heat. Sometimes when walking through Fishertown when it is cold I feel that this has been forgotten due to the smell & soot from the chimneys! There are log burners of different grades, mine is approved for smoke control areas & burns very cleanly, does his?
Dearie me, what a load of whingers
ReplyDeleteThe Fishertown has long since been lost as a conservation area, wander round and just look at all the flat roofs/extensions. Most houses would have to remove their front windows as they're supposed to be wooden but most are plastic double glazing. The list goes on
Personally I'd be very happy living in the new house in Wilson St. It looks as though it'll be nice and warm and cheap to heat. I'm not sure as to it's longevity, there are some wooden boats over a 100 years old so I don't see why it cannot last as least as long
I will be burning wood - not coal so no soot which is the real health hazard.
ReplyDeleteRe maintenance and longevity of the house, wood cladding just like wooden windows and doors can be replaced over the years more cheaply than pointing a masonry house.....Wood is also a sustainable resource as long as we look after our forests in the Highlands. On the rock -I agree that there are a range of different and confusing industry standards re low carbon/sustainable housing. As far as I know -my house will acheive the Silver Active level of Scottish Building Regulations - as I say I have many more numbers re the energy consumption of my house which I don't claim to fully understand currently...once I move in I get the hang of the new systems I will understand better how it all works....
All the best & hope you are happy in your new house Teddy!
ReplyDeleteSeasons Greetings to you all ...
lang may yer ecologically friendly lum reek Teddy
ReplyDeleteTo "Teddy Bumblechuck".
ReplyDeleteRe-pointing a masonry house expensive? No! Again my 100yr old house has only ever been re-done once (20yrs ago). I would wager that it was also cheaper than the projected cost for ripping off the whole of your external cladding & fitting new which you will have to do! I recon that every (say 10-15yrs) you will also need to sand blast & protect/paint your cladding as it will have gone very aged/silver, looking like an old shed (it's supposed to I know, matter of personal taste). As for windows, I fitted hardwood ones (double glazed)which are still very good 20yrs on & get repainted every 8yrs
P.S. ALL stoves/fires produce soot & Carbon Monoxide amongst other things! Fact of combustion! In a log burner you can only reduce the amount it produces by using properly seasoned woods, better quality (smoke zone approved) stoves, burning at correct temps, etc. etc. & try not to use the joiner's off cuts as most building wood has got some preservatives/treatments in them! Go have a look at the USA Environmental Protection Agency website as they have more info on this than our government!
@DRoss
ReplyDeleteWhat would you project to be the building cost of a 2 bedroom house like yours today, assuming that you could find the stone and the stone masons for such work?
Wood requires looking after but if suitably treated every few years why would it need sandblasted or replacing?
all heating that's available to us produces carbon somewhere along the process
thanks for useful advice re woodburning DRoss I hope to get tips from others with woodstoves which also power the boiler in winter( anyone know anyone local?) This is still relatively rare and requires specialised passive ventilation system in my house as otherwise the oxygen runs out( not good for me or the stove) ... Looks like the roof will be on today( Friday) on schedule, so so far so good!
ReplyDeleteMerry Xmas to all - and hope folks will feel welcome to pop by and find out more about the house if interested once I have moved in properly ( prob around Easter) as I am keen to be an ambassador for this kind of housing to encourage others to reduce carbon footprint...cheers