SELF BUILD - Neil & Sarah Jones

Client - Neil & Sarah Jones Project Type - Self Build Timber Frame Detached Home Description The brief was to build a long lasting environmentally sustainable home. Neil wanted low energy bills, with Sarah wanting a healthier living environment. The area of land they found was situated in an urban area so the design needed to be in-keeping with the surroundings. ‘We didn’t want to be the white house at the end of the road’. The clients opted for the ‘Green’ wall system, which is a great way of producing both an economical and thermal efficient home. The panels feature a service void for all electrical and plumbing services which makes it really easy for follow on trades. Every new build home now needs to pass an air tightness test and using this building method is ideal to meet those requirements. ‘We were amazed at how fast it went up’. Everything was manufactured off site in the factory, even down to the floors which enabled us to put up Neil & Sarah’s home in record time. By day 5 their home was weather and water tight. The combination of choosing an air tight building fabric at the outset, plus the use of under floor heating and LED lighting, gave Neil the low energy bills he was looking for. To meet Sarah’s brief we used a Steico engineered I joist floor system. This method allows us to drill up to 200mm diameter holes in the floor beams which would not be possible using traditional timber. We could then install a heat recovery air system that will quietly and efficiently provide their home with fresh filtered air all year round, improving the indoor air quality and reducing dust and allergen levels.