Ironies of eco build on Grand Designs

[yamin]

just watching Grand Designs. Is my thoughts on the irony of the situation misplaced? This couple are spending a lot of money to build an ECO house. So far so good. Presumably they will be accordingly smug about their protection of earths resources and low carbon footprint in the future. Thing is, they are demolishing a perfectly useful cottage in order to replace it with their eco house. I find myself wondering how many years of ths eco house pays back for the resources used to build the new one, however ecologically aware, and the resources used and wasted in knowcking down the old one? And, whilst I could be doing them an injustice, I feel annoyed that they wull sit in the pub and be outrageously smug about saving the planet.

What a terrible vent! Sorry, had to get it out!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Gareth Hughes]

Enough hand-made clay peg tiles to re-roof half a dozen small houses, smothered with cement and hidden in a structure that could have been done in half the time and with less drama in reinforced concrete (or laminated timber).
I do hope it was the one Kevin carved his name into that failed and caused the collapse - a "revolutionary" building system that theyve used in hotter climes since the Middle Ages.
But without that silly arch gesture, it'd have been another pile of (nicely-stacked, and exquisitely-finished) boxes, and at £1800 a year payback for the energy the unintegrated and afterthought-looking solar panels produce, it'll have paid for itself in a mere 400 years (site purchase costs included).

 

[Bitstreams]

I'm not sure you could have described the original "cottage" as "perfectly useful". I seem to remember a shot of one wall being lifted away intact and it looked as if it was made of sticky tape and brown paper.
I've no doubt they managed to sell the whole build as 'eco friendly' to the planners but I thought it was an interesting house and would have been a lot less interesting without the arch. If you forget the Eco angle for a moment, isn't it better that people build houses that are different to the norm? It could so easily have been a ranch-style mock georgian lump, or worse. Did you see what they did to that Victorian Folly the week before - put a visitor centre around it and a portacabin on the roof!

Simon

 

[yamin]

Not so much what they did that I object to, more that they are holding themselves up as eco friendly builders who, unlike the rest of us energy squanderers, are "protecting" the environment! And I agree on the first floor extension of the folly, but otherwise I actually think it worked. And at least they weren't kidding us that they were saving the environment!

 

[stickybeak]

.

 

[biffvernon]

This is an eco-house:

Lots more pics at http://www.thatroundhouse.info/

 

[chuckey]

85 Grand for the roof, 43 grand for the windows, sounds like a bargain. Did Kevin get the position of the VPM wrong?, he likend it to "wrapping the building in a piece of plastic". This then puts a heavy burden on the heat recovery unit. because any corners where there low or no air flow, the humid internal air will migrate into the insulation where intersticular condensation will occur.
Frank

 

[ljn]

When they talked about the Eco-slab/foundations I thought it was going to be limecrete or something, but no, just cement with recycled aggregate.

Very good point about the roof tiles not being recyclable in future because of the cement. I understand the rapid setting time of the plaster of paris was an issue, but, as people on this forum have said before, mixing lime with the plaster would increase the setting time and maybe even more forgiving of humidity.
I did like the look of the staircase.

But the thing that always troubles me with current building regs, is the idea of living in an airtight house. What happens if the heat exchanger fails? If a poor family moves in and can't afford to mend the heat exchanger? Well, I don't know how the things work, but I would only be happy if it failed gracefully, ensuring good ventilation even without power or the mechanical parts working.
And windows only on one side of the building... so you can't open windows in summer and have the breeze blowing through- one of the best experiences of a home.

 

[worms]

I was surprised that there didn't appear to be an insulating layer in the concrete screed floor - did I miss that or am I simply wrong in expecting that this would have been useful for a well-insulated/thermal-mass floor?

While I can see the benefits in a heat recovery ventilation system, I worry about our rush towards systems that are energy dependent. At the moment, the water companies are spending huge amounts of money replacing gravity systems for water and sewage with systems that need electricity to pump/filter/purify. OK, the output is so much cleaner, but is this really wise?

 

[thiambal]

I to thought that the 'eco' slab was going to be limecrete. Obviously concrete is a lot less enviromentall friendly than limecrete. However, I wonder how far this is balanced up by the 40% recycled content of the concrete. I am guessing the recycled content was just aggreagate - so other than preventing a bit of landfill and perhaps less carbon miles to transport it, it made little difference to the environmental impact. It would interesting to know though. Any thoughts.......

 

[MdB]

Limecrete can be made from recycled material as well which I guess would be the most environmentally friendly solution.

 

[Penners]

intersticular condensation will occur.

Oooh - I find that can cause awful itching.

 

[Penners]

I thought the whole building was grossly self-indulgent. The blessed Kevin (what the hell has he done to his hair?) waxed lyrical about 'soaring space' and all that guff. I just thought the house looked (and was) hugely expensive and uncomfortable. I wonder what the echo was like inside?

And for goodness sake, what is this current obsession for having no door between the en suite and the bedroom? Who wants to see (and smell) their other half on the loo?

 

[biffvernon]

They don't have that problem in the roundhouse (picture a few posts ago). Their compost toilet is 20 yards away.

 

[Penners]

Very civilised (and I'm not being ironic).

 

[yamin]

Gives a whole new meaning to keeping a watch on your partners every movement :shock:

 

[Penners]

:lol:

:x