It seemed a no-brainer that when buying new appliances for The Secret Acre’s eco-makeover we would of course only choose from the most energy efficient A+++ rated.
So we were genuinely surprised and disappointed to discover that there is a real lack of affordable A+++ appliances available in the UK. Continue reading
The day of our big move into the smallholding is nigh. Just over a year since we bought The Secret Acre, and after six months of eco-makeover.
So this week we sit among ever increasing piles of packed moving boxes. An alarming reminder of just how much unnecessary stuff you accumulate. The uncomfortable feeling is particularly acute for Emma who moved into the house in Bristol with just a rucksack and no furniture. Now 15 years later we are going to need two large removal vans to shift it all! Continue reading
A mild panic is starting to set in. After getting watertight in July, August has seen the house suddenly starting to look like you could actually live in it again. So much so that in another few weeks we plan to move the rest of our stuff in. Have we even booked a van?!!
At least one thing has stayed the same, finishing as we started with our eco obsession with insulation. Our final lorry load of insulation in August was for the external solid wall insulation to be wrapped around the bungalow’s three remaining original white walls. Continue reading
Here’s my largely inaccurate history of house building.
After all that wattle and daub stuff, someone invented the brick wall. In the 1930s someone else invented the cavity wall, which trapped an insulating layer of air, but was still cold in winter. More recently someone realised injecting the air cavity with an insulating foam was even better.
In the last few years, about 30 year after the rest of Europe, the UK Government finally adopted building regulations to require proper home insulation in the first place! Continue reading
When Procol Harum sang ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ I’m sure they weren’t envisioning the vast range of ‘not quite white’ shades of white paint with which manufacturers bewilder us today.
Now the end is in sight for our smallholding’s eco-makeover the focus firmly on the interior fit out and finishes. We have even set a date to move all our stuff in. Continue reading
After seeming to wait around in June, for the underfloor heating screed to dry and for the windows to be delivered, we finally got watertight in July as windows and doors arrived along with the sedum green roof.
Now it really does feel like the beginning of the end as the second fix gets underway. Continue reading
There was one thing we were clear about when planning The Secret Acre’s eco-makeover. We didn’t want to be looking out from our new bedroom over 60 square meters of grey roof extension.
And it turns out that installing a green roof is amazingly simple.
In fact most of the hard work had already been done by the farm in Wiltshire who grew our roof in self-contained modular trays that arrived stacked on a lorry. Continue reading
There’s a lot politicians could learn from buying windows. Not some high-tech Bill Gates thing, just your plain old glass variety.
As you know, we are very keen on insulation at The Secret Acre. So it was a given that we would be getting the most energy efficient windows we could afford. Continue reading
Like all good builders of timber frame extensions, we wanted it to include a large wall of glass to frame the panoramic view beyond.
But let me be upfront and say I am not a big fan of bi-fold windows. I think it is their all or nothing, open or closed scissor action. So I would probably opt for the less aesthetically pleasing patio doors. Emma takes the opposite view. Continue reading
There always seems to be that moment on Grand Designs when everything stops for several months while they wait for the windows to be delivered.
Determined not to have that problem we ordered our windows some time ago, and yet after the amazing speed of progress in the first eight weeks, June still felt like we were waiting. Continue reading
The Secret Acre 