Four weeks further on and Stevenson the builders continue to make amazing progress in the sunshine on our smallholding’s eco-makeover.
The timber frame extension shot up almost overnight, so now the whole building is in place just awaiting the windows to get us water tight. In the original part of the house the first fix has been done and the walls beautifully re-plastered. Continue reading
Over the last few months it’s not the house renovation, or the size of the garden that as had me waking me up in cold sweats, it’s been the ever growing wood pile.
At the beginning of our journey to a happier life, we boldly said to our builders, ‘make sure you keep every piece of wood you pull out from the house or don’t use’. As the wood pile grew lists formed in our heads of what we might use it for; kitchen cabinets, shelves, raised beds, rebuilding the sheds, log store, a tree house and even an outdoor hot tub. Much to our surprise within two weeks the whole of the upper garden had turned into a beastly mountain of old, knackered, gnarly, nail infested wood. Continue reading
The Secret Acre – a bungalow no more!
When we found The Secret Acre the original 1930s bungalow on site was in need of modernisation.
Our plans for an eco-makeover included creating upstairs space for two bedrooms and a bathroom.
So it was a special moment for us when the new staircase went in. A bungalow no more!
And Emma and I no longer have to sway precariously up and down ladders to measure up upstairs.
The new concrete base in the old house is in, ready for insulation and underfloor heating.
It started at Easter, with the roof coming off first. So naturally I was predicting a biblical deluge all month long from that moment. Miraculously instead we have enjoyed a month of nearly continuous blue skies and summer like heat.
Our main contractor Stevenson Building Contractors Ltd have made amazing progress in just a few weeks. We chose Stevenson because everyone in the area recommended them, plus they have a lot of experience installing the whole range of eco-measures in big Cotswold retrofit projects. Continue reading
Legal searches at The Secret Acre revealed that we receive the princely sum of £1 per annum ground rent for the electricity pole in the garden.
But the wire off it that delivered our mains electricity looked like it would be dangerously within reach of small children once the dormer was built. More importantly the pole was slap bang in the middle of the proposed foundations for the timber frame extension. It would have to go. Continue reading
Like most eco-warriors I had the standard comprehensive list in my heart of eco-bling I wanted at The Secret Acre – PV, solar thermal, rainwater harvesting, green roof, etc.
But having worked at Forum for the Future on pathfinder retrofit projects, I knew in my head that our first priority on a budget had to be insulation, insulation, insulation.
So making it warm and properly insulated for the next 100 years has to come first, and then worry about the bling. And as with every retrofit, you have to work with the existing building you have to do what is possible, practical and appropriate. Continue reading
It seemed like everyone had it in for our Secret Acre’s 1930s bungalow. You’ll be knocking it down then was the default view of Estate Agents, Builders, other prospective buyers, and Architects – especially the Architects! No we bloody well won’t was our answer, muttering darkly under our breath about embodied carbon and the general un-green waste of replacing one set of perfectly good bricks with another set of slightly newer bricks. Continue reading
In 2014 we finally took the plunge and decided to put life before work.
The result was to take on a one acre smallholding near Stroud. Both the land and the bricks and mortar are in need of renovation as Estate Agents say!
So, our first tasks in 2015 are an eco-makeover of the house, prepare the veg beds, and repair the greenhouse and orchard for a productive 2016.
The Secret Acre 