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 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
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
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
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
The Secret Acre 