These 2 pictures represent how we're spending our time out - sourcing materials & tools for the build, and walking in the Northamptonshire countryside.The top picture was taken between Wadenhoe & Aldwincle, on the Nene Way.
2 things have been pre-occupying us at the moment. The very first post on this blog shows an aerial view of the plot. The trees along the western boundary are ours, but we are obliged to keep them in order to guard the neighbours' privacy. However, in levelling the plot, some of them will lose their roots, and we must re-plant. We also applied for the height to be reduced to 5 metres, to enable us to use photo-voltaic cells on the roof. These issues have had to go to the Planning Committee, before we can finally discharge the conditions.
We knew the trees were going to cause us some problems, but a riverside plot in a nice village at an affordable price was so lucky that we were prepared to deal with them - and so we are! Should be all over in the next month or so, and then we can break ground.
We have been asked many times if or house will be "green". Our initial answer was "as much as possible" and it still is, but along the way we have been dealing with all the details that prove nothing is ever simple.
I wrote some time ago about the decision not to use a ground source heat pump, and a recent survey by the Energy Saving Trust seemed to confirm this, but within a few years, I expect they will become a lot more efficient.
Is it better to use insulation from renewable resources, or insulation that is more efficient but from non-renewables? We have opted for the latter on the grounds that when faced with an equal dilemma, opt for the cheaper solution.
Take rainwater harvesting - seems sensible, but: extra pipes that use materials and extra pumps that use electricity mean that the equation is not an easy one (either financially or ecologically). So we have decided to use rain water externally but not internally.
At the moment we are struggling with new water use conditions. As they only apply to new builds, and only came in 9 months ago, there is little experience to tap into (!). We had decided not to have a bath, only showers, but "normalisation" of water use within the table the inspectors use means that it works in our favour to put a bath in! Some of you may like it, especially as you won't be able to enjoy the shower towers we had originally planned because the inspectors will not allow them. If need be, you can always bathe in the brook at the bottom of the garden (as, indeed, some villagers did within my memory).
You may also be relieved to know that we don't have enough space for a composting toilet (also known around here within my memory).
