Building a house

Petra You cannot build a house, any house without cement. What would you have us do? Go back to timber frames and wattle and daub? Bricks require a lot of energy to produce, so do tiles

Yes, cement does take a lot of energy to produce, but as with aluminium and iron, what matters is how the energy used, all eectricity is produced, and more and more work is being put into using zero emission electricity.

For most people saving ebnergy and living environmentally goes way behond sorting our rubbish. I think you are being dismissive of everything ordinary people do, just because they are not all as environmentally as virtuous as we must assume you to be.

You you certainly can’t build without energy these days because cement is used for foundations almost exclusively. Most of the cement goes int the foundation concrete. Wood can be used for walls, floors even roof, it’s not especially cheap or durable and needs a lot of maintenence. Bricks and tiles are a trade off between energy and longevity

I'm not building myself (yet!), but I’ve been collecting ideas for a possible downsize in the future.

One thing that stuck with me was this white frameless glass balustrade staircase. It's simple and bright, and seems like a good option if you're trying to keep the interior feeling open without losing function. Could work really well in a smaller, well-insulated build like yours.

My house will be single storey so no staircase. It will have a turf roof.

My youngest DGC have been drawing suggestions for my house
with lots of nice touches. I may have 2 budding architects or designers.

petra

SporeRB

If I have a building plot in my back garden, I too will build a bungalow on it but I will choose the modular method of construction.

I have seen it in one episode of Grand Design: The Street. This retired couple choose the modular method for their bungalow where their manufacturer in the UK built their bungalow in the factory, down to the kitchen, flooring and tiling.

Other self builders on the same street took up to 3 years to build their houses, theirs took only 4 months from order to moving in. Their bungalow is lovely.

It makes my blood boil when I see this. It’s the way to go with all house building.
Added to that is the fact that cement is beyond un friendly environmentally.
But as long as we all separate our waste the planet should be ok😡

This is the uk and we have building regs for a good reason. Footings are the foundation of any modern building and could be required to go down a long way. In my case the footings are 3m deep and there are a lot of them, they have to be filled with concrete, Then a thick strong slab of reinforced concrete is laid over the footings

Perhaps a tent would suit your requirements SporeRB

Spore RB, sorry there is nothing wrong with modular

The tent ref was for Petra not for you

I remember viewing a home over 30 years ago which was built from timber and had no traditional foundations. it was on a concrete float which also stopped any cracks due to settling etc
It may not meet current building regulations but the owners had no problems. we did not buy it but the house did sell

kjmpde

I remember viewing a home over 30 years ago which was built from timber and had no traditional foundations. it was on a concrete float which also stopped any cracks due to settling etc
It may not meet current building regulations but the owners had no problems. we did not buy it but the house did sell

My bungalow is built on a concrete “raft” there was a lot of concrete went into the foundations, probably more than conventional foundations.
It’s rock solid no cracks anywhere

same here David, my house is also rock solid

The old cottages where I used to live were built without foundations or concrete, not rock solid now that the ground is so dry and trees are so big with roots searching for water.

But the old houses still standing are the ones that survived! Many an old house collapsed and was replaced.

It is clear from our house and its slightly 'slipped' frame and end bay rebuilt in brick that this was once a problem here as well and two years ago in our village someone decided to extend their old cottage, timber framed, which had been 'upgraded' in the 19th century with a brick casing. As the builder dug the trench for the foundations of their planned extension the whole side of the house descended into it. Thankfully without any injury to anyone.

Two years later the mangled half of a pair of semi detached cottages remain, as insurance companies wrangle and an attemt to demolish the house, only met more problems.

We lived in a modern timber frame house built in the 1970s when they were all the rage. Despite being built on a solid concrete raft, both raft and house settled after construction and opened up gaps between the cork tiles we had put on our children's bedroom floor.

In the 1970s we wanted to buy a Georgian house on Edinburgh's seafront but couldn't get a loan or mortgage because according to our lawyer they were "slipping into the sea". They are still standing, albeit with slightly sloping floors. 😉

Heres a link to one available now.
espc.com/images?i=https://media.scottishhomereports.com/MediaServer/PropertyMarketing/562708/AdditionalImage/562708_1.202504011406.jpg&width=1024&height=683

Many of the old cottages were workers hovels, 2 up 2 down a privy in the garden, often brick laid on flagstones, timber was whatever they had to hand. Even Manor houses were very poorly built and rebuilt over the centuries. All of them listed and revered now, my daughter had one and it was still moving as the seasons changed, but it was built with Lias stone and lime mortar with a thatched roof. Not a single wall or floor was straight, the last major renovation was done around 1600AD when they added an upper story.

Small roughly built workers housing was often very poor quality, which is why so little of it survives, but many workers cottages were formed in old village centre farmhouses, when the big open fields of medieval villages were enclosed. The farmers departed to new built farmhouses on their compact acreages and divided their village farmhouses into smaller cottages to let out to farm workers. In areas like ours these houses had thick thatched roofs, coal-fired ranges in the main liivng room and were solidly built.

Since the 1950s when the number of farmworkers fell dramatically with mechanistaion,Many of these cottages ahve been bought up and returned to the big farmhouses they were built as. We bought such a house from the people who had done such a conversion and over 30 years we have reorganised it and improved it to meet modern needs - and I expect our buyers, a young couple, planning children will adapt it yet again.

It is no different to what people do to modern houses Look how many have been chopped and changed before they are even 50 years old, conservatories, extensions, roof rooms, interior walls knocked down etc etc.

We are moving on to another Listed house to which nothing has been done for over 50 years. We will make the changes necessary to make it a house suitable for the living patterns of the 2020s/30s.

That must have been interesting David. The ceilings were often very low and doors tiny.
Another house we nearly bought for cash, but perhaps luckily didn't, was in Aylesford Kent. It was in all the postcards but backed onto the river and fronted the main road.

There's a medieval Manor house to rent for holidays via the Landmark
Trust. I stayed there once. Fabulous but I wouldn't want to own it.

Grammaretto

That must have been interesting David. The ceilings were often very low and doors tiny.
Another house we nearly bought for cash, but perhaps luckily didn't, was in Aylesford Kent. It was in all the postcards but backed onto the river and fronted the main road.

There's a medieval Manor house to rent for holidays via the Landmark
Trust. I stayed there once. Fabulous but I wouldn't want to own it.

Interesting for sure, very low with flagstone floors, narrow stairs, listed of course, daughters builder husband maintained and improved it over 20yrs, family grew up, sold the house for £800k and moved to a modern bungalow.

Lots of the high staus houses, and even prosperous farmer's homes have decent ceiling heights and normal doors.

I do think a lot of people seem to be judging rural housing by looking at tourist photographs and post cards.

I live in a village with about 20 or so substantial farmhouses lining the street. The norm for villages in the area, Large solidly built house, the constructional timber coming from the Chilterns, or north of Oxford, more than 20 miles away. Our house has one beam about a foot square and many other substantial beams, none grown locally. Even in the Domesday book, most parishes like ours have little or no woodland.

In both our houses, the one we now live in and the one we are moving to, our DGS 6ft 3in and still growing can walk round without ducking.

A lot of farm houses were extended after 1815 due to the Corn Laws which made farming was very profitable, the small cottage style houses became expansive multi roomed dwellings with high ceilings, servants were employed. It also coincided with the slavery profits and compensation that estate owners were getting.
A great many of these farmhouses only served 60 or 100 acres and have long since been sold off, just like the old Mansions they are no longer needed or relevant to todays rural scene

The architect has asked for an extension as we're waiting on a tree survey and he'll need to draw amended plans as a result of that and the topo survey. There'll be no news for a month or two. I just hope it doesn't drag on into winter before I know if I have planning permission.

I noticed this is an old thread, from May of this year.

How have you gotten along, Grammaretto? Please update us.

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Grammaretto

The architect has asked for an extension as we're waiting on a tree survey and he'll need to draw amended plans as a result of that and the topo survey. There'll be no news for a month or two. I just hope it doesn't drag on into winter before I know if I have planning permission.

Please can you update us on the project, Grammaretto.