Eco house building project

[ian Stanbury]

..But today is the first day of our Eco house building project at Mareuil..

..I would like to keep this thread updated on progress, so bear with me and here is our site a while ago..

..Is this idea OK Malcolm?

 

[malcolm]

You've bought the place! You mentioned it a couple of years ago when I visited. What are the plans for the house? Or is it going to be Clementine's eco-friendly holiday workshop? Would be great to hear about progress.

It is an old pic - was tarmac by the time Ermintrude drove past, and the field in the background was full of new builds owned by retired English people.

Would be cool to have a good title for the thread that roughly represents what you are writing about, otherwise people who are interested might not find it. I can change it, or a new thread would work.

 

[pepper]

Yeah I'd like to hear your trails and tribulations on this build, seeing as I have an interest in a house in France, hearing of others experiences is always good.

Good luck with your build, do you have any of the specs of the eco friendliness thats going into it please?

 

[paulandpat]

Sounds like an interesting project. The local 'earthship' is up for sale at a goodly price, but they say there are no bills for utilities except for phone / internet connection.
Not sure how many R4 tyres went into the construction though!

 

[ian Stanbury]

..Hardly a Grand Design..

..But a bit of fun

Malcolm, please do a special thread as suggested.

Here is roughly what I am aiming for - Looks a bit dull I know but as we are within 400 metres of the church and right under the Calvaire, we are not allowed to do something out of the ordinary - It has to be 'traditional'!!

It also seems to be bent I know but I couldn't get the plan to lay flat for a pic this morning!!

 

[ian Stanbury]

..Foundations nearly finished..

..And all service pipes are now installed - For your interest, the purple colour is anti termite treatment - an absolute 'must' in France now..

The first pic looks odd as I have merged two pics - The other is self explanatory I hope!!

 

[malcolm]

It's happening quickly! I didn't think French builders liked to do things quickly. How long do you expect the project to take?

Being an eco house will it have a wood frame?

 

[pepper]

Plenty of showers by the look of it but nowhere to go number twos, are you having an eco thunderbox in the garden by perchance?

 

[ian Stanbury]

..I really needed to start at the beginning didnt I..?

..Well here is the site circa 1920 merged in with the site circa 2007 - Notice any similarities?

 

[ian Stanbury]

..Slab now done and dusted - 22nd September 09..

..And it all went swimmingly - Horray

In another 3 weeks, a house will appear as out of the ether, so watch this space!!

The first pic shows all the electrical conduit in place and then all the self levelling screed arrived - Its so easy in comparison to traditional hand applied screed!!

 

[ian Stanbury]

..A bit spookey..

..Seeing the walls and roof sections in a pile on the floor and in large racks.

We were told yesterday that they will all be loaded on to a very large lorry and delivered to site on Monday week and by the end of that week there will be a house on site, so continue to watch this space, if you are not too bored with looking at it - this 'space' that is.

 

[The_Blacksmith]

I don't see a Renault 4 workshop. Or is that hidden under the swimming pool.

What are the walls made of? Is the insulation already in/on them? What are you using for generating electricity?

 

[ian Stanbury]

..Hello Mr Blacksmith..

..And do you live in Wassenaar like my friends Beth and Peter?

Thanks for your interest in my little project - The walls are made of 150mm studs in filled with high density 'laine de bois' - Wood Wool (made in Germany)

On the outside of the wood studs is a 50mm layer of dense fibreboard - again made in Germany. The wall will be finished with some stuff called Storender - colour to be decided.

To all intents and purposes, sadly it will look like a traditional French house but will be really well insulated - The house will be heated by this English Firebelly Firepod 5 kW wood burning stove (www.firebellystoves.com).

In the roof space, there will be a heat distribution system that picks up heat from the wood burner area and distributes it all round the house.

That's it - no other sort of heating at all!!

We may generate electricity from wall mounted solar tubes at some stage but that's next years job.

 

[pepper]

I like Wassenaar, We go to Duinrell quite often!

 

[ian Stanbury]

..Well team, the Ikea lorry has arrived on site today..

..And it all is going spliffingly well..

 

[pepper]

Flimpin eck, you can get some idea of the scale it with the lorry next to it, its going to be quite a large house when its finsihed.

 

[ian Stanbury]

..And its beginning to look like a house..

..And this is what we have at 6pm French time tonight, with the added advantage of someone very special looking over and after us..

 

[malcolm]

Not bad for a days work. It's amazing how the flat pack houses go up.

Is the house part of a master plan to move to France full time without having to worry about river levels in the winter? I notice it's on the top of a hill.

 

[ian Stanbury]

..Well spotterised Malcolm..

..Global warming equals 1 metre rise in sea level every 50 years meaning in the next 300 years, we will be 'Le Moulin Bodin sur Mer'..

And here is a pic of our 'new beach' with a 350 year old Renaults, Peugeots and Citroens!!

 

[ian Stanbury]

..Well the roof is now on..

.. So we now have ourselves a house..!!