Wed 7^th July

“Things have really been taking shape this week.  The 1^st fix plumbing work is now completed, as is all the electrical work. The plasterboards are now fixed and the baths and shower trays have also been fitted.  The dry lining materials for the walls has also arrived.

As we write, the screed is going down on the floors so the interior will be a no-go area for a few days whilst it dries out.  Meanwhile, and in preparation for the open day on Sunday (11^th July), the coloured external render has been put on.  The scaffold will be coming down in the next few days to truly unveil the house for the first time.  Very exciting!”, says Richard Stent.

In some ways it would appear that progress has slowed down on the house this week but it’s all been going on inside.  “Evidence of this, is that the many materials that were being stored on the driveway have diminished. The whole house is now wired and most of the plumbing has been done, which has been fascinating to watch.  Unlike UK plumbing which is all surface mounted, the German version is all under ground.  The plant room meanwhile has been filled up with the various operating machinery, which may take a while to get to grips with!  The floors have been laid and the screed will be going down shortly, which will then need to dry out of course so we anticipate things going a bit quiet for a few days”, says Richard.

Externally, the zinc roof and guttering is now completed.  This week also saw the first air blower test taking place with a result of 0.59 to prove that the house already meets passive house standards.  Underfloor heating has been installed on the ground floor, which can be used to boost the heat in the house but with the airtight shell and such effective insulation, it’s unlikely that this will be needed.

Wed 23^td June

Work continues at a fast pace on Richard and Rachel Stent’s Passive house.  This week, all the walls, floor cassettes and ceilings, both on the interior and the exterior, have had their joints sealed with tape to ensure that the house is completely airtight.

The electrics throughout have been 1^st fixed and plumbing is mid 1^st fix.  The exterior insulation has been completed and the scratch coat of render has been applied.  Gutters and down pipes are on, the zinc roof is nearly finished and 2 solar panels are being fitted.

Much of this of course, is to ensure that the house is as energy efficient as possible.  As Stephen Huber from the Scottish Passive House Centre points out when commenting on the house, “the Super-insulated shell and windows, together with a highly efficient ‘Paul’ Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery, take the annual heating consumption down to 13kWh/m².  By use of a modern heat pump and a solar thermal system, the primary energy demand for domestic hot water, heating and auxiliary electricity is cut down to 30kWh/(m2a). This ensures very low running costs and a certain immunity against rising energy prises and shortages – plus (together with carefully selected building materials) this house is on the highest level of emission savings”.

Despite this massive cut-down in energy consumption however, the indoor comfort and air quality is still top-of-the-range.

Wed 16^th June

At 6.30am on Tuesday morning Richard and Rachel Stent were at their 3320m² plot of land in West Quantoxhead, Somerset to witness their new Passive house being unloaded from the first Hanse Haus lorry, which arrived from Germany in the early hours.

“The erection crew had already prepared the site with a vapour membrane on top of the concrete slab, ready for the walls to be secured on top, and first thing on Tuesday morning, the German crew began to construct the house.  No sooner had the first wall been unloaded from the HANSE HAUS lorry than it was put in place on the slab.  Within just a couple of hours, 3 of the exterior walls as well as the front porch had been constructed.

Having seen our house on paper or as a model image several times over the past months, and having made minor changes to the layout of rooms for example, it was amazing to see it all coming together in the flesh.  Watching the construction crew manoeuvre the crane to arrange the walls with precision measurement, matching specifically with the ground-works, positioned conduits for waste pipes, etc, was especially impressive.  By lunchtime all exterior walls, each with pre-fitted triple-glazed windows and patio doors, were in place as well as many of the interior walls and we could really start to get a feel for the individual rooms.  By the end of just one day, the ground floor as well as the ceiling cassettes were in.

We didn’t get to the site until late in the afternoon on Wednesday by which time the first floor was in along with all interior walls. Donning our hard hats we walked around our house for the very first time.  There was a lot to take in of course but the living areas feel spacious and well laid out and the quality of the build is evident.  The doors and windows especially feel really solid and manufactured to a high quality.  In fact, as we’ve watched the crew work with great precision and efficiency over the past couple of days, even clearing and tidying as they go, the quality of the whole build and workmanship is paramount.

The crew have also been furthering the measures to make the house completely airtight, which has included a special tape being laid over every wall and floor cassette joint.  We’ve often been asked what led us to build a passive house and although energy efficiency and associated low running costs hadn’t been a primary objective when setting out, during the planning process, it became more apparent that these factors do make long-term economic sense and that the house will be sustainable in the future.

It’s strange to think that all the planning for this has now materialised into what will not just be a house but our home.  Walking around from room to room, we can still enjoy the same wonderful views down to the coast and across to Exmoor National Park but with lots of big windows, we also have some new ones. The past couple of days have been quite extraordinary in that we’ve gone from the foundations to a two-storey house, and other than observing it, the only work I’ve done was to give the crane driver a lift home last night!

Today culminated with the traditional ‘Topping Out’ or Rickfest ceremony, which I’m told has long been an important component of timber frame building.   The head of the crew known as the ‘Zimmermann’ placed a Christmas tree on the highest point of the house to symbolise the natural elements.  Why a Christmas tree, I asked?  Apparently, it’s in recognition of the evergreen’s ability to survive the harsh winter.  A ceremony was then performed to placate the gods and protect the house from harm.  The Zimmermann finished off by smashing a glass against the side of the house in recognition of it being a strong building that would withstand the weather to be thrown at it.  Along with the crew, other Hanse Haus associates and some family and friends that we’d invited along, we raised a toast.  Hopefully the first of many more to come in our new home”, says Richard Stent.

By kind permission from Mr and Mrs Stent, Hanse Haus are pleased to offer a site open day for interested parties  to come and view the 249.5m² passive house on Sunday 11^th July.  Self builders are invited to come along for further information about the Passive house and to bring along and discuss their own plans.

Hanse Haus are also holding their annual Garden Party (on Exmoor) on Saturday 10^th July - for more information or to make an appointment, please contact Giles Hirst on 07968 117160 or giles.hirst(at)hanse-haus.com

For further press information and high resolution pictures contact: Sarah Stanbury on 07971 957461 or sarahjstanbury(at)gmail.com

Wed 9^th June

“This has been a big week.  Firstly the walls have all been manufactured and the windows and patio doors have all been made and fitted.  The Neopur insulation has also been put on the walls and over the next couple of days, the ceiling and the roof panels will be produced.   In just two days time, on Friday, the assembly line will be completed and all components will be loaded on to the lorries.  At 12 noon on Saturday, the lorries will then begin their journey from Germany through Belgium and France and over to the UK.  They will arrive on site in West Quantoxhead in Somerset by 6.30am next Tuesday, 15^th June.  The construction team will then begin to build Richard and Rachael Stent’s passive house”, says Ralph Martin, UK Site Project Manager.

Meanwhile, more preparatory work has been going on, on site.  The rainwater harvesting tank has been fitted and pipes for the sewerage have been laid.  Over the next couple of days the hardcore will be going down around the site to ensure the safe erection of scaffolding when the house arrives.  Beginning at 6.30am on Tuesday, the walls will be constructed and the roof will be on within the first 48 hours, ensuring that the house is weather proof.

Wed 2^nd June

Since the concrete slab was inspected and signed off, the Hanse Haus factory have begun to manufacture Richard and Rachael Stent’s Passive house.

“With delivery of the house scheduled for just 2 weeks time, the factory here in Germany will now begin the highly efficient manufacturing process.  All components, like the windows, doors, windowsills and shutters are currently being assembled in the factory.  Then, all final measurements will be put into the computer to enable the machines to automatically build the walls.  As soon as the walls are on the assembly line, all other products including the windows and the outside insulation will be added step by step”, says Ralph Martin, UK Project Manager.

After months of planning, Richard and Rachael’s dreams are finally being realised.  “The design for this house has grown up with Richard and Rachael’s ideas”, says architect, Annette Muller.  “It’s a contemporary family home with an open kitchen/dining and living area on the ground floor, along with 3 others rooms; a utility room, study and a separate room for the boys.  Upstairs there are 4 bedrooms, each with en suite facilities.   The design encompasses lots of natural light.  The living/dining room for example, has huge windows and patio doors, which means that not only is the view over the garden and towards the coast maximised but the natural solar radiation is used efficiently to heat the house.  Also, as is characteristic of our Passive houses, the precision and detailed technical construction ensures that the house is completely airtight, and that no heat can leak out through joints or gaps”.

Wed 26^th May

Yesterday, Ralph Martin, UK Site Project Manager, carried out a thorough inspection of the concrete slab, measuring every dimension to ensure that Richard and Rachael’s Passive house would fit perfectly on it.

“The groundworkers had done a great job and the inspection went without a hitch.  A few days prior to that, and since seeing the latest production report, we’ve been working with the architect in Germany, on a few minor changes, one of which was to swap the position of a shower and WC around in one of the bathrooms. All of this sort of thing has to be sorted before the house gets signed off for production as the floors, for example, will be constructed based on where the drains go.

When we went to Germany, we’d made a decision on where we wanted everything to be placed but over time, you get to reflect on things like the position of the lighting, for example.  We’ve had to make a minor tweaks, as well as a few compromises, when the production reports have come through.

We’re still waiting for approval from the planners on the render sample that we supplied, which is crucial to timing of course.  That’s a decision that’s out of our hands though.

For now, at least until the house is delivered, we’re hoping to have a bit of a rest”, says Richard.

Wed 19^th May

“Whilst lots of progress has been made, the past week has been a relatively quiet one for us. The groundworkers have been getting on with the foundations.  The drains, water and other services have all been laid in and have been inspected by the water board and other companies. On Monday (24^th) the concrete is going on and on Tuesday someone will be arriving from Hanse Haus to inspect the slab and ensure that everything is in position.  By Wednesday the groundworkers will be finished.

We have ordered the rainwater harvesting system this week and a production report, which outlines all of our final choices as far as fittings and fixtures for the house are concerned, as well as the positioning of everything, has just arrived from Germany.   We now need to have a read through that and make sure that we don’t want to make any last minute changes before our house will actually be manufactured”, says Richard Stent.

Wed 12^th May

Whilst Richard and Rachael Stent’s old house in West Quantoxhead, Somerset, was knocked down a couple of weeks ago, with the ground works beginning on Monday this week, they’re now starting to see the first signs of their new home becoming a reality.

 “Until now, we’ve seen nothing but a 2-dimensional image of our new house on a computer screen but now that some of the footings have been cut out, we’re starting to get a feel for the angles and how the house will actually sit on the site, and for example, how close existing trees will be to the house”, says Richard.

Richard and Rachael have also started to get a feel for what living in the house might be like over the past week, when they chose their kitchen, from a local supplier.  “The groundworkers needed to know where the waste pipes would be going so we made our final decision on the kitchen.  There are still a few other decisions we need to make.  We have an existing septic tank, which we’ve been advised to keep, and whether we do or not will probably come down to building control.  That is something that we need to sort out soon though as the groundworkers will need to allow for it. 

We also need to talk to Wessex Water about the size of pipe that will run from the mains into the house, as we’re advised, by Hanse Haus, that this will affect our water pressure.  In our old house, you’d have to bang on the floor for someone to turn the tap off if they turned it on whilst you were in the shower.  Needless to say, we’re all looking forward to some good, high water pressure in the new house”, says Richard.

It’s some weeks away until the showers will be installed but only days until the footings start to go in.  “I’m looking forward to that – it’s a reassuring thought”, adds Richard.