14th November 2008
A London building company, Earthdome Ltd, beat the cream of Britain’s builders to be crowned the Most Energy Efficient builder in Britain at the Master Builder of the Year Awards 2008 after turning a down-at-heel, energy-guzzling 1960s townhouse into an environmentally friendly and stylish family home in Twickenham.
Naomi Cleaver, presenter of C4 Grand Designs Trade Secrets presented the award to Bob Harris and his team at Earthdome Ltd for their enthusiasm and exacting standards in turning an average family house into a beacon of sustainability and a model for the eco-upgrading of similar housing stock, without sacrificing the style and comfort expected in a modern family home.
The brief required upgrading the entire building fabric, installing a carbon neutral heating system and totally reworking the internal layout, extending the property over all three floors. Ten months and £200,000 later, the East Twickenham property was transformed into a sustainable, well-insulated family home and had also doubled in value to £800K.
The property no longer uses gas, and its electricity and water consumption has been reduced by 50%. Underfloor heating is provided by a carbon neutral wood pellet boiler and the hot water heating system is fed from solar hot water panels.
Developer Steve Mills and architect Leigh Bowen agreed that much of the success of this project was down to Bob Harris’s enthusiasm for the low carbon and healthy home concept, his exacting standards, his collaborative approach and his ability to champion his client’s ideas.
First task for Earthdome Ltd was to demolish the three-storey gable end, take out all internal walls and extend the side of the property with a steel frame construction. They maximized window space to allow natural light to flood in and added thermal mass to the otherwise lightweight building by using concrete block instead of studwork for internal partitions, and tiling all bathrooms floor to ceiling.
Special attention was given to the ventilation through the building and electrical cables were shielded to reduce electromagnetic fields. Another energy saving measure was to install cut off switches in every room.
The Master Builder of the Year Awards, now in its ninth year, is organised by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), the UK’s largest building trade association. These annual awards celebrate the outstanding work delivered by the vast majority of builders who can only be nominated by highly satisfied clients.
Earthdome Ltd triumphed to win the national award in the Energy Efficiency category, which is supported by Energy Saving Trust and the Homebuilding & Renovating magazine.
Speaking at the Awards ceremony, FMB director general, Richard Diment said: “These Awards are an opportunity to showcase projects around the country that would otherwise be overlooked. Size is not important, while solid craftsmanship, excellent customer service and delighted clients are. The Awards give these clients a platform to publicly thank their builder both for their excellent work and for the consideration shown to them throughout the build.
“For us it is heartening to see that so many clients are still willing to invest in improving their properties, something that is vital for the future of the domestic construction market, and also to see that they are increasingly concerned with energy efficiency and sustainability,” Richard added.
“Our congratulations go to Earthdome Ltd for this well-deserved award, but equally our thanks go to Steve Mills who nominated them,” said Richard.
Bob Harris of Earthdome Ltd and Steve Mills each win a luxury all-inclusive weekend break for two at any of the UK Barceló Hotels.
