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..Gallery
Dyffryn
Emma and Dan Holmes had been living in a bungalow at a superb location with great sea views for 8 years but always wished for a better house. To solve this they made the decision to demolish the bungalow and build a new low energy house on the site. After gaining permission the bungalow was demolished and Touchwood were awarded the contract to supply the pre-cut timber frame. Once the frame arrived on site our team were there ready to advise the local builders on how to put the frame up and after two days training the local team were ready to get started. Putting the frame up was successfully achieved within a few weeks, and the Holmes are now very happy living in their new home
The Holmes’ have now moved in and are delighted with their new home and we would like to thank the Holmes' for allowing us to use pictures of their home throughout our web site.
If you would like to know more about this, why not call us on 01279 506189
or email us on sales@touchwoodhomes.co.uk
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Cowley dairy farmThe Cowley dairy farm project consists of supplying and erecting two farm worker’s cottages on Jersey. The client chose Touchwood since he was looking for a design that would result in minimal running costs for the houses and so save money for the farm workers.
Our precut timber frame will arrive on site soon, with our team there ready to unload and put the frames up over a 2 -3 week period.
The project uses our passivhaus foundation system to completely thermally separate the dwellings from the ground. This will result in no heat loss to the ground, so saving further energy, and minimising the heating demand.
If you would like to know more about this, why not call us on 01279 506189
or email us on sales@touchwoodhomes.co.uk
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German Style House
We have recently finished the construction of a German style house for a client in Surrey. The modern looking building constructed using a pre-cut Glulam frame is an impressive site on the street. Due to the large Glulam beams involved in the build a mini crane was required, the image below showing construction carrying on late into the night.
The build was unusual for us being a full Glulam frame – we prefer to use I beams since they minimise cold bridging, but for this project the client wished to have a Glulam frame house for the visual appeal.
If you would like to know more about this, why not call us on 01279 506189
or email us on sales@touchwoodhomes.co.uk
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KiwanjaChris and Sharon Brown approached us at the Ecobuild 07 show in Earls Court looking for an Ecohome that they could easily self build and would offer them a high quality structure with very low running costs, as well as a fantastic place to live - their dream home.
They had aready been granted planning permission to remove an existing bungalow on their land and replace it with a modern timber frame dwelling. Working from their plans our designer created a 3D computer model of the house structure which was then sent to them for approval. The structure was designed using 300mm I beams to create thick, very well insulated walls.
Once they had approved the design and decided on the specification for the windows and doors, they placed the order for their new home with Touchwood Homes and five weeks later the complete pre-cut house was delivered to their site, with the windows, doors and claddings included in the package. Touchwood Homes were there to advise them on how they needed to set about putting the structure together and so Chris and Sharon were easily able to erect their home and install an air tight membrane around the building before completing the rest of build, mainly working weekends.
They were able to move in on the autumn of 2008 although they had yet to install thier wood pellet boiler. The winter of 2008 / 2009 has proved to be the most severe in 18 years and yet still without any heating installed, the Brown's told us how amazingly warm their Touchwood House was – even though at times the outside temperature dropped to -8 degrees, the internal temperature was maintained at around 18 degrees.
This occurs because the house is super insulated and has minimal cold bridging in the design as well as being of an air tight construction. The only heat provided in the building is the minimal heat produced by the low energy lighting, appliances, computer equipment and body heat (a body emits roughly 100W of heat into a room) along with solar gain through the windows. These features are the key aspects to the Passivhaus approach to building – minimising heat loss through the building envelope to such a degree that a heating system is not required. All Touchwood houses are designed with the Passivhaus principles in mind, meaning very low running costs throughout the year.
Chris and Sharon are very happy in their new home and recently invited the Touchwood Homes team to visit and told us that their friends have been amazed to be told that there is no heating system in the house because it is always so warm.
If you would like to know more about this, why not call us on 01279 506189
or email us on sales@touchwoodhomes.co.uk
Portland PlaceOur Portland Place project began in spring 2008, with the basement being dug ready for the ICF structural blocks to be installed. Once the basement was complete, the pre-cut timber frame arrived along with passivhaus standard windows and doors. This will be our most ambitious project to date in terms of energy efficiently consisting of two 3 bedroom semi detached houses, it will feature super insulation, a large shared solar heating system, PV clad roof and a shared wood pellet domestic hot water system. When these two technologies are integrated correctly with some sophisticated control systems and a large heat store there will be potential for all of the heating and hot water demand to be supplied in a carbon neutral manner.
Working with our partners we are aiming for this project to achieve Level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH). CSH brings together all environmental aspects of the build, from waste management during construction, to energy efficiency of the build through procurement of sustainable products. Our PHPP expert is also working on having the house passivhaus certified.
We are expecting the build to be completed by December 2009.If you would like to know more about this, why not call us on 01279 506189
or email us on sales@touchwoodhomes.co.uk
WoodhouseWoodhouse is a healthy contemporary family home achieving low energy usage by following Passiv Haus principles:
Well insulated, timber I beam construction, with 300mm Warmcel insulation in the wall, 350mm insulation in the roof, 150mm insulation in floor.
The building has a compact shape which minimises the surface area to volume.
Orientated for solar gain, with few windows to the north, east and west but with extensive windows facing south. In addition to providing heat this minimises the need for artificial lighting during the winter.
Windows triple glazed with glass tuned for insulation to north, east/west and for solar gain to south.
To minimise overheating a pergola runs along the south of the building and supports fast growing deciduous vegetation. Providing shade in Summer but unobscured solar gain in Winter.
Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery provides constant fresh air during the heating season while retaining energy in the building.
Heat delivery in Winter is by the ventilation air which allows a peak energy delivery of 2.2kW/h.
Good airtightness, with 0.47m3/m2 certification, as a result the building is draught free no matter what the weather.
If you would like to know more about this, why not call us on 01279 506189
or email us on sales@touchwoodhomes.co.uk
Hopground CottageHopground Cottage is located in a small Hertfordshire village so it was important for the styling to fit in with the area. This was achieved along with constructing an air tight very well insulated modern building. The house features 250mm thick walls insulated with Warmcel, house wrap for an airtight build, heat recovery ventilation, rainwater harvesting and solar hot water heating. Our client recently explained that the solar panel has provided all the hot water needs for her own use over the summer periods - an impressive saving over conventional fossil fuel powered hot water heating systems. The 5000L rainwater harvesting tank provides most of her water needs - the previous 6 months water bill was only £4.03 for water used (plus £13.50 standing charge) clearly demonstrating the effectiveness of rainwater harvesting systems.
If you would like to know more about this, why not call us on 01279 506189
or email us on sales@touchwoodhomes.co.uk
Russetts HouseThis is a more traditional style home with all the benefits of a modern eco house. There is no heating system except for 4kw. of electric underfloor heating in case of very cold weather. A heat recovery ventilation system is installed and solar hot water heating. Rainwater is collected for irrigation on the smallholding. The building was air pressure tested and had an air leakage rate of 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 pascals.
We would like to thank the Walsh family for allowing us to use pictures of their home in our brochure and on our web site.
If you would like to know more about this, why not call us on 01279 506189
or email us on sales@touchwoodhomes.co.uk_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Touchwood
Touchwood is our own Eco house development in Hertfordshire. The timber frame house has a full size basement and a large attic room which would make an excellent office or playroom. The house features excellent levels of insulation, low energy lighting throughout including the latest in LED technology. Other features include a 2.88kW grid connected PV system, rainwater harvesting, solar water heating and a heat recovery ventilation system.
The house is a good example of what is possible with an Eco home and shows that a modern open plan interior with high specification bathrooms and kitchens is consistent with the low energy ethos. The house has loggers installed to monitor performance so we can learn from the build to continually improve our techniques. During the summer 2007 the house was used by East Herts District Council as a venue to educate the general public about environmental issues such as recycling, insulating your home and ways to reduce our impact on the environment.
If you would like to know more about this, why not call us on 01279 506189
or email us on sales@touchwoodhomes.co.uk_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Octagon
We are currently designing an Octagonal shaped house. This should work well with solar gain since it will receive gain from the southeast, south and southwest, following the sun's path during the day. The house will be constructed using bespoke Glulam beams with I beam infill panels filled with Warmcel to provide super insulation along with excellent air tightness. PVs will be present on the 3 roof surfaces to provide a more even PV output through out the day than conventional south facing only PV installations.
If you would like to know more about this, why not call us on 01279 506189
or email us on sales@touchwoodhomes.co.uk.© Copyright 2007- 2009 - Touchwood Homes Email: sales@touchwoodhomes.co.uk
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