In renovating Stronvar, we’ve created an insulated shell inside the original fabric of the building, bringing each wall in by about 120mm and increasing the effective thickness of the walls from around 800mm to nearly a metre – this is a not insubstantial building. Continue reading Small Decisions, Large Consquences
Building & Renovating
Properly energy efficient building standards are long overdue to become the norm, something which applies to both the retrofit of existing properties and the design of new builds. We’ve done both, so this is the story of our eco-renovation of the old (in our case a two-hundred year old B Listed steading in rural Perthshire) and the building of a brand new low-energy home in the same area. We’ve probably made most of the classic mistakes along the way and may have invented a few of our own, so if we can pass on our experience to others, it might just help
The Great British Workman?
What is it with the British? There’s been so much bitching over the last couple of years about conditions in the building and services industries, so it might seem reasonable to expect that companies would be focussing on delivering for their clients and just getting the job done.
Eco-What?
It’s mid-October, there’s snow on the ground, our heating is on full blast (burning £10 notes on the log stove might just be fractionally cheaper) and we’re wearing walking boots and multiple fleeces. In the house. In front of the fire, the cats are browsing through brochures for Mediterranean timeshares and the chill wind is whistling through multiple orifices. Continue reading Eco-What?
Conservation vs Restoration
So what are we doing with Stronvar? Are we conserving a building that’s performed many functions over the centuries? Are we restoring the original building or are we transforming it into a modern home, albeit one with a very obvious history?
History and Vision
Background
Stronvar Farm is the major part of a steading complex of the style typical of the great estates of the rural Highlands. Now B Listed, it was originally the service building for nearby Stronvar House, itself the centre of the old Carnegie estate. Stronvar Farm included hay lofts, a byre and stables, the dairy, coach house and coachman’s accommodation.