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It鈥檚 not easy being green
George Martin, Willmott Dixon

Like a number seven bus, or strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, there鈥檚 something quintessentially English about Ivy Cottage, originally built in the 17th century and then extended in the 19th. With its rustic red brick walls, tall chimney stacks and 鈥榚yebrow鈥� windows, the Warwickshire home of Willmott Dixon鈥檚 head of sustainable development George Martin wouldn鈥檛 look out of place in a Constable painting or an EM Forster novel.

But beneath the layers of history lie a plethora of modern building products and materials designed to reduce the grade II-listed building鈥檚 carbon footprint and maximise its thermal performance. Martin鈥檚 recent eco-makeover of Ivy Cottage included the installation of a pellet boiler, log burner and solar thermal panels, plus high levels of wall and roof insulation and energy-efficient windows and doors.

The only really visible evidence of intervention is in the front garden, where the ground has been dug up to accommodate a 3,500-litre rainwater harvesting system. But the disturbance is temporary 鈥� Ivy Cottage will soon look good enough to adorn the lid of the very smartest box of chocolates.

The refurbishment has been a labour of love for Martin, who specified and sourced all the products with his wife Jenny.

鈥楳y day job鈥檚 a lot easier than this,鈥� admits Martin. 鈥榃ith a new build, you get to specify the thing from the beginning and the supply chain is in place. Doing an eco-refurb we had to start from scratch. It took an incredible amount of time to work out what we needed and who to speak to, especially with the heating and plumbing systems. There鈥檚 no one person you can go to for the information.鈥�

Confronted with a dearth of UK manufacturers, the Martins looked to mainland Europe for products and systems with a good track record. Martin says: 鈥榃hat happens if you spend lots of money on products and they don鈥檛 perform properly? So we went to companies with a pedigree, whose products would perform well with one another.鈥�

Leaving their English wellington boots at the door, the Martins selected a Viessmann solar thermal system from Germany and an Austrian Windhager pellet boiler in the knowledge they would integrate well. The rainwater harvesting system is from Ecozi, the UK supplier for German company ASP.

As you might expect on a grade II-listed building, planning restrictions were tight and there was no room for even a millimetre error 鈥� one of the council鈥檚 planners happened to live next door. 鈥楾he south west-facing solar thermal panels on the roof of the annex caused a particular problem,鈥� explains Martin. 鈥業t wasn鈥檛 so much a visual thing as the principle of having it at all that caused objections. But hopefully that will change as more buildings like this are worked on.鈥�

Insulation is often a problem when upgrading listed buildings, as exterior walls can鈥檛 be altered. So the Martins modified the internal walls using a 100% recyclable wood fibreboard called Pavatex, which was covered by a layer of lime plaster. But finding a builder willing to take on such innovative systems was tricky. The Martins shortlisted three contractors and then gave each a sustainability statement detailing their eco-requirements, such as recycling targets, zero waste to landfill, and using Forest Stewardship Council-certified timber.

My day job is a lot easier than this. we had to start from scratch

George Martin

鈥楢 couple of companies were looking at this saying 鈥渨hat does this mean, we鈥檝e never seen this before鈥�,鈥� says Martin. And once chosen contractor Clulee took on the job, it needed guidance from suppliers on unfamiliar techniques, such as lime plastering.

Jenny Martin recommends a local council-run website 鈥� 鈥� which helped achieve zero waste-to-landfill targets. 鈥楿sers can advertise unwanted household items, no money changes hands and the only requirement is that the person requesting the item comes to collect it. When disposing of items it鈥檚 often difficult to match the giver with a market and this idea provides that link. Brilliant!鈥� she says.

With the project completed under budget, the Martins are now enjoying their cosy cottage, but are painfully aware of all the other similar local properties in need of an eco-makeover. 鈥業t鈥檚 frustrating because the refurb market is potentially massive, but the problem is interesting Joe Public in doing this. We鈥檙e planning an open day this summer to help spread the word,鈥� concludes Martin.

A few ideas from George Martin:

• Do your research, speak to people who have done similar jobs and go into it with your eyes open.
• Don鈥檛 live in the building when you鈥檙e doing this much work, the mess was unbelievable.
• Steer clear of wind turbines. They鈥檙e inappropriate for urban environments and on old properties can cause structural damage.
• Be nice to your neighbours 鈥� they might turn out to be planning officers.
• Favourite features: A cupboard door made from oak panels taken from French railway carriages; recycled cross-laminated timber doors used to make a desk in the study.

Property Ladder
Tony Veal, Mace

When Mace project manager Tony Veal decided to try his luck in property development, he thought he鈥檇 start small by refurbishing a one-bed ground floor flat in London鈥檚 Bethnal Green.

But minimising costs meant maximising effort: Veal has taken on the complete scope of work, including drawings and materials costing. And now, as work progresses he鈥檚 even living in a tiny room in the gutted flat.

Veal, an Australian national sponsored by Mace to work in the UK, was determined not to make the same mistakes as other first-timers he鈥檇 seen on TV. 鈥業鈥檝e watched hundreds of episodes of Property Ladder and the developers always end up spending double their budget. Sarah Beeny taught me there鈥檚 no point spending the money if you can鈥檛 easily make it back!鈥�

But when the recession hit he knew he was facing a struggle. 鈥榃hen I was negotiating the sale with the vendor last August, every day the headlines in the papers were 鈥淗ouse prices drop 20%鈥�, 鈥淏ad time to buy鈥�. It was a scary time.鈥�

But Beeny would have been happy to see Veal sticking to his guns and playing the market conditions to his advantage during the purchase, using experience gained at work to negotiate the contract and price. He managed to reduce the offer price by 10%, and by spending under 拢30,000 on the upgrade work he鈥檚 still confident of making a healthy profit when he sells.

The big plus is you don鈥檛 have to hand the property over to the client at the end

Tony Veal

A builder was found through 鈥� a website Veal recommends because it includes comments from clients. 鈥楤ut I don鈥檛 think my builder was used to this level of involvement from a client.

I spent about 50 hours on the drawings, so all the info he needed was there. I鈥檝e hardly had any calls from him asking questions.鈥�

With no previous fit-out experience, Veal quizzed colleagues at Mace for useful products and suppliers. Their advice has come in handy when making last-minute alterations. 鈥榃hen the builders started opening up the ceiling grids and we saw the lights weren鈥檛 going to fit, the guys at work would say 鈥済o check out this light fitting鈥�, or 鈥渕ake sure the timber鈥檚 double spaced at 600mm centres鈥�. It鈥檚 been funny going in every day to hear them say: 鈥淪o what happened last night then?鈥濃��

It hasn鈥檛 all gone smoothly, though. Last month, the open kitchen/living room was progressing well, but fittings for the gutted bathroom were a couple of weeks late. This not only set work back on site, Veal had to suffer the inconvenience of taking showers at work. He鈥檚 expecting the builders to overrun the six-week first phase by a couple of weeks.

Surprisingly, Veal doesn鈥檛 believe his industry experience has benefited him doing a personal project. 鈥榃orking on a minor scale, you think 鈥淚鈥檓 in building, it won鈥檛 be a problem鈥�. But in reality, I faced just as many challenges. The biggest problem was not knowing the relevant suppliers. But next time it won鈥檛 take me four months鈥� preparation, I鈥檒l just go direct to the guys I鈥檝e used this time.鈥�

So there will be a next time? 鈥業 expect so,鈥� says Veal. 鈥楳y day job is all about paperwork and managing people, but doing every little thing on this project has taught me lots of new skills. You get to see the fruits of your labour and a big plus is you don鈥檛 have to hand the property over to the client at the end.鈥�

A few ideas from Tony Veal:

• Visit to find a decent local builder and read comments from clients.
• If you鈥檙e going to sell the property on, speak to estate agents pre-design to get an idea of what features buyers want.
• Consult you builder on alternative systems. Veal鈥檚 recommended installing underfloor heating to increase space and re-skimming the walls instead of totally re-plastering.
• Favourite features: The open plan kitchen/living room is spacious and light and opens directly onto the garden.

Grand designs
Richard Smith, ROK

The hazards of taking your work home with you became all too apparent to Rok鈥檚 Richard Smith last year as he watched construction of his four-bed dream home slide six months behind schedule at the hands of subcontractors he knew through his day job.

鈥樅诙瓷缜� your own place in your spare time, you might think it would be a case of preparing the drawings, employing the subcontractors, agreeing what鈥檚 required and a price and then leaving them to get on with it. Well I鈥檝e got news for you, it doesn鈥檛 work like that,鈥� he says resignedly.

Next time I鈥檇 splash out on a main contractor and do much less physical labour

Richard Smith

A design team leader at Rok鈥檚 York office, Smith had set his heart on building a place for himself and his girlfriend in a quiet rural location. So when a large four-acre site became available in a tiny village about 20 kilometres south of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, he jumped at the opportunity.

Eager to exploit his construction expertise, Smith confidently took on the role of architect, project manager and even joiner. His skills proved useful during the early stages of negotiating with planners. 鈥業f I鈥檇 employed an architect he would have probably have gone with what the planner recommended and I wouldn鈥檛 have got the house I wanted,鈥� he says. However, the process still took an unsettling 12 months.

When work finally hit site, the drama was to rival an episode of Grand Designs. Smith had employed the subcontractors based on the quality of their work on Rok projects and felt confident he could trust them to complete the job without the expense of paying for a site manager to supervise the works 鈥� something Kevin McCloud would definitely disapprove of.

As Smith relates, the groundworks package went well, but problems began with the timber frame contractor. Smith says the Polish workers it was using failed to understand what was needed, and he asked for them to be replaced with English workers.

With the project delayed by the frame, Smith was then forced to wait for the bricklayer who鈥檇 since moved on to another project.

When the firm finally started work, Smith would return from work in the evenings to find much of the work either not done or incomplete. 鈥榃hen I confronted them they had all sorts of excuses, but they were excuses. I think they were slacking off or not turning up because they knew I wouldn鈥檛 be there during the day,鈥� he says.

Things went from bad to worse when, at the last minute, the roofing contractor said he was pulling out, claiming he was unable to tile a timber-framed house with the brickwork incomplete 鈥� something Smith angrily disputed. To prove his point, Smith defiantly decided to tile the roof himself.

Working on the project every week in the evenings and weekends for a year was draining in terms of his personal life, but it was Smith鈥檚 work relationships that suffered most.

鈥業 thought it would be a lot easier working with people I knew. I expected them to be professional and meet deadlines, but they failed me and I won鈥檛 be working with them again in any capacity. If you鈥檙e considering a job like this, use someone you know or someone who鈥檚 been recommended, but not someone you work with. If it goes wrong you end up taking it very personally.鈥�

Despite the problems he encountered, Smith managed to complete the house on budget and he鈥檚 now keen to take on another build or even start a sideline in property development. 鈥楴ext time I鈥檇 splash out on a main contractor and do much less physical labour. Having a guy there all day to supervise, who鈥檚 responsible for programme and time constraints would have made things much simpler.鈥�

A few ideas from Richard Smith:

• Familiarise yourself with planning procedures and policies 鈥� it could mean the difference between your dream home and a poor compromise.
• Make sure you have a place to live during your build 鈥� it beats a cramped caravan.
• Favourite features: A quirky kitchen tap that looks like a shower head (pictured) and the corner window in the breakfast area that offers views over the paddock.