T
meant lower solar gains and slightly more heat
loss. This was balanced by a combination of
increased levels of insulation in the roof and
internally insulating the outward-opening
window frames.”
Finding an architect and a builder conversant
with Passivhaus techniques within convenient
travelling distance of the site was a priority;
Stephen admits that there was quite a small pool
of suitably-qualified possibilities, but he had no
regrets whatsoever about the people he chose.
Starting in March 2016, the build itself only
took 12 months from start to finish, quite an
achievement for a Passivhaus of 158 m^2. It cost
£350,000, with Stephen selling his previous
house and living in rented accommodation for
the duration. Old Forge Cottage has now been
valued at £750,000.
Did he get hands-on with the construction
process? He laughs, saying, “No! I am a solicitor
and not very practical. I stuck with the contracts,
warranties and agreements, which is more
my bag!”
He credits his builder, I & C Watts of
Harrogate, North Yorkshire, as an absolutely vital
part of the success of the project: “The site
foreman, Mark Thomason, was experienced and
knew what he was doing from the start.”
He adds that the whole build team were
“brilliant,” being highly experienced with five
Passivhaus projects already under their tool-
belts: “When the house was tested it got one of
the highest ever air-tightness ratings. To comply,
you have to get 0.6 and this house is 0.1.”
Such a protracted project required great
reserves of patience from Stephen – and his
elder daughter, 24-year-old hairdresser Daisy,
who shares her father’s new house and loves its
warmth and comfort – but he does credit his
own professional background with providing him
with the necessary project management skills
and an ability to delegate areas of responsibility.
“My overall advice would be to make sure that
you get the right advisors on board and let them
do their jobs,” he says. “I got the experts to
advise and guide us on the technical
specification; I’m used to doing high level work
and managing things. I know that people can
save themselves an absolute fortune by doing
various things themselves, but I had no intention
of wading in and attempting to do the jobs of
other professionals.”
However, Stephen does point out that he
believes that the building industry as a whole
needs to upskill in order to deliver homes which“There is just one HIGH POINT
radiator in the
whole house”
“I was quoted an eye-
watering £12,000 for the
demolition of the old
cottage, but I managed
to find a builder to do it
for £1 in return for the
old stone.”
–Stephen Cirell42www.sbhonline.co.uk july/august 2019