Sustainable house

This post details plans to build a luxury micro build. I'll build anything that is required but I believe that sustainability starts with reducing the amount of space that you think is needed to what is required.

I'm going to be building a small house this summer, when I write small I mean micro small.

It's a great opportunity to keep costs at an absolute minimum. The house is going to be hi spec but eco friendly and energy efficient. Most of the materials used will be salvaged where possible. I just don't buy into the 'fact' that a comfortable eco friendly dwelling needs to be expensive, just well thought out.

I'm going to post the thought process from start to finish and the construction time will be kept to a minimum, life is about living in a house not building a house!

What I have in mind is a natural stone clad front, the back and sides insulated on the outside and clad in cedar, a warm false pitch roof, natural lintols, gorgeous guttering, construct the window frames but buy in some beautiful leadwork glass. I'm going to knock up a simple but great functional kitchen and make use of air filtration units. Internally I plan to make the best use of natural light and aim for a hi spec interior. The overall price can be kept low..... when there isn't much square footage.

The key to making this a successful project is in the planning, sound construction skills and local knowledge.

I am not keen on timber frame