An Energy-Efficient Self-Build by The Coast

When Gail and David Webb relocated from Manchester to Polzeath on the north Cornwall coast, they fell in love with the amazing views from their 1930s house, which stands right above the cove. The house itself, though visually attractive, was thermally inefficient by modern standards and had been unsympathetically extended with a boxy single storey bedroom to one side. "Holidays were always spent in Polzeath while the children were growing up, so when David was offered early retirement in 1999 it seemed like the perfect place to settle," Gail explains. "We couldn’t believe our luck finding somewhere with such fantastic views of the beach and sea, but it didn’t leave much money for dramatic improvements, so we settled for upgrading the kitchen and bathrooms."

Four years ago the couple were walking their dog on the beach when Gail, a retired antiques dealer, looked back at their home and experienced an eureka moment. "Instead of messing about with the old place, I saw that there was just enough room for a new house right next-door, where the extension and our detached garage stood," she says. "David was less enthusiastic but agreed to go along with the idea — mainly because he didn’t think we stood a hope of getting planning consent to build in our garden." The Webbs had tackled various home improvement projects in the past, but building an entire house was far more ambitious and they were keen to find a knowledgeable architect to help design their new home. Gail loves contemporary architecture and David – a former university lecturer specializing in heat transfer – was determined to incorporate as many energy-efficient features as possible.

"We found the local architects rather too conservative, but then we met Mark Kingsley at an eco fair, and realised we were all speaking the same language," says David. Mark Kingsley Architects is a small award-winning practice in Bath, which specialises in designing environmentally conscious, innovative and contemporary architecture. The Webbs worked with Mark to produce a design which would meet their needs both now and in the future. "Although we face north, which is not ideal for an eco house, the view is everything from here and we wanted large areas of glass overlooking the sea," says Gail. "We decided to build over three storeys — incorporating a basement level to make the most of our tiny sloping plot. This created enough space for four bedrooms, with a vaulted open plan living/kitchen/dining space on the top floor."

The Webbs’ garden plot stands within the local council’s designated development boundary, but that didn’t stop the planners from refusing their application. Initial meetings had seemed positive, and the design was altered numerous times to meet the planners’ requirements, but then all dialogue ceased and the application was rejected. "We had no choice but to appeal, and undertook quite a lot of research to help our case," says David. "When we discovered that we’d won the appeal we felt like nothing could stop us — little did we know what lay ahead!"

The most pressing concern was how exactly the build would be funded. David and Gail were determined to sell their 1930s house and then rent it back from the new owner — a plan which friends believed would prove impossible to pull off. "It was a long shot which turned out brilliantly," laughs Gail, who advertised the house online. "We had to sell our old house to raise enough money for the build. The only difficulty arose when the new owners wanted to spend their holidays in the house, which meant we needed to vacate and move into a bed and breakfast on three occasions." Costs increased when work began on site, and an unsafe rock wall needed to be stabilised – using rock dowels and 150mm-thick reinforced sprayed concrete – before the excavation work for the basement could begin. This unexpected outlay increased the final build cost by more than £50,000, and was one of a series of site-related problems which could not have been envisaged before work commenced.

Excavating the basement produced a huge amount of spoil, and on one day alone more than 250 tons of shillet (decomposed slate) was taken away on lorries. Around 28 tons of shuttering was then craned in for the basement construction, and access on the restricted site proved a constant headache. There were further problems bringing services to the narrow coastal site. "There’s no mains drainage here – it’s all based on soakaways – and we were told we would need a sewage digester," says David. "When we applied for Consent to Discharge, the Environment Agency changed the plan and said that we would have to excavate a channel, fill it with sand and pump the water back up the site — which cost a further £20,000. We were already over budget before the house was even out of the ground."

Fortunately for the Webbs, the professionals they hired were equipped to deal with the challenges presented. "Gynn Construction, the main contractor, built to a very high standard and was genuinely interested in delivering a high-quality product," says architect Mark Kingsley, who provided a full architectural service on the project. "The house is a reinforced concrete structure on a reinforced concrete base, which was excavated out of bedrock slate. The rear boundary cliff needed to be re-supported, and the team responded well to a number of issues which arose on site." Unusually, the cathedral-style roof is supported on six concrete columns, built up from the basement. The lack of loft space has been offset by sinking a separate storeroom into the front garden. Creating an airtight structure was also vitally important to the success of the project. The house is constructed in masonry to give a high thermal mass — ensuring that it stays naturally cool in summer. High levels of insulation, high-performance doors and triple-glazed windows help to make it energy efficient in winter. A south-facing glazed area allows natural daylight into the open stairwell, whilst enabling warmth from the sun to permeate the building.

When Gail and David Webb relocated from Manchester to Polzeath on the north Cornwall coast, they fell in love with the amazing views from their 1930s house, which stands right above the cove. The house itself, though visually attractive, was thermally inefficient by modern standards and had been unsympathetically extended with a boxy single storey bedroom to one side. “Holidays were always spent in Polzeath while the children were growing up, so when David was offered early retirement in 1999 it seemed like the perfect place to settle,” Gail explains. “We couldn’t believe our luck finding somewhere with such fantastic views of the beach and sea, but it didn’t leave much money for dramatic improvements, so we settled for upgrading the kitchen and bathrooms.”

Four years ago the couple were walking their dog on the beach when Gail, a retired antiques dealer, looked back at their home and experienced an eureka moment. “Instead of messing about with the old place, I saw that there was just enough room for a new house right next-door, where the extension and our detached garage stood,” she says. “David was less enthusiastic but agreed to go along with the idea — mainly because he didn’t think we stood a hope of getting planning consent to build in our garden.”

The Webbs had tackled various home improvement projects in the past, but building an entire house was far more ambitious and they were keen to find a knowledgeable architect to help design their new home. Gail loves contemporary architecture and David – a former university lecturer specializing in heat transfer – was determined to incorporate as many energy-efficient features as possible. “We found the local architects rather too conservative, but then we met Mark Kingsley at an eco fair, and realised we were all speaking the same language,” says David.

Mark Kingsley Architects is a small award-winning practice in Bath, which specialises in designing environmentally conscious, innovative and contemporary architecture. The Webbs worked with Mark to produce a design which would meet their needs both now and in the future. “Although we face north, which is not ideal for an eco house, the view is everything from here and we wanted large areas of glass overlooking the sea,” says Gail. “We decided to build over three storeys — incorporating a basement level to make the most of our tiny sloping plot. This created enough space for four bedrooms, with a vaulted open plan living/kitchen/dining space on the top floor.”

The Webbs’ garden plot stands within the local council’s designated development boundary, but that didn’t stop the planners from refusing their application. Initial meetings had seemed positive, and the design was altered numerous times to meet the planners’ requirements, but then all dialogue ceased and the application was rejected. “We had no choice but to appeal, and undertook quite a lot of research to help our case,” says David. “When we discovered that we’d won the appeal we felt like nothing could stop us — little did we know what lay ahead!”

The most pressing concern was how exactly the build would be funded. David and Gail were determined to sell their 1930s house and then rent it back from the new owner — a plan which friends believed would prove impossible to pull off. “It was a long shot which turned out brilliantly,” laughs Gail, who advertised the house online. “We had to sell our old house to raise enough money for the build. The only difficulty arose when the new owners wanted to spend their holidays in the house, which meant we needed to vacate and move into a bed and breakfast on three occasions.”

Costs increased when work began on site, and an unsafe rock wall needed to be stabilised – using rock dowels and 150mm-thick reinforced sprayed concrete – before the excavation work for the basement could begin. This unexpected outlay increased the final build cost by more than £50,000, and was one of a series of site-related problems which could not have been envisaged before work commenced.

Excavating the basement produced a huge amount of spoil, and on one day alone more than 250 tons of shillet (decomposed slate) was taken away on lorries. Around 28 tons of shuttering was then craned in for the basement construction, and access on the restricted site proved a constant headache. There were further problems bringing services to the narrow coastal site. “There’s no mains drainage here – it’s all based on soakaways – and we were told we would need a sewage digester,” says David. “When we applied for Consent to Discharge, the Environment Agency changed the plan and said that we would have to excavate a channel, fill it with sand and pump the water back up the site — which cost a further £20,000. We were already over budget before the house was even out of the ground.”

Fortunately for the Webbs, the professionals they hired were equipped to deal with the challenges presented. “Gynn Construction, the main contractor, built to a very high standard and was genuinely interested in delivering a high-quality product,” says architect Mark Kingsley, who provided a full architectural service on the project. “The house is a reinforced concrete structure on a reinforced concrete base, which was excavated out of bedrock slate. The rear boundary cliff needed to be re-supported, and the team responded well to a number of issues which arose on site.” Unusually, the cathedral-style roof is supported on six concrete columns, built up from the basement. The lack of loft space has been offset by sinking a separate storeroom into the front garden.

Creating an airtight structure was also vitally important to the success of the project. The house is constructed in masonry to give a high thermal mass — ensuring that it stays naturally cool in summer. High levels of insulation, high-performance doors and triple-glazed windows help to make it energy efficient in winter. A south-facing glazed area allows natural daylight into the open stairwell, whilst enabling warmth from the sun to permeate the building. “The staircase was vital to the whole design, and is visible from all three floors,” says Gail. “We chose oak treads and glass balustrades, which would let the light filter down into the basement. Adding a stairlift for our old age would totally ruin the minimal look, so we thought ahead and included a small lift to one corner beside the stairwell. It cost around £15,000 and is wonderful for bringing shopping up to the kitchen and carrying logs for the woodburning stove.”

David and Gail were closely involved with every decision, including selecting state-of-the-art energy conservation and recovery systems, heating and lighting. In addition to the whole-house ventilation and heat-recovery system there’s also a clever device which captures and reuses heat from hot water destined for the shower drain — saving around 25% of the energy used on every shower. At the start of the project, two 75-metre-deep boreholes were drilled into the underlying rock — these feed the ground-source heat pump, supplying both hot water and zoned, thermostatically controlled underfloor heating throughout the house. “To be honest we’ve not needed the heating on since we moved in six months ago — it’s such a well-insulated house despite being located on a coastal cliff, and we have the woodburning stove in the sitting room as back-up,” says Gail. “David is keen to monitor just how efficient and cost-effective these systems actually are, and has various energy meters around the house. He plans to use a continuous monitoring system to allow a detailed energy audit.”

Interiors have been kept simple and lowmaintenance, with large-format limestone-effect floor tiles laid throughout and white-painted walls which help to reflect the abundant natural light. Huge sliding doors in the main living space frame the view to form a captivating living picture. “Building this house has been a great retirement project and we were very fortunate to have employed an excellent architect and contractor to deliver our dream,” says Gail. “It’s not been easy building right into the cliff, but now we have a contemporary, energy-efficient home with spectacular views which we love living in and which suits our needs perfectly.”

Further Reading:

• An Eco-friendly Self-build with Sails 
• An Eco-friendly Farmhouse with a Swimming Pond
• An Award Winning Contemporary Self Build on the Coast