Worth The Wait
A Borders eco-home that was built from the heart
AFTER buying a plot of land, most people start building immediately, keen to get their new home constructed as soon as possible.
Not Ian and Karen Henderson. When they bought a site in 2012 in Longnewton, a few miles south of
St Boswells in the Borders, they wanted to take their time and get it right.
Their patience has certainly paid off as the Hendersons are now proud owners of Greenknowe, a state-of-the-art eco-friendly family home in the passivhaus category – a rigorous yet voluntary standard for energy efficiency.
After living in a converted garage on the 2.8 hectare (seven acre) site for three and a half years, the first thing the Hendersons did was build a barn that stands at 30 metres x 12 metres (100 feet x 40 feet).
“We needed this to stable our horses but it also gave us somewhere to store building materials,” says Karen. “That way we were able to buy in bulk and keep things until they were needed.”
With a design by Andrew Yeats of passivhaus specialists Ecoarc already agreed, their next step was to call on the services of joiner Andrew Devenney.
“Andrew undertook all the joinery work and was the air-tightness champion,” continues Karen. “He ensured all the tradesmen followed the drawings to the last detail. Having taken a university course in passivhaus design and construction, it gave him a better understanding of the reasons behind the very fiddly details, which I think many others would have simply ignored.
“It was this attention to every little detail in terms of air tightness and cold bridging that made this house as comfortable as it is.”
Karen and Ian were keen to make the house as insulated as possible to keep the heat in. The walls are a substantial half a metre thick and the roof has a further 600mm (24-inch) layer of insulation.
“The house is always a cosy 21 to 24 degrees,” Karen says, “and solar panels provide almost all our electricity in summer, with solar thermal panels providing hot water. They heat the water even in winter, saving on electricity.”
A Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) system ensures the air quality is good even when all the windows are closed. And with the addition of a small wind turbine and good battery storage, Karen believes they could comfortably live off-grid.
“It’s a fantastic place to live in as it’s warm, bright and comfortable. I particularly enjoy the views from upstairs. It’s very tempting to sprawl on our bed with a good book when the sun streams through the gable window.
“The open-plan living space makes for great entertaining and I do love my curvy kitchen.”
The Hendersons live by the ethos of reduce, re-use and re-cycle, and their only specific purchase for the house was a big corner sofa. Everything else came from their old house, including paint and curtains.
“We would like to get a long slim oak refectory table for the dining area but as we have a perfectly serviceable table, there’s no rush,” Karen says.
“I wanted a curvy kitchen and eventually sourced one. The oak worktops were very expensive, and one has been replaced as it became warped. Although they do take a bit of maintenance I think they are just the right fit for the house.
“Greenknowe is not a big house but it is quite big enough and a lovely place to live in – and it looks good too!
“We hope one of the children will want to live here in the future and we could retire to the garage, which has been renovated as a holiday let. However, that means we’d have to give up our wonderful view!”
“A lovely place to live in – and it looks good too!”