WE LEARNED...

ENVISAGE LIVING IN your home down to the smallest detail – from furniture to light switches. Don’t forget storage, you can never have enough.

CONTACT SERVICE PROVIDERS as early as possible. It takes much longer than you think to get connections.

SPEND TIME thinking about the house design, then try not to change it along the way. Alterations, especially on-site, often have many knock-on consequences.

PRIORITISE SPENDING MONEY on the building fabric, especially insulation, before any fancy kitchen etc.

DO LOTS OF RESEARCH – there are many building techniques out there, but you need experts familiar with your system. Our first structural engineer specified lots of rebar that wasn’t required.

MAKE SURE that any technology you select is recognised by building control and EPC assessors. We used a German MVHR system, Passivhaus approved, but not on the UK’S recognised list, so our EPC is artificially down rated.