Access Key
Frank and Pauline Mace are building a 388m2 home that is flexible enough to meet their changing needs while achieving incredible levels of energy efficiency
Self- building had been a long- held ambition for Frank and Pauline Mace, but a bike accident abroad created a need to realise that dream sooner than expected. Searching for a house more suitable for Pauline, who had suffered serious leg injuries in the accident, led the couple to conclude that their ideal home – one that combined low maintenance and accessibility – didn’t exist. So they decided to build it.
They settled on a plot in Herefordshire and approached a Passivhaus designer, Sue Dewhurst of Evolved Design, to come up with a proposal for their new home and help them through planning. Later, the plans were “breathed upon” by architect Simon Kirton and a timber frame construction was agreed.
The result is a five-bed 388m2 house with a large open plan kitchen diner and living area, utility room, toilet and study on one side of the ground floor and a master bedroom and en suite on the other. On the first floor, there are four more bedrooms (two with en suite), a family bathroom, and a large sitting room — a terrace runs along the south side of the house, accessed from the sitting room and two of the bedrooms.
The key was to create a house that could adapt with the Maces over the years: “We’ve gone for a flexible layout,” says Frank. “All the living spaces can be on the ground floor, along with the master bedroom, but we’ve also put another living room on the first floor.”
The couple were keen to ensure their energy bills were as low as possible and opted to build towards Passivhaus standard — although they have not gone down the route of certifying the house.
In order to use as many local tradespeople as they could, Herefordshire-based groundsworker M J Powell & Sons was engaged to lay the foundations; the couple had used them previously to ‘tame’ the site. They also went with a local timber frame manufacturer, Frame Technologies, after meeting owner Simon Orrells.
The house is constructed from Frame Technologies’ Tech-vantage E closed panel system, which includes 140mm of factoryfitted rigid polyurethane insulation. The frame was erected in just two and a half weeks. Additional internal layers of insulation, and Internorm windows from Passivlux, gives the house U values of 0.1W/m2.
During one of many trips to the National Self Build and Renovation Centre in Swindon, the Maces came across Homebuilding & Renovating expert David Hilton, who they employed to act as an energy consultant.
David’s role was to go over the plans and flag up any areas where the design could be improved from an efficiency standpoint. He also advised on the best products and installation methods of the various extra technologies that the Maces had planned — including a 10kw solar PV array, an air source heat pump, underfloor heating throughout and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, all sourced via Earth Save Products.
“David looked over our plans and gave us reassurance and the specialist knowledge that we didn’t have,” explains Frank.
Frank, who is doing much of the work himself, is also project managing the build with Pauline, from the log cabin they are living in on site — and which will remain standing when the couple have moved into their new home. “We’d rather live in a log cabin, instead of a caravan. Afterwards it’ll either be a garden room or can be used as accommodation for when the kids visit if they don’t want to stay in the house with us,” Frank laughs.
And what of the final movein date? “We’ve been on this project now for five years so I would say before Christmas,” Frank replies, “I just won’t say which one!”
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