Thursday 23 December 2010

Site Visits Extended! Plus, FAQs

Due to overwhelming demand the project team have decided to facilitate an additional open event day at the Passivhaus site in Wimbish in February. The open event will provide a brief presentation followed by a walk around the site. Time for questions and answers will be at the end. The event is free but restricted to 15 attendees and a maximum of 2 people per organisation. The event booking is on a first come first serve basis. For enquiries and bookings please contact umaccariello@hastoe.com

Upcoming Events
Tuesday 4 January 2011 – FULLY BOOKED
Tuesday 1st February 2011, 1.30pm to 4pm

The open events we held in November and December were really well attended and even though we had a few late cancellations due to the snowy weather condition in early December we were able to fill most spaces at the last moment.

Nick Jones of Inbuilt and Chris Parsons of Parsons & Whittley are doing a fantastic job with their presentations. They provide an interesting and informative overview of the Passivhaus principles and provide some specific examples in regards to Wimbish. The December site walk around was rather brief due to the freezing conditions and everybody appreciated the hot cup of tea or coffee back at the village hall.

The discussions back at the village hall provide a great opportunity to get further valid information and here are just some of the frequently asked questions:

Q:   What are the cost implications in comparison to a conventional building?
A:   Hastoe’s cost consultant Davis Langdon is currently undertaking a cost comparison to some of Hastoe’s Code Level 4 schemes and this information will be available on the blog soon

Q:   What happens if people want to fix items like pictures or shelves to the walls?
A:   Fixing to internal walls is not a problem as long as the occupants fill the wholes with a wall plug and screw. Hastoe will need to ensure that following any tenancy change wholes left will be filled to re-instate the airtightness of the building.

Q:   You have explained that the construction method at Wimbish is thin joint blockwork with an external insulation and render finish. This sounds like a standard construction method used in England?
A:   The approach for Wimbish was to use local materials where possible and local labour, and it is indeed correct that this method is not ground breaking and is widely used, but the standards for a Passivhaus do need to be to a much higher.

Ulrike Maccariello, Development Manager, Hastoe

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