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We have lived in East Finchley for 37 years in Edwardian houses. We wanted to downsize and stay in the area, and to find a house that could provide more suitable accommodation and which we could make more energy efficient, a 21st century home. We do not own a car and are keen allotment growers and take an interest in our impact on the environment. We needed a garage for our bicycles, space for our office, a pottery studio, plenty of day light and a garden. This 60’s house fitted the bill.
We are Architects who have worked on designing homes for many years and have a long held interest in energy conservation and ‘healthy homes’. Our first aim was to improve the fabric of the home to make it thermally more efficient. We have also explored the practicalities of introducing more natural materials with their ability to deal with moisture and more responsive thermal properties. The use of solar ‘bling’ was secondary in a way, but it made sense to use the sun’s energy, contribute to the grid and save on energy bills
The house was built in 1962 and had been in the same ownership since built until we bought it. Very little had been done to the house and it was in a poor state of repair. There was minimal insulation in the loft space, with gaps. Windows to the front of the house had been replaced with poor double glazed upvc windows, whose seals had failed. At the rear the original 1960’s single glazed timber windows remained – a very much better product but poorly preforming.