"We went on to discuss sanitary ware, taps and showers. The panels and walls are all cut with laser precision, and pre—installed conduit for the heating and mains services. The 'sanitary blocks' located in the wall panels are the reason that the sanitary ware has to be organised precisely. The taps and outflow of a basin, for example, would be attached to these and have to align in the completed house, so depth of floor- tiles and wall tiles need to be considered too."
Back at the bungalow mains supplies were located and isolated and work began installing the trench footings, which had to accommodate not only the usual mains services and waste outflow but the roof drainage into the rainwater harvesting tank beneath ground, and the plumbing, which would get the rainwater back to the house's loos; "We took on a local builder to install the foundations and he made a superb job of it. The tolerances were very tight, but Meisterstueck inspected them and were very pleased with the accuracy.
"The build was incredibly quick. There were only four builders on site but, two days alter they arrived they handed me the keys — the house was watertight. The heat pump and solar thermal panels were installed by a local firm then the plumbing and electrics completed, the underfloor heating installed and screeded, and
the ceilings plasterboarded and skimmed.
"The build to first fix was completed within less than three weeks and the floors laid and cured within six weeks. ln fact, 11 weeks after the walls went up we moved in," said Brigid. When we visited in Spring Brigid was looking forward to getting the garden landscaped but the house already had the look of a family living space. The large, open plan kitchen and living room area is bright and airy, the central, open-tread staircase with its attendant window gave a similar feeling of space, and the house felt cosy... and very, very quiet.
"The building is triple-glazed and the level of insulation ensures little noise comes in," said Brigid. "We are very pleased with the house on the whole. We were surprised by how difficult it was to find a plumber who understood rainwater harvesting systems. We have a 3,500- litre underground tank, which is fed via mechanical filters by an electric pump. If the supply runs low the system is plumbed so mains water tops
up the tank." The Sundarams have discovered their electricity bill looks to be matching that of the bunga-
low, although, of course, there is no gas bill; "We now have a 3kWp photovoltaic system"
LIME GREEN ACCESSORIES AND COOKER SPLASHBACK BRING SOME COlOUR TO THE MINIMALISTIC HOUSE
Built From a Bungalow Part 1
Built From a Bungalow Part 2
Built From a Bungalow Part 3
Built From a Bungalow Part 5
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