Welcome to Our Ecohouse Build

Join us as we embark on an exciting journey to construct an environmentally friendly house. Together, we will explore sustainable practices and innovations.

Grand Designs Risk Score

Several friends and colleagues have asked us whether our build will be on Grand Designs, our answer is no, there’s not going to be enough jeopardy! However, we thought it might be worth tracking how subjectively risky the build feels.

Progress

Below is a summary view of how our timeline is progressing

Latest News & Blogs

Here you will find news on what has changed on the site and our latest blog.

16 Jun 2025 - woohoo we break ground and now have three to four weeks of constructing the foundations before the SIP frame arrives
30 May 2025 - Read our latest blog about our "Inside the Factory" trip to see our SIP panels being fabricated

10 May 2025 - The clever Wunderhaus people have come with a cool animation of how the house is built from Day 1 to Day 120 -

https://vimeo.com/1071739911?share=copy#t=0

We think our Day 1 will be around 23 June, after the foundations are complete.

1 May 2025 - We are both keen gardeners but not sure where to start with a blank canvas and so we opted to bring in the professionals. Very excited to get the final landscaping plan and visuals from Dru Allan - see them in the gallery There's even a video fly through (NB of an earlier version of the design).

6 Apr 2025 - Our SIP panels have a 12 week lead time and we ordered them around three weeks ago so, fingers crossed, they will be delivered to site before the end of June

28 Mar 2025 - We have updated the risk level to 2 - it's all feeling a bit real now!!

17 Mar 2025 - Our planning permission has been granted and along with the completion of the sale of our house we are now in a position to go ahead with the build 😊

13 Jan 2025 - Our planning application is out for comments, see 24/03146/REM

9 Jan 2025 - Geotechnical company were on site to drill 4 soil cores to inform the depth of the foundations we will need.

Inside the Factory - seeing our SIP being fabricated

30 May 2025 11:47

As a child growing up in the sixties we didn't watch much TV but there was BBC's Play School (look it up if you're under 45!) and a part of each programme was to "go through" one of the three windows (arch, circle and square) and hear a story or watch a short film about the "real world". My favourite episodes were when the film was about visiting a factory and earlier this week I recaptured that excited childhood feeling when we visited the factory in Merseyside where our SIPs (Structural Integrated Panels) are being manufactured.

Designing a house - where do you start?

19 Jan 2025 20:30

I imagine most people who have decided to undertake a self-build will have some concept of what house they want to build but are likely to be scant on a lot of the detail. For us, the main driver for the design of our house is its eco-credentials - we firmly believe that all new houses should aim to be carbon neutral if not carbon negative. Our other main design goal is to have a modern space to live in, scaling down from our current five bedroom 17th century home.

About us

Ecohouse Build is a personal blog dedicated to sharing our experience of constructing an eco-friendly home. Our goal is to inspire others to consider sustainable living and make conscious choices that benefit our planet. On this blog, you'll find informative posts about eco-friendly building materials, energy-efficient designs, and tips to reduce your carbon footprint while creating a beautiful and functional living space. Each step of our build will be documented, showcasing the challenges and triumphs of building a home that aligns with our values. We believe that sharing knowledge and experiences can empower others to take action towards a more sustainable future. Join us on this journey to create an Ecohouse that respects the environment and provides us with a beautiful contemporary home in which to live.