Cedar Shingle-Clad Passivhaus in East Sussex that Prioritises Feng Shui

Getting stuck in

Having finally got the green light, doubts crept in. “I thought, do I really want to go through with this – it’s a right pain to build, isn’t it?” says Carolyn. It was then she discovered the Passivhaus standard, which takes a fabric-first approach to delivering high-quality, efficient homes – majoring on insulation, airtightness and minimal energy use. “The more I read about it, the more I knew that this was what I wanted to do,” says Carolyn, whose research included visiting a couple of Passivhaus certified projects.

Corner glazing opens up views in the dining area. Recessed curtain tracks enable a sleek finish

She appointed accredited Passivhaus designer Mark Elton from Cowan Architects to develop the technical design that’s critical to success with this kind of eco build. Mark now has his own practice, Awen Design. One key element of the scheme that needed to be changed was a big chimney stack. “It really grounded the property and looked lovely, but in a Passivhaus you can’t have a chimney, so it needed to go,” says Carolyn. “As part of the tweaks, Mark also suggested going back to planning for a minor material amendment to increase the footprint.” This would make the Passivhaus detailing easier to achieve – a rationale the council agreed with.

Carolyn saved money by choosing an ex-display kitchen from German brand Hacker

Ready to build and with planning in the bag, she faced her next challenge: finding a suitable contractor. “Because it was a Passivhaus, it had many things general builders aren’t quite used to – someone else doing the superstructure and the windows, for instance, and needing to be very careful about not punching any holes through the airtightness layer,” says Carolyn. “Most builders told me I’d have to pay them just to get a quote.”

Encouraged by Mark, she decided to change tack – bringing in a project manager (PM) to get the house to weathertight stage. From there, Carolyn took the reins, overseeing the rest of the build while regularly checking in with her architect and PM. Mark had many useful supplier suggestions, too, including encouraging Carolyn to bring on MBC Timber Frame for the offsite manufacture of the superstructure, and glazing supplier ecoHaus Windows & Doors.

The build phase

On site, the project progressed smoothly, with groundworks starting in July 2023. Erected in August that year, the twin-stud timber frame superstructure sits on an insulated raft foundation and Carolyn was really impressed with the team at MBC. “It was watertight by the end of October, when the windows were fitted,” says Carolyn. There were a couple of issues with contractors. “I had quite a major disagreement with the dry liner because he kept changing his mind, but in the end I just let him get on with it and used lime plastering which wouldn’t need to be decorated,” says Carolyn.

The majority of the house is finished in cedar shingles, with sections of the ground floor and the base featuring pale brickwork for a modern aesthetic

One thing that caused confusion was when Carolyn decided to go with German electric switches. “I had to find a different electrician who could do these European back boxes and switches, which turned out to be a bit of a nightmare,” she says. Elsewhere in the house, she’s opted for oak parquet flooring and a stunning staircase that was inspired by a design she’d seen at an architect’s house in London.

“I contacted the carpenter who had done that staircase and he completed mine in a couple of weekends,” she says. “The stair rail is just some wood I had lying around that I had turned.” The heavy birch ply doors have been finished with contemporary handles, which Carolyn colour sprayed herself, and she saved money by purchasing an ex-display kitchen. The external blind was the last thing to be fitted. “It’s the same colour as the internal blinds, which you have to have in a Passivhaus to help prevent it from overheating,” says Carolyn.

The light-filled living room, open to the kitchen-diner, enjoys views through sliding doors. A cosy snug is accessible via double pocket doors

Carolyn moved into her new home in May 2024, renting out her other property on Airbnb. “I then started work on getting the garage built – so I was still living on a construction site, with mounds of earth everywhere coming out of the metre-deep foundations,” she says. Ascot Timber Frames supplied the garage structure, which is finished with shingles and a Hormann door. “I had a local shepherd keep his sheep here, which was a godsend because he was very good on a digger, so he smoothed out all my earth and laid hard standing around the garage,” says Carolyn. “More recently, I’ve been working with a landscape designer – the paths, patios and decking are all complete and now I need to get on with the soft planting.”

Living in a Passivhaus

Comfort levels in Carolyn’s new home are incomparable to previous properties she’s lived in – including the old bungalow. “My feet are usually like blocks of ice in winter. This is the first house where that’s never happened. It’s so comfortable; there are no cold spots anywhere. Plus, the underfloor heating (UFH) is lovely with the concrete floors.”

Warmth is provided by an air source heat pump, hooked up to the underfloor heating downstairs and radiators upstairs, which she’s not needed to use since moving in. Solar panels provide much of the electricity. “In the cooler months, I might have to put the underfloor heating on for an hour a day, but that’s enough to permeate throughout and keep the place warm,” she says.

A cut-out landing allows for a light-filled hallway below. The textural plastered finish complements the warmth Carolyn has brought to the interior decor

The project’s final airtightness test was a nerve-wracking experience, but Carolyn was able to celebrate achieving that coveted full Passivhaus certification. “It just scraped through,” she says. “But I got my little plaque outside, and that meant a lot.” Her advice to budding self builders looking to take the plunge in future? “Take breaks. Go on holiday. And if you’re going to project manage, have someone you can call for help – or a really brilliant architect. They’re not cheap, but they’re invaluable,” she says. “And be a pain in the neck! Keep your trades aware that you’re aware. But don’t get hung up on every tiny thing. As my architect said: you’ve just got to expect that problems will happen.”

As for whether she’d do it again: “Maybe,” she muses, “if I found the right plot, in the middle of nowhere with great views and no road noise. But this will probably be my forever home. Living in a Passivhaus, I can’t imagine ever wanting to move into a cold old Victorian house again. Heat just doesn’t get lost. I can sit in the living area in November with the back door adjacent to me ajar, so the dog can come in-and-out, and the room temperature hardly drops off.”

WE LEARNED

• Self-project managing the fit out works turned out to be more difficult than I’d expected it would be. You need to be really organised with sending out drawings and details for people to price up. It’s almost a full-time job in itself.
• I had a scheduling plan created, so that the different trades could come in and do things in the right order. But the dates kept changing, so I was constantly ringing people to push back their part of the works.
• Getting trades back to finish bits that needed some extra work was difficult. Good tradespeople are hard to find, and always very busy.
• Be sure to have good professionals around you who you can use as a sounding board – especially if you’re project managing yourself. You’ll find you need that support from people who have done it before.