Calling all builders: we need you!
I've been writing about retrofit and energy efficiency for three years now and If I had a tenner for every time I'm asked these questions, I'd be loaded:
How do I find a good builder?
How do I know who to trust?
How do I know if they’ll do a good job for me?
It’s tough because there's no simple answer. All I can do is encourage homeowners to be informed so they can ask you pertinent questions and make sure they get what they need for their home.
This is why we need you
So many more people would get on with improving their homes if they felt confident about the builder. So we really need to do something about this: more work for you and better, more efficient homes for us.
But confidence means more than just will you turn up on time and will you be honest about costs. It’s also trusting that you understand what our homes need as the climate changes.
Will my home be fit for the future?
Bedrooms at 56°C during heatwaves. People moving out to live with in-laws because the house is unbearable. Sending the dog to stay with friends because it’s not safe. All real time situations I’ve been told about.
Clearly this isn’t acceptable, so why aren’t we shouting from the rooftops asking for change?
It’s because people don’t feel comfortable challenging the builder working on their home - they just feel too vulnerable. 'What if the builder just upped and left?' 'What if they did a bad job on purpose?' 'What if they charged us more money becuase we upset them?' It's a bit like questioning the doctor - we worry it will make matters worse.
And you, dear builder, are not putting two and two together. You rarely go back to work you've completed so you probaly don't even know that:
families can't live in the home you built or improved, when the weather gets hot.
the house smells of mould and the kids have got asthma
the family are struggling to pay enormous energy bills
What the Builder Won't Tell You
This is why I wrote my latest book: What the BUilder Won't Tell You
I started off feeling embarrassed about the title - it felt so rude! But then I was chatting about my writing to a life long builder and he asked me what is was called. " That's going to be a long book!" was his reply.
I've also spoken at length with builders who start off sceptical about what I'm saying but end the conversation saying "you know more than we do".
I don't want to know more than you do!
I want you to know all about the amazing materials that will make our homes safe and fit for the heat and cold that's coming. I want you building and renovating incredible homes that you and the homeowners are really proud of. And I want to chew the fat with my grandkids.
I don't think for a moment that you are out to do a bad job. It's just that building techniques haven't kept up with the times. Interestingly it can be materials that have been around for years, so feel 'old school' or very modern materials and technology. Mind you, heat pumps have been around for 100 years so they are hardly new.
What is the problem?
Homes have been built in the same way since after the end of WW11 and it’s been 'good enough'. In the 50's, 60's and 70's, no one expected home to be warm. We just lived with what we had. Since the 80’s and gas central heating, we expect a warm home and we could get it easily because gas was cheap. If we felt cold all we had to do was whack up the heating up.
But in the last few years there have been two major changes:
The price of energy has sky rocketed and we’re all dreading the energy bill
Summers are getting hotter and our homes have no protection against the heat
We know energy efficient homes are possible, even if we don’t know what that actually means in terms of the build or renovation. And when we hear of warm homes that cost little to run, we know we want it.
But we won’t get anywhere unless you’re on the same wavelength.
Did you know……
I chat to builders a lot about the materials we need for our increasingly hot summers, but I’m often the only one who knows about them. For example:
Clay plaster is marvellous for managing moisture. Any room with high levels of humidity would benefit from 12 mm of clay plaster
Wood fibre insulation will keep a home warm in winter, cool in summer and dry all year round.
Hemp, cork, sisal, diathonite are just some of the other options for effective insulation
And most important of all: did you know that the synthetic insulation you use as default – PIR – is a big part of the problem? It’ll keep the home warm in winter and that’s why it’s been good enough so far. BUT: it can’t keep the home cool in summer.
Decrement Delay (DD); this is the measure that shows how long it takes for the temperature outside to be replicated inside the house. Ideally, materials used in new builds and renovations have a long DD so the heat outside stays there.
PIR has only a two hour decrement delay tops. Whilst wood fibre has up to 15 hours, hemp 15 hours, cork 13 hours. Sure it’s more expensive right now – and will be until it’s used more – but it cuts out the need for air con with its installation and running costs.
Condensation: the other big problem with synthetic insulation is that it’s not vapour permeable and encourages condensation. So some of the people living in homes or extensions you 've built are struggling with black mould right now and I’m sure that’s not what you want.
Then there’s the issue of ventilation
FYI – trickle vents are rarely going to be enough, whatever planning says about it. A family of four produces 20 litres of moisture every day just by living. That’s 42 pints - imagine that lined up along the bar!
If not dealt with, it'll condense, quickly leading to mould. But there are really good ventilation systems available that can do the whole house or just one room. How about you start adding those as a matter of course?
Solar panels
I get really frustrated with this. Every new home built from 2027 will have to have solar on the roof. That’s great news for homeowners – except when just two panels are added in the middle of a roof that could take at least six. That’s a really sad tick box that blocks the new owners from doing anything about it in the future.
What can we do to help?
How can we get onto this together? What do you need from us homeowners in order for you to change the standard you build to? How can we help you build the homes we need?
We’ve just had the coolest summer we’re going to get, so lining homes with PIR just won’t work any more. People will die if they have to live and sleep in such heat. So we need to work together to create some change.
I know it’s not just builders; it’s planning as well. That will need regulation change – which is a long job. But we homeowners and you builders are on the front line – so it’s up to us. If we work together surely we could create some really exciting change?
We want informed, trustworthy builders. You want informed, reliable customers.
