Welcome To Cotswold Eco Build

Welcome to Cotswold Eco Build, and to my very first blog post! A few years ago, I bought a cottage in a Cotswold village, with the plan to make it as eco as possible. As this project got bigger, more and more people became interested in what I was doing. I decided to keep a record of my build – and so this blog was born.

Lots of people ask about how much it is possible to do to an existing building to make it much more energy efficient. Many are also keen to learn what can be done in their own homes to make them more eco. I’ll do my best to answer those questions throughout this blog. I haven’t got everything right, but my mistakes can be your guide – you can learn what to do and also what not to do!
It all began while I was living and working in London, getting tired of living in a crowded city. I also had  a growing interest in all things eco. I was aware of all kinds of building techniques, such as strawbale and earthships, that were able to produce buildings that needed no source of heating whatsoever! Now that is truly eco!

At first I wondered what I could do to eco up my city flat. Compared to a lot of buildings mine had a lot going for it; it was a big old terraced Victorian building, separated into flats. I had noticed that when it began to get cold outside in the winter, I didn’t need the heating on at first. The terrace of houses kept each other warm.

However, I wanted to go further with creating an environmentally friendly home and decided to move. It was quite a challenge to find the right house, and at a price that was affordable.

It turns out London is the third most expensive place in the world to buy a property, behind only Hong Kong and Monaco. You’ll notice this blog isn’t called London Eco Build, but Cotswold Eco Build – and yes, moving to the country. So adjusting to that is another challenge I faced.

When we were in the planning stages, the architect and builder told me that the best thing was for me to move out of the house (yes, I was living in it in this dilapidated condition). With me out, they could gut the place and then make a plan from there – that was scary!

Right now my house has had its insides ripped out, and is all ready to go back together again. But airtight and thermally efficient. (I am learning a lot of new words on this journey, like thermally efficient).

It’s hard to believe, looking back at these photos, just how terrible the house was. Before we started I was living in it like that!

I hope you’ll feel as excited as I do about this project. We will move through the stages of what is happening on my building site. Also look at linked subjects that will interest you – like amazing eco builds I have visited. We used some astonishing products to rebuild my shell of a house!

I plan to publish a post filled with useful information every two weeks. The next post will explain how to buy a suitable house for Eco Renovation. But you don’t have to wait that long – if you subscribe to receive updates you will get a cool free PDF booklet packed with tips for you to easily make your home more eco right now, whilst also saving you money!

I’d love to hear from you. If you have any questions about my build or about Eco homes, let me know in the comments. I’ll do my best to answer them in future posts. Meantime, do please sign up for this free PDF packed with Eco-tips for your home.