23/05/2013 Struggling to secure finance for your dream home?

Are you a self builder who is struggling to secure the money to fund your dream home?

Well according to a report by Lloyds Banking Group and The University of York, you are not alone! Planning permission and access to land may have eased but what use is that if you don't have the money to fund it!

According to the report, lenders are backing away from the Self Build market due to the financial crisis we've been experiencing - lending to this market fell from £2.63bn in 2007 to £790m in 2011! You are probably thinking is there any hope? Well there is...

Housing minister Mark Prisk is very postive about the future of this market he states " it is not that long ago when there were between 10 and 12 building societies and lenders in this market. There are presently around 25 lenders now which is encouraging and the Datamonitor evidence suggests this is a lending market with the potential to grow by 140%."

Thanks to this report, Lloyds Banking Group mortgage director Stephen Noakes said that they are hoping to increase their lending criteria to make funds more available.

So it's not all doom and gloom, the future for you self builders out there is looking promising..

16/05/2013 Cut your bills by up to 90% - Passivhaus

Passivhaus simply translate from it's original German to Passive House. There are so many benefits to this standard, the main one being the dramatic decrease you would experience in your heating bills, homeowner have experienced a decrease by as much of 90%! This is mainly due to the high level of insulation and airtightness reducing the energy needed for heating and cooling, saving homeowners hundreds of pounds a year.

Passivhaus is ideal for self builders designing their dream home, it is not suitable for all houses as some existing buildings don't allow for the alterations needed.

Heat Recovery Ventilation and triple glazing are two of the many energy saving methods that meet the Passivhaus standard.

If you would like to know how Heat Recovery Ventilation can help you achieve Passihaus standard, contact one of our experts.

08/05/2013 National Self Build Week

For all you budding Self Builders out there, there is now a National Self Build week which has just been launched! It runs from 4-12 May and there is a wide range of events which aims to help millions of self builders with their projects.

The organisors are Grand Design live and National Self Build Association, businesses across the sector will be supporting the week by arranging special events. This Week will help explain how to get your project underway and provide practical advice.

To celebrate National Self Build week the Guardian are asking any self builders out there to send in their projects and they will publish the best designs. So get your homes sent in and you could see it featured!

Building a home yourself means you really do end up with the home you want and it's often cheaper! Self builders usually make their homes greener by including features such as Heat Recovery Ventilation, solar panels, ground to air heat exchangers, cavity wall or loft insulation - to name a few. It's a surprise then that less than 10% of new homes in the UK are Self Builds compared to 50% in other EU countries. It is hoped that this Week will help thousands of people get their builds started and hopefully see an increase in projects this time next year!

We wish everyone luck with their self build projects and happy 1st National Self Build Week.

05/04/13 - Retailer turns green with Heat Recovery!

It’s easy to think that Heat Recovery Ventilation Systems are the domain of the self-builder or developer. Here at ADM we’re always on the lookout for successful commercial applications for energy saving ventilation technology.

We were delighted to read that here in our own county of Yorkshire, one of the region’s best known furniture retailers, Barker and Stonehouse have taken the plunge. With an investment of £4m the new flagship store in Knaresborough is claiming it to be the greenest furniture store in the UK.

Twelve highly-skilled Yorkshire craftsmen spent six months on the new 35,000 sq ft store, in addition to range of local companies. And the interesting features of the Knaresborough store, which attracted a top BREEAM rating, are not just on the inside - the glass and steel structure is topped with a ‘living roof’ which will soon be home to healthy vegetation, with the aim of attracting insects and wildlife.  

Other sustainable features include natural ventilation with an innovative heat recovery system, low-energy heating and a unique eco-friendly lighting system designed by Barker and Stonehouse.

Managing director James Barker said: “We are always striving to introduce and invest in the latest innovations. The new Knaresborough store is an example of this and will result in an improved customer experience. “Customers told us they wanted more responsible retailing and we’ve invested heavily to meet this demand.”

We say “Bravo!” to Barker and Stonehouse, and wish them well! 

If you have a project that could benefit from heat recovery ventilation or assistance with energy savings or sustainability, please contact us.