The Marchwood Project

Objective as at 5th March 2007 and progress to 25 July 2009

We purchased Marchwood 3 weeks ago as it has attractive views over Otmoor to the East of Oxford. It was built in the 1970’s and extended soon afterwards on the ground floor only. This means the upstairs 3 bedrooms totalling 27 sq metres are small compared with the room areas of 56 sq metres downstairs. The aging flat roof and the old oil fired boiler suggest substantial refurbishment and extension of the first floor may be economic. A second floor will be considered.

Climate change is an important factor in our wishing to undertake this challenge. It is our intention to make the property a demonstration house for eco-refurbishment. The factors as we see them are:-

1. Climate Change is the most important factor affecting our grandchildren and the whole human race and is being inadequately addressed by governments.

2. Current building regulations will be progressively tightened but we need examples of the costs of implementation of much tougher standards.

3. Demonstrators are needed to inform the private housing market regarding the possibilities and costs.

4. Payback at current energy costs is not important, but changes as a whole should be recoverable on sale of the property in say 5 years time as energy costs will have risen.

We are pensioners with low income and some capital so we see this as a modest earner of revenue from:-

1. A book describing the steps we have taken. Please follow the chapters as they unfold

2. Establishing a network of similar demonstration houses

3. Fees from viewings of the property

4. Commission where a sale results

5. Information events to over 60’s age group through U3A and Age Concern contacts

6. Manning exhibition stands for suppliers

7. Eventual sale of property

Read more in Why we are Doing It updated to July 2009.

Read or download the full Marchwood Ecohouse Diary.doc 17MB with illustrations

As the Wiki format does not lend itself to writing a book (and I have lost the lot once) I will break the remainder of the diary into chapters on separate Wiki pages.

Chapter 1 Existing Building and First Plans

Chapter 2 What kind of Building ?

Chapter 3 Will it suit the village ?