Local collaboration is the key to a sustainable luxury home

In the 40 years since Richmond Homes first started out building luxury homes, our long-term partnerships with specialists in the building trade have been crucial to delivering top quality homes for our clients. The companies we work with have the high level of expertise, reliability, innovation and professionalism which we need for our projects.

A new and exciting development in the building industry is in “green” energy and sustainability. Ecological solutions for environmentally-friendly living are becoming increasingly important to our customers and our partnerships with local specialist firms help us to deliver high quality energy efficient homes for them.

One of our long-standing partnerships is with Rob Roy Homes, a timber frame manufacturer based in Perthshire. Rob Roy Homes were established in 1974 supplying top quality timber frames for self builds and commercial use.  Since then they have developed a strong “green” focus, using sustainable timber to create energy efficient frames for homes. Rob Roy’s excellent timber frames essentially form the backbone of a new home, from the inside and outside, providing the structural support for all the essential building elements that follow. The company has developed an innovative high performance insulation system named ULTRAwarm thermal and acoustic performance specification.  Their enthusiasm, expertise and high quality product is the reason we return to them time and time again when building a new Richmond Home.

Another valued partnership is with Glendevon Energy, based in Kinross, a key provider of micro-renewables in Scotland for Richmond Homes. Hugh Wallace and Jamie Adams of Glendevon have a proven track record of excellence in their field, supplying, installing and servicing biomass, solar and heat pump systems. Their technical knowledge of eco-energy solutions is of the highest standard, and the company can design systems which are tailor-made to customer’s requirements. Richmond Homes owners benefit from low carbon luxury living, resulting in a reduced impact on the environment and lower home running costs, two factors that are important to our customers.

Working with excellent local companies like these, we are able to provide sustainable luxury homes for our clients. Together we deliver a top quality home that will withstand the test of time, respect the local environment and meet the individual needs and desires of our customers.

Premier Guarantee Excellence Awards

Premier Guarantee is one of the UK's leading providers of Structural Warranty and Insurance Services, having now arranged cover for over quarter of a million housing units across the UK and Europe.  Every year the company also highlights excellence within the building industry looking for the buildings that go above and beyond what is expected. The Premier Guarantee Excellence Awards scheme has been designed to recognise the UK's best developments covered by their a Premier Guarantee schemes and reward the highest quality projects with the credit they deserve. The Excellence Award covers building projects from single units, to all sizes of housing developments through to commercial projects and multi-story buildings.

What is particularly valued by ourselves and others in the industry is that you cant apply for a Premier Guarantee Excellence Award, you have to be nominated by their surveyors.

So we are delighted to be nominated for our individual bespoke house in North Berwick, currently nearing completion.  We are in competition with one other Scottish house-builder and ten based in England, but are hopeful that we can get through the next three stages of judging to make the final.  We were very pleased to win an Award for Small Development of the Year in 2012, beating 34 other shortlisted developments throughout the UK.

Elbow grease and expertise - Richmond Homes gives CHAS fundraising office a facelift

Last month we received a DIY SOS from the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland’s fundraising office in Kinross. Their front garden and office entrance was on its last legs and needed one big makeover.

Never one to turn down a challenge, Bill Bonnar, our Construction Manager, surveyed the damage and set a four-day target to get the job done, organizing machinery and enlisting an army of skilled labour made up of Richmond Homes colleagues and local business associates.

With news of blizzards and artic conditions on the way, the undeterred construction team got cracking. Everyone had a clear role - we were in charge of coordinating and supplying the labour and machinery to create the new garden, front fence and rebuilding of the wall at the entrance of the building to give wider access. Bill approached Purvis Plant Hire at Lochgelly to supply the machinery for the work, to which they kindly agreed and Realm Construction, who are part of the Purvis Group, provided the manpower to create the mono-block design of the project. Fife based Beatsons Building Supplies, long-term supporters of CHAS, provided the stylish design and the materials along with Long Rake Spar, Kilsarn Paving, Pattersons of Greenoakhill Limited and Hanson Cement. Scotwaste supplied a skip for removal spoil that had to go off site, and Scotloo loaned a very handy and much needed portable toilet. Finally, Bill also contacted Scott and Simpson Painters in Glenrothes to re-paint the front of the building.

Richmond Homes first got on board with CHAS back in 2012 when we visited their hospice, Rachel House at Kinross. It’s a truly inspiring place and a vital resource for children and teenagers with life-shortening illnesses and their families who need much care and support. Children’s Hospice Association Scotland is the only charity in Scotland that provides hospice services for children and young people with these conditions. Their office on the High Street in Kinross does much valuable work to raise funds for the charity to support over 300 families across their two hospices at Kinross and Balloch, as well as their homecare service.

A whole lot of elbow grease and expertise later, Bill and the team hit their target of completing the job in four days. The end result is one happy fundraising office with a streamlined, tidy and professional looking front garden entrance. It’s now much easier to get into their office with offers of funds and support for their very important work – what’s stopping you?

Further evidence on the energy efficiency of new-build homes.

Everyone agrees that new-build homes are more energy efficient, but what does this actually mean in terms of saving money on energy bills?

 

Following its UK-wide research project into consumer attitudes towards zero carbon homes, the NHBC Foundation has worked with the Zero Carbon Hub to chart the energy savings that could potentially be achieved by living in different types of energy efficient new homes.  The research found that energy efficient homes could cut annual bills in half.

 

• New homes built to current regulations could cost 55% less to run than typical 'upgraded' Victorian homes
• Homes built from 2016 could save even more and be 79% cheaper to run

Luxury living does not have to cost the earth

A new demonstration house that showcases state-of-the-art energy efficiency and recycling has been built on the BRE Innovation Park at Ravenscraig in Lanarkshire. The three-bedroom house is one of the first projects of the Scottish government’s Resource Efficient Scotland programme, managed by Zero Waste Scotland, and built in partnership with Tigh Grian.

Richmond Homes wins a coveted Herald Property Award 2013 for 'Best Family Home'

We’re delighted to be the recipients of a Herald Property Award 2013 for our bespoke family home at St Andrews in East Fife. The five-bedroom house named ‘Auld Lang Syne’ won ‘Best Family Home’ with the judges describing it as “a beautifully spacious and unique property set in a fantastic location”.

A Return To Traditional Building Materials and the Eco-Revolution

A report this month by a Washington based market research consultancy predicts that the global market for green construction materials will more than double by the year 2020. Navigant Research provides in-depth analysis of global clean technology markets. Their latest study points to a buoyant green buildings market that, despite the recession and general worldwide property downturn of the last few years, remains strong.