Tips on building orientation in choosing and developing a building plot

It seems obvious, but it is sadly often too true that new homeowners make some classic mistakes when orienting their new luxury home within their building plot or in choosing a building plot which offers the essentials for good orientation.  In particular it is vital to think carefully about building orientation and energy consumption when building your new home.

Building orientation is important in reducing energy consumption and keeping the interior temperature comfortable.  When designing and siting your new home within your building plot, it is necessary to think about using the sun to your advantage.  As we all know, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and is higher in the summer sky and lower in the winter sky.  Therefore the orientation of the whole building should be planned and constructed to capture free heat in the winter and minimise too much heat in the summer.  Since you live in your home through summer and winter, you should design it for the entire year. The ideal house orientation is that the main long axis (the ridge line) of the building runs from east to west. It is generally agreed that you can move this orientation  by as much as 20 degrees without ill effect, but that the most glass finishes on the building should face towards the sun.

When choosing a plot or deciding the building orientation of your new home within a plot it is important to take into account the location of landscape features on the building plot, for example trees and walls, which may impact on how you harness the sun for your home. Ideally you do not want landscape features blocking the sunlight as the sun tracks across the sky.

When planning your building, think about where to locate your living areas.  The rooms most used must be on the side of the house orientated towards the sun, i.e. the kitchen, lounge, dining etc. The least used rooms such as garage, laundry etc will be on the more shaded side of the house.  These shaded rooms can also act as additional thermal mass, if properly insulated. (Thermal Mass is material that absorbs heat from a heat source, and then releases it slowly  - such as concrete or bricks).  Thinking through how your home will relate to your garden is also vital, providing sun-filled sheltered areas adjacent to house interiors to allow seamless indoor/outdoor living spaces.

When buying a building plot and planning and designing your new home, a sustainable, whole house approach to design and construction is essential.  For more information on passive solar design click here>

Location is more than spectacular views (although we have those too!)

It will seem an obvious point, but if you talk to any experienced professional in the property sector you’ll always hear the following three words as the most important criteria for buying and selling a home: location, location, location.  When investing in a bespoke luxury property this is even more vital, but it is not always easy to find plots in the ideal location.  We continually research the best locations for our clients which is much more complex than simply providing spectacular views .   Ultimately the location you choose for your home will not only have the greatest impact on its value within the market, but also the pleasure and convenience of living in the best location for you.   You can always change what’s inside your home but you can never change what’s outside of it.  Finding the correct location for your new home will affect both its future value and the pleasure that you have in living there.

Finding top quality locations is very much the key to our success for both our developments and bespoke homes and we have a set of criteria which we follow. Our main aim is to identify beautiful country locations which are also within easy reach of major cities and transport links, allowing the best of both worlds. Being close to a main road and rail artery or an airport can have far reaching consequences for the value of your home as well as the convenience and pleasure of a relaxed lifestyle.  We identify thriving village communities which can offer many lifestyle benefits including speciality shopping and eating out, outdoor recreation, community activities and nature and wildlife.  Other more practical aspects include local facilities such as health centres and schools.

A further vital aspect of location is the position of the building plot within the neighbourhood or community.  Whether the site is within or on the edge of a town or village, the surrounding landscape, the views on offer and the orientation of the building to the sun are also vital considerations.

Working with architects and other professionals, Richmond Homes has identified some excellent sites for bespoke homes in Fife and Perthshire, click here for more details>.  We are currently in the process of finalising new development sites south of Edinburgh so please let us know  if you would like to be kept up-to-date.

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.