Birmingham firm delivers green refurb to eco couple

Frank Haslam Milan (FHM) West Midlands, one of the country’s leading specialists in eco-refurbishment and community regeneration, has delivered a whole home green refurbishment to a lucky couple.

The Coleshill-based firm, which forms part of the Keepmoat group of companies, handed over the keys to the new eco property much to the delight of William Homoky, 29, and Catherine Beswick, 25, on Friday.

William and Catherine, who live in Bristol, were crowned the winners of a national competition aimed at reducing carbon emissions and giving their home an eco makeover. Now, FHM hopes the eco refurb will lead to an expansion of refurbishment work into the South West.

As part of the competition, FHM delivered a £21, 580 energy refurb to the couple’s three bedroom Victorian property over a four week period in February. The package of work includes the installation of solar photovoltaic panels, chimney balloons, loft insulation and a voltage reduction device.

The programme of works is now complete and will reduce the couple’s carbon emissions by up to 70 percent.

Keepmoat became involved with the project through their sponsorship of TV’s Grand Designs’ Great British Refurb Campaign, backed by presenter Kevin McCloud in October last year.

The eco refurb has boosted the value of the house significantly since the work was carried out from £195,000 to £220,000.

FHM’s Site Foreman Adam Waterson said: “This has been a fantastic project to work on, as it has involved everything from kitchen fitting to wall insulation and the installation of solar panels.

“The work has made a huge difference when you compare what the house looked like before and it will go a long way towards helping the winning couple cut down on their carbon emissions and household bills. It’s a fantastic example of what FHM can achieve when it comes to eco refurbishments and how quickly we can turn the work round.”

With UK homes responsible for 27 percent of the UK’s carbon emissions, the Great British Refurb Campaign aims to reduce the production of greenhouse gases that lead to climate change and will help meet Government targets of reducing carbon emissions by 34 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.

Similarly, a national 10:10 campaign was launched in September last year to cut UK carbon emissions by 10 percent in 2010.

The national eco competition to transform William and Catherine’s home was set up by the Great British Refurb Campaign in partnership with 10:10 and attracted over 8,000 entries.

Now, William is scheduled to speak about his success at Ecobuild on Wednesday, March 3 (Refurbishment begins at home) alongside Colin Butfield, Head of Campaigns, WWF-UK, and Grand Designs’ Great British Refurb Campaign Partner, and Professor Chris Bovis, Keepmoat’s Director of Corporate Governance.

William, who used to rent a small flat with Catherine before moving into their first home in September last year, describes winning the competition as “simply amazing.”

The couple’s home was one of five in the shortlist, which included a four bed detached new build house in Southend, a four bed detached 1960s house in Warrington, a three bed 1950s semi in Bristol and a two bed Victorian terrace in Macclesfield. As part of the competition, all five properties had an energy survey carried out by Keepmoat’s energy consultant AECOM.

Knauf, one of Europe’s leading building materials manufacturers, have demonstrated their support by providing insulation and Solarcentury are installing the pv panels.

William said: “Signing up to the 10:10 campaign was an opportunity to register our ongoing commitment to reducing our environmental impact and it was through the 10:10 website that we entered the Great British Refurb competition.

“It’s simply amazing to have won the energy make over, we are incredibly grateful.

“When you think about the investment that’s been made it would probably have taken years for us to achieve it on our own.

“Our home is now a fine eco example, having been given an expert make over using cutting edge technology. I’m particularly delighted with the installation of solar panel technology on the roof due to the financial savings that should bring us.”

Catherine, an Environmental Consultant and her partner William were already conscious of their carbon footprint and have furniture largely recycled from family and relatives or made from reclaimed wood.

“One of the key attractions of the property was that it was well located for public transport links, so after we moved in we got rid of one of our cars, as we mostly cycled in the city anyway, “ said William, who is completing a PHD in Ocean and Earth Science.

“It was a step in the right direction.”

Catherine said: “I found out about the competition by going on the 10:10 website which I visited because I was very interested in the campaign.

“I’ve been interested in the environment from a young age and how our actions can have a direct impact on the wider environment. I’m so pleased with the results as the eco measures have surpassed our expectations and have accommodated all our needs. The workmanship delivered by FHM under Keepmoat has been superb, they’ve done an excellent job and were very polite and professional.”

Catherine’s mother Deborah Beswick added: “I tried to get Catherine interested in the environment from an early age and I think that comes from being in the post war generation, where waste was frowned upon.

“I got upset when the throw away, consumer society crept in, so as a family we’ve always done our best to recycle and carry out things like composting to reduce the amount of waste we produce.

“I think the work they’ve done on the house is fantastic, I’ll be putting an offer in if they ever put the house up for sale!”

The following is a list of eco improvements which will be introduced in William and Catherine’s home:

• Installation of solar photovoltaic panels £12,250
• Internal wall insulation £3,750
• Under floor insulation £950
• Major draft excluding £40
• Loft insulation £200
• Install loft hatch insulation £10
• Install energy monitoring device £25
• Install insulation jacket to cylinder £20
• Voltage reduction device £250
• Change shower head to aerated shower head £30
• Bye Bye standby plugs £40
• Install insulation to party wall cavity £300
• Change bath to reduced water bath £625
• Replace existing glass with upgraded double glazing £950
• Change taps to klick-tap - will reduce hotwater usage £320
• Install new external doors £1,500
• Supply of eco kettle £30
• Chimney balloons £40
• Install load compensator heating controller £250

Total Cost £21,580