Archive for the ‘Wales’ Category
Sunday, June 6th, 2010
Family Home, Swansea. 3 bedrooms + detached garage & garden room [238m2 total floor area]
Floor plans [click to enlarge]
Designs are just complete and planning application submitted for this new house. The development site has been created by subdividing a large area of unused and overgrown land from an existing residential property. The site is South facing and inclined with lovely distant views which drove the design process towards passive solar layouts and larger openings facing South. (more…)
Tags: gower, green, house.new.build, materials, work in progress
Posted in Building Design, Wales, design & orientation, green, heating, plumbing & electric, materials, swansea & gower, work in progress | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
For better or worse, the boiler scrappage scheme is now in Wales:
“We have allocated £2.5 million to the boiler scrappage scheme for 2010/11.
Up to 5,000 Welsh households could benefit from increased energy efficiency of their heating systems because of the scheme.
The Welsh boiler scrappage scheme will be launched 6 April 2010.Then the scheme will be open to applications from homeowners over the age of 60. Successful applicants will be offered a voucher worth £500 which can be used to help replace G-rated boilers with A-rated boilers.
The boiler scrappage scheme will be managed alongside our Home Energy Efficiency Scheme by Eaga Cymru.
How do I apply?
After 6 April, you can apply by:
Telephone: 0800 316 2816 or
Visit:
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/environmentcountryside/energy/efficiency/boilerscheme/;jsessionid=TDqdL0ZWNQkVlTLLJFMyShwCZtnfG5M8vwXbZnJnJTFZSGtDhb2r!-1614394458?lang=en
http://www.heeswales.co.uk/
Successful applicants will be sent a voucher worth £500. The voucher then needs to be presented to an installer registered with the scheme who would install the replacement boiler.
If you are eligible for this scheme, you may also be able to benefit from additional discounts offered by British Gas, Eaga Heat, npower and Scottish & Southern Energy. For more information on these discounts, please contact the relevant energy provider.
Posted in Building Design, Energy Saving Refurbishment, Uncategorized, Wales, about Neil & NASA, costs, heating, plumbing & electric, top tips | No Comments »
Sunday, April 25th, 2010
We’re signed up for Architect in the House again.
For a minimum donation of £40 to SHELTER, the housing & homelessness charity, you’ll get a ‘brainstorming’ session to find or refine design ideas for your home - new kitchen / diner, extra bedroom, energy saving refurb…
The link at the bottom of the page goes to the website to find out more.
Posted in Business, Uncategorized, employing an architect / builder, swansea & gower | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Speculative Luxury Housing Development. Draethen, Nr Caerphilly.
3 no. 5 bedroom houses [320 m2 per unit].
I was employed by local first-time developers to prepare designs for a redevelopment site owned by their family. The land comprised of a pair of small disused quarries containing disused commercial kennels. The site is on the outskirts of the picturesque village in which they live, with fabulous elevated panoramic views over the Rhymney valley landscape below.
The developers carried out all negotiations with the planning authority themselves and secured the necessary conservation area consent and development approval. My involvement in this project was purely office based; I prepared drawings for (more…)
Tags: built work, house.new.build
Posted in Wales, built work | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Self Build Family Home. Rogerstone, Nr Newport.
5 bedrooms [330 m2].
I was asked to design a new family home for a client that I had previously worked for doing a factory extension in Caerphilly. The scheme involved the demolition and replacement of a pair of attached semi-derelict cottages in a wonderful rural setting near Rogerstone. The site sits atop the mountain ridge with the Sirhowy valley one side and panoramic views of the open countryside to Newport and hills towards Cwmbran on the other. (more…)
Tags: built work, house.new.build
Posted in Wales, built work | No Comments »
Monday, January 18th, 2010
You may have heard ‘boiler scrappage’ in the national news recently, offering £400 grants to homeowners towards replacing old & inefficient boilers, but what’s not immediately clear is this cash is available in England only. Wales are set to receive £4m funding from Westminster and are considering a similar scheme, but details have yet to be agreed. WAG environment minister Jane Davidson said they are “…considering introducing a similar scheme in Wales … taking into consideration the impact on those in fuel poverty, the relative carbon savings and value for money.” If this statement is worked through and grants are actually distributed to those most in need [i.e. those in 'fuel poverty' [fuel poverty = households spending >10% of income on fuel to heat their home to 18-21degC]], rather than the less tangible aim of CO2 reduction, then great, send money where it does most good & reduce emissions in the process. It also ties in well the existing homeowner grant scheme in Wales -
HEES [Home Energy Efficiency Scheme]
http://www.heeswales.co.uk/
(more…)
Tags: green
Posted in Building Design, Energy Saving Refurbishment, Wales, about Neil & NASA, costs, green, heating, plumbing & electric, top tips | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
arty pics of grass fires at dusk on cefn bryn / 26 Feb 2009
Tags: gower, photography
Posted in photography, swansea & gower | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
11 March 2008. 20+ ft wave buoys + big offshore
Tags: gower, photography, surf
Posted in photography, surf, swansea & gower | No Comments »
Monday, January 4th, 2010
Taking the plunge… playing with the software… first posts SOON…
after a couple of years of web holding pages this is finally it, live website V.1. The layout will probably morph a little as I learn the ropes…stay tuned!
Posted in Building Design, Business, Clippings, Energy Saving Refurbishment, NASA Work Portfolio, Uncategorized, Wales, about Neil & NASA, art & design, buildings, built work, costs, design & orientation, employing an architect / builder, green, heating, plumbing & electric, landscape, materials, swansea & gower, top tips, work in progress | No Comments »
