WESTCOAST SWEDISH COMPOSITE WINDOWS HELP TO CREATE A STYLISH HOME WORTHY OF PASSIVE HOUSE STANDARDS
Westcoast authorised distributor, Aluminium Clad Windows, were pleased to supply and install the high performance, energy efficient triple-glazed composite windows for this unique bespoke home in the Suffolk countryside.
Nestled in the West Suffolk countryside, hidden from all view of the main road, is a gem of a home, created by the clients and their family.
The house was built by the client and her brother. Neither of them a builder by trade, they learnt on the job and only brought in additional labour when certification was required for areas such as plumbing, electrics, windows and the kitchen.
The house was a real labour of love for them as there are approximately 14,000 western red cedar shingles, all needing two nails each and nailed by hand.
The beauty and uniqueness of the build is achieved not only thorough the vision of the client and architect (Matt Plummer at Cocoon Architects based in Ely), but through their thoughtfully considered and carefully selected choice of mainly locally-sourced materials.
Apart from the shingles which arrived by boat from Canada, and the insulated panels for the frame from Frame Technologies in Wales – every product used in the actual build was sourced from either Suffolk or Cambridgeshire and any additional trades were local.
The wooden floors and staircase are ash and sycamore from a local timber merchants, Sutton Timber in Sotterly, Suffolk, and all the wood used for the pergola is from the nearby Suffolk Timber Supplies.
The wood for the cedar window surrounds and the sycamore for the kitchen were sourced at the annual Ickworth House National Trust Wood Fair and air dried in their garage for 2 years.
With the open-plan layout the kitchen was a pivotal element of the interior design. This fell to the client’s son-in-law, Valentin Chardome of Chardome Bespoke Furniture in Burwell. The kitchen was hand-crafted using some of the Ickworth House timber, with one long piece making up the drawer fronts and the painted areas colour-matched from a favourite cushion cover.
The home was designed and built with energy efficiency in mind. The house has no source of heating installed, with a mechanical heat recovery system for ventilation and hot water via a cylinder with an inbuilt air source heat pump system. By utilising high levels of insulation and energy efficient materials, such as Westcoast triple-glazed aluminium timber composite windows, the house has achieved an air test of 0.9 ACH without passive house certification.
With the addition of the external solar shading, the house is now able to maintain an internal temperature mostly between 18 – 25°C all year round. The environmental credentials of the home are further enhanced with over 40 newly-planted trees in the garden and the addition of a wildlife pond.
Westcoast Design 48mm triple-glazed aluminium timber composite windows are ideal for contemporary homes, with a deeper glass unit for maximum light, a flush finish and simple, elegant lines.
The larger glass cavity increases the window’s thermal performance, giving you a U-value of 1.0 W/m2k for opening and 0.9 W/m2k for fixed windows.
The house is fitted with 3 large sets of Westcoast lift & slide composite sliding doors (SDA) which allow easy access to the outside terrace and garden. Other products used are the popular top hung reversible window (TSG180), the side hung projecting window (SSG90), fixed lights (FKG) and the single terrace/patio door (FDG) with timber threshold. The composite window installation achieves an overall average of U-value 0.98 W/m2k including the window construction.
The external low maintenance aluminium was finished RAL 7033 30% gloss Cement Grey to compliment the Canadian shingles and natural surroundings.
The warm wood interior was also finished in RAL 7033 Cement Grey, which is actually more of an olive green and compliments the client’s beautiful and eclectic interior design style, using many natural materials.
Find out more about Westcoast Design triple-glazed composite windows in STYLE & OPTIONS and read other inspiring self-build stories in our COMPOSITE WINDOWS CASE STUDIES.
Aluminium Clad Windows are an authorised distributor of Westcoast products, based in Norfolk and covering East Anglia and beyond.
aluminiumcladwindows.co.uk
Tel: 01379 608 667
sales@timberwindowsnorfolk.co.uk
Photography and video shot with kind permission of the clients.
Photographs & video: Paul Cook Film
Matt Plummer at Cocoon Architects
To discuss Westcoast composite windows for your next project, contact our UK-based team on 01359 241944 or email info@westcoastwindows.com.
