The importance of sustainability and localisation in building projects.
All building projects have an environmental impact, and we strive to minimise ours as much as possible.
We believe that sustainability and localisation should be at the forefront of everything we do, and so we approach all aspects of our building projects with these aims in mind:
- Energy – solutions must be eco-friendly wherever practical
- Materials – should be sourced as locally as possible
- Waste – should be kept to a minimum
- Longevity – structures should be built to last
Here are some examples of how we do this:
All of our sweet chestnut posts come from a local coppice in Essex; we go and pick exactly what we need for each project, then debark them and take them back to our own woodland framing bed to hand cut the notches.
All of our waney planks come from the Rougham Estate, where they are felled, milled and seasoned. Most customers want straight planks but they know we like the ones with the most character, so they mill the most curvy, knotty, beautiful boards especially for us.
For roofing, our favourite option is to use English larch shingles; again we work closely with the local mill so they are made from local materials and to our exact specifications.
Of course, monitoring and lessening our environmental impact is an ongoing job (we look forward to switching to electric vehicles as soon as they’re ready), as we continue to grow a sustainable building practice that is truly grounded in our locality.