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Sussex skyline at sunset
One of the really fun parts of building our house has been thinking up names for the new dwelling. The list was long and occasionally quirky, but after much deliberation we decided on ‘Sky House Sussex’…and with good reason, we think. We hope you’re as inspired as we are by these beautiful Sussex sunsets looking […]
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The house came tumbling down…BEWARE!
A word of caution if you’re considering demolishing a building: it seems many demolition companies are a law unto themselves. Some of the renegade activities of the team that we enlisted included unwarranted burning, breaking glass without needing to, polluting perfectly good topsoil with glass shards, and tearing down exterior walls ahead of receiving permission […]
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Wrecking ball required?
Ever since the infamous Miley Cyrus made smashed-up plaster and wrecking balls look so sexy, we were just ITCHING to start demolishing the tired, energy-wasteful bungalow on the Sky House Sussex plot to make way for the next phase of excavation and ground-works. We wanted the demolition to be as green as possible – so […]
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MPAN, FIT…all dogged by delays
The interminable delays to get the utilities disconnected before demolition were enough to send anyone barking mad. Why does it seem the left hand never communicates with the right at the big utility companies? We spent hours and hours on the telephone trying to explain our requirements for temporary builders supply of electricity and disconnection […]
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Future view revealed
Tantalisingly, the view from the Sky House Sussex plot has started to reveal itself. As the bungalow is picked apart by the demolition team, a glorious view of Lewes and the Sussex Downs peeks through the ribs of the roof. We’ve waited nearly three years to expose the view. This is a special spot on […]
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The HIGHS and lows of demolition
It was hard to resist the urge to rename our project ‘Breaking Bad in Lewes’ when we discovered lots of hypodermic needles and other dubious paraphernalia on the demolition site. Our suspicions were confirmed one evening when, under the cover of darkness, we spotted flickering lights inside the semi-wrecked bungalow which turned out to be a bunch […]
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Clean, green choices for hardscaping?
Here’s an example of the dilemmas we face when thinking about Which Way is Green? : which material to use for hardscaping the garden and areas outside Sky House Sussex? Most people would say concrete is not environmentally friendly. Of all the building materials it has by far the highest embodied energy and the lowest […]
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Does the perfect man exist?
In looking for a Project Manager for the ground works phase of our build, we wondered ‘Does the perfect man exist out there?’ We knew that the Project Manager would be a critical lynch pin in the whole operation, so making the right choice really counted here. What essential qualities should we look for? It’s […]
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Eco houses: from sceptic to convert
By Sophie Isachsen, Business Manager at Sky House Sussex, working with owner Amy Burgess: As a dyed in the wool lover of old, characterful (leaky, creaky) brick-built Victorian and Edwardian houses, I was sceptical when my Scandinavian husband suggested we build a brand new timber framed eco house. It took a huge leap of faith […]