Dreaming big in England’s smallest county
When June Titterton-Fox first decided to keep a few sheep, she could not have envisioned that this choice would eventually lead her, more than two decades later, to build her own eco-friendly home, now also surrounded by her own collection of rare-breed pigs, sheep, and cattle.
Specialist contractor: Aumaxum Limited
Architect: John Dickie Associates
Schüco products: ASE 80 HI lift-and-slide doors, ADS 75 SI doors, AWS 70 SC windows
Picture credit: TBC
Hobby farmer June and her husband live in a small village in Rutland. When the couple had the opportunity to purchase six acres of land to support their expanding livestock numbers the idea of building a new home closer to their animals began to take shape.
Their new home, a single-story earth-sheltered style house, will be covered with grass to blend seamlessly into the natural environment. It will be a low-carbon dwelling, equipped with a ground-source heat pump and solar panels, and it will feature its own borehole for water access.
Large triple glazed Schüco lift-and-slide doors on the front of the house will keep the home airtight and thermally efficient while providing views out over the farmland. To the rear of the house a bespoke Schüco aluminium front door with feature LED strip lighting will give access from a sheltered courtyard, while a row of Schüco windows will bring in the morning sun.
June’s current home is on the other side of a busy road from the land where the animals live which was the main reason for building the new house. She explains: “I do all the work on the farm but my neighbours get to enjoy all the views of the animals. I wanted to be able to look out of my windows and see the animals, and also be on hand for lambing season – or to spot if the pigs escape and wander off down the lane again!”
A spell on crutches for June, which made navigating stairs difficult, also played a crucial role in the decision-making process, prompting the couple to consider their needs in the future.
June explains
“This will be our forever home so we wanted it to be futureproof. You don’t know what life’s going to throw at you so the house is designed to be wheelchair-friendly in case we should have mobility problems as we get older. The house is all on one level with wide doorways and the sliding doors have level thresholds for easy access to the outdoors. The house will also be extremely energy efficient so we won’t have big energy bills to worry about.”
For June, one of the most important parts of the house to get right was the windows and doors. Her builder, Steve Mellows recommended Schüco systems. June comments: “Steve has Schüco doors and windows in his own home. His advice was to not compromise on the glazing systems but to go for the best on the market. There’s so much glass in our house that if we weren’t happy with the doors or windows we’d notice it every time we looked out of them.”
June and her husband were already familiar with the Schüco brand having come across it in magazines and Steve’s recommendation cemented their decision. The couple went along to a Grand Designs roadshow at the Schüco Milton Keynes showroom to see the full range of products for themselves and to ask advice. They were particularly impressed with how easy the large sliding doors were to open and close, and June fell in love with the aluminium front door on display which she subsequently commissioned for her own home.
Grand Design Road Show
It was at the Grand Designs event that June was introduced to Hershika Kerai, General Manager of AumAxum Limited. The London based fabricator has been a Schüco partner for 13 years.
Hershika recalls: “June showed me her plans for the house and explained that she was looking for Schüco systems with slim sightlines and high thermal efficiency. We have experience of working on highly energy efficient homes including Passivhaus so I was able to advise June on the different options that would meet her requirements in terms of design and performance.
“We agreed that the perfect sliding door for June’s house was the Schüco ASE 80 HI (Highly Insulated) lift-and-slide door. This system accommodates triple glazing and has highly insulated profiles. The doors have level thresholds but the lift-and-slide design means that the doors still maintain the required airtightness and weathertightness. The doors are heavy due to their size and the triple glazing, but the lift-and-slide design makes them easy to operate.”
The AumAxum team has now fabricated and installed all the windows and doors so the house is watertight and ready for the next phase of the build.
June is counting down the days until she can move in: “I can’t wait for the house to be finished, and to sit and watch the animals play at sunset with a glass of wine. It’s been my dream for a really long time and it’s getting closer and closer every day.”
Field House
Field House
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