Paul Morris from Solar-Shield explains how external shading can help control solar gains and reduce internal temperatures, keeping your home cool as temperatures rise.

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Tom McSherry from BuildStore explains the importance of cashflow when it comes to building a house and why a big part of selecting the right mortgage product is about planning your project around your budget and making sure you have accurate costings.

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Meredith Bowles from Mole Architects shares his experience working with timber as a construction material and explains the benefits and drawbacks of the different build approaches.

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Mike Coe has a progress report from Portree Passivhaus, which is now almost watertight. We pick up the story as the groundworks begin and look at some of the challenges as the superstructure has gone up.

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Neil Sutherland explains how using a design, manufacture and delivery company can give you a better quality of construction.

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Ben Adam-Smith runs through the biggest problems you could face on your self build journey. He also looks at what can be done in those situations.

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Tom Heywood from Green Building Store explains why we need mechanical ventilation with heat recovery in high performance homes and why it needs to be well designed.

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Chris Herring, Director at Green Building Store, explains why careful consideration should be given when specifying windows.

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Jeremy Lent, author and integrator, looks at how and why we should transform the fundamental basis of our civilisation.

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Property developer and podcaster, Rob Bence, advises on what's needed for undertaking a successful building development project.

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Chris Magwood, a director at the Endeavour Centre in Canada, explains the importance of embodied carbon and how building with plant-based materials could transform our new homes into carbon sinks.

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Charlie Luxton shares lessons he's learnt from visiting projects on Building The Dream, running an architectural practice and completing his own self build.

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Ben Adam-Smith picks out ten of his favourite new build homes. These are all homes he has visited and which have impressed him in different ways.

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Alexx Stuart from Low Tox Life shares her experiences of toxic mould exposure and offers some advice on how best to keep your home healthy and mould free.

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Danny Luhde-Thompson explains why he chose to demolish the bungalow he was renovating, to build a contemporary Passivhaus.

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Resident of Marmalade Lane cohousing, Jan Chadwick, explains why living in a multi-generational community is so important to her.

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Bill Butcher from Green Building Company, the construction division of Green Building Store, explains how they tackled two radical retrofit projects in West Yorkshire. Each took a 'whole house' fabric first approach in order to improve comfort levels and reduce the heating bills.

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Paul Ellis, Chief Executive of Ecology Building Society, explains their approach to mortgages that reward energy efficiency and sustainability.

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Elinor Olisa explains why her family's health was always paramount to the decision making on this build.

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Tiny house and lifestyle blogger, Jenna Spesard, explains why she didn't want to spend her life working to pay for a house, but instead wanted a house that would work for her.

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Architect and author Sarah Susanka explains why bigger isn't always better when it comes to building a house.

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Phil McGeevor, Chair of Cannock Mill Cohousing, describes the 12-year journey it's taken to realise their cohousing community for older adults.

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Ben Adam-Smith shares 10 tips for creating a budget, which is detailed and realistic.

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Ben Adam-Smith runs through a few ideas of how to get started on your self build journey.

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Amelia Lee from Undercover Architect shares some common themes that tend to crop up on owner-builder projects (particularly with people who are doing this for the first time) and explains how they can be avoided by creating a clear foundation of your values and project intentions.

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Matthew Cutler-Welsh takes us through three exciting projects that are making an impact in New Zealand.

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Architect Adam Cohen explains how his modular construction system is making Passive House building simple and affordable.

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Architect Richard Dudzicki explains the tricks and challenges of designing a £500,000 house on a £250,000 budget.

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Ben Adam-Smith's house build was a core part of House Planning Help. Having completed the project in 2018, Ben Adam-Smith looks at what should come next.

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Having recorded an audio journal the whole way through his project, Ben Adam-Smith plays back some key moments so you can hear what is involved in a self build within a single podcast episode.

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Having completed his house build this year, Ben Adam-Smith evaluates his own performance as a self-builder.

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Self build consultant, Mike Hardwick, explains the pros and cons of different construction systems.

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Ben Ribbans is a self-builder who decided to take on more and more responsibility during his project. He explains how he gained the confidence to do this, and why research and planning are vital to success.

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Interior Designer Gabrielle Blackman explains how, when planned properly, good interior design should take the owner's personality and stamp it on the house.

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Martin Brown explains how this ancient material can be used in the modern world.

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Andy Marlow from Envirotecture explains why Passivhaus homes are a good fit for most climates in Australia, how they approach these projects and what is needed beyond shading to keep the homes comfortable when the outdoor temperatures soar.

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Straw Works co-founder Barbara Jones explains the different methods of building with straw.

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Having had his last site meeting, Ben Adam-Smith explains what they are and how they fit into the construction process when building a new house.

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Air leakage expert Paul Jennings looks at how best to achieve that all important airtightness when using particular construction methods.

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With a matter of weeks until he moves into his new home, Ben Adam-Smith shares a list of ten things that he's excited about.

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Architect Andrew Goodman explains what it took to create the UK's first load-bearing straw bale Passivhaus home.

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Rob Wiggans explains how you can minimise risks when buying land for development.

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Dean Scott takes Ben on a tour of the Graven Hill development, and of his own energy-efficient self build.

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With the first phase well under way and residents already moving in, Karen Curtin, Managing Director of Graven Hill Village Development Company, talks through the process of finding and buying a plot at Graven Hill.

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As Ben Adam-Smith's build enters the final few weeks he reviews his project's schedule and sequencing. Although a lot of the detail pertains to building a masonry wall Passivhaus, it still serves as an example of the stages any house build might go through.

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Mike Coe provides a progress update on his second self build project, with finances being stretched as construction is set to begin.

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Sarah Lewis, the Research and Policy Director at the UK Passivhaus Trust and author of PHPP Illustrated, explains what the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) is and how it is used during the design process.

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Ben Adam-Smith looks at why self build projects often eat into the budget set aside for landscaping. This includes Ben's new home where initial garden plans have been put on hold!

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Alex Baines explains the impact a mid-construction delay has had on him, his family, and his Long Barrow Passivhaus project.

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Ben Adam-Smith chats to his wife Kay about what it's been like building a house. She never wanted a new build, preferring to buy a period property instead. So why did she agree to do this? And what can we learn about trying to get a partner on board with a self build?

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