Cats Abbey was purpose designed as a 24-bed holiday let from the start. This beautiful Cotswold farm yard had never previously been converted into accommodation.
It was a great opportunity to start with a blank canvas and design the perfect holiday home, along with all the green concepts we wanted.
Firstly during the building we used more insulation than is required by the building regulations. You pay for insulation once, but you pay heating bills for ever !
Next we used under-floor heating everywhere; ground and first floor, for several reasons. Radiators never look right in and old barn, and their high temperature creates huge up-currents in a large space, taking all of the heat up to the roof. By contrast under floor heating settles the heat in layers close to the floor, just where you want it.
We have passive stack ventilation from the bathrooms in the big barn. It's automatic and uses no electricity. The additional venturi at the ridge creates additional suction and improves ventilation.
A ground source heat pump working on cheap-rate electricity takes heat from the ground for the building, and helps with the hot water in winter. These pumps are most efficient at low temperatures, which is perfect for under-floor heating.
In the summer our hot water comes from solar panels, set into the roof and disguised as roof-lights. We are listed and on the National Trust Estate, so such innovative design has pleased them somewhat. The panels produce so much heat that it can be sent around the other buildings on a circular heat-main.
All of the rainwater from the main roofs is collected in a huge 50 cubic metre tank, below ground. At present it is used for flushing toilets, and being soft, it's perfect for the laundry too. Later, we can add some basic filtration and it can be used for showers, and general hot and cold domestic purposes. Lastly, with just a little more kit, it can be used for drinking as well. Of course the plumbing system had to be designed with all this in mind.
We are not on mains drainage here in the countryside, so the sewage system had to be purpose designed also. A large septic tank collects and breaks down solids. This has to be emptied once a year. Thence it goes to a vertical reed bed which takes out much of the Ammonia. A small humus tank deals with remaining fluffy solids, followed by a horizontal reed bed which takes out most of the Nitrates. Finally the much purified water goes into an aeration pond, where it picks up more Oxygen before draining into the ground in a soak-away system. The pond is also a resource for wild life.
These five stages of treatment produce virtually clean water, which is important in the Cotswolds, because the limestone rock is very porous and ground water quickly reaches the aquifer. We can also pump water back from the pond to irrigate the gardens, so any remaining nutrient is a bonus.
All of these green concepts have been built almost invisibly into this delightful Grade 2 listed converted farm yard, and contribute to making Cats Abbey a gem of a holiday home.
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