Camellia Cottage

We have tried, whilst converting the barn to be as sensitive to the environment as possible.We have sourced as much as possible from local manufactures and suppliers.The walls of the oldest part of the building were about 18” thick and so the insulation was very good, we have added to this at least another 4” of insulation and then a partition wall, as the old stone would have been wet.

The newer part is built to exceed the latest building regulations for thermal insulation.

The old roof slates were kept during the rebuilding process and we were able to purchase reclaimed slates to match from the village of Bow only 6 miles away.

All the doors and windows were made from sustainable timber by a local joinery specialist in South Molton 11 miles away. Each of the windows apertures were non-standard sizes as was the front door, to comply with planning regulations we were not

allowed alter any of the apertures in the old building.The cottage is fully double glazed with glass that exceeds the building regulation U value.

Planning stated that the old should be left old looking old and the new part should look new, we were not allowed to clad the new extension in stone to match the main building.

All the timber used in the kitchen is from sustainable sources.

The first source for heating water for the cottage is 30 solar tubes. During the summer months these tubes provide the bulk of the energy for hot water, these are backed up for the winter months by a back boiler in the wood burner, when these two sources are working in tandem they will produce an amazing amount of hot water and heating for the cottage. These two sources of energy are then backed up by a high efficiency grade ‘A’ oil burner located outside the cottage. These all feed into a ‘thermal store’ that gives you mains pressure hot water, so you get a great shower. The log/wood burner in the sitting room is from Woodwarm a local company just 25miles away.Wood for the wood burner is from managed woodlands in the South Molton area, 11 miles away.  We supply you with the logs free of charge as we feel it is important to use as little oil as possible and the logs are almost carbon neutral. Under floor heating was preferred for the ground floor as this is a more efficient form of heating and gives more room in the cottage.

Low energy lighting is used throughout the cottage,this does not mean that it is gloomy; these are the latest bulbs and give you a very good amount of useable light.

All the appliances in the cottage are grade ‘A’, indeed the washing machine is triple ‘A’ rated.The bedroom furniture is from a local furniture manufacturer in Bideford North Devon, all timber used in the product is from renewable sources. 

Sun rise at Camellia Cottage