Eco couple like GRAF UK’s one-stop-shop offer that’s also value for money.
A couple whose redevelopment of a North Yorkshire farm has included a low-energy home for themselves selected GRAF UK for rainwater harvesting and wastewater treatment systems for their value for money and support.
Peter and Val Lowman decided during Covid that they should move out of London after 40 years and ended up buying remote Ninevah Farm near Skipton which comprised an early-1800s farmhouse with attached stone barn, and two attached cow sheds on three acres.
One of the cow sheds has been redeveloped into a zinc-roofed, three-bedroomed single-storey home, while the second houses a double garage and an insulated “box” containing gym/cinema room, utility and plant rooms, a boot room, and a garden toilet.
The couple has been granted full planning permission to renovate and reconfigure the four-bedroomed farmhouse to improve its energy efficiency, and to convert the attached stone barn into a three-bedroomed house, and will sell them with such.
They needed a wastewater system capable of catering for all the properties, and a rainwater harvesting system to help meet their vision for low-carbon living, which includes high levels of insulation, a mechanical heat recovery system, solar panels, and a small wind turbine. The rainwater harvesting tank will help them grow as much of their own fruit and vegetables as possible.
Peter said: “We want to generate our own electricity. Sustainability is a big thing for us, and given the unpredictable weather and drought conditions we have experienced in the past couple of years, knowing we have 22,000 litres of rainwater available to us is very reassuring. It also takes the pressure off our borehole.”
Holistic water management was also a big thing.
Peter said: “One of the things I did early on was look at cost comparisons and from what I could see, GRAF were very competitive on pricing, and when you add in the support, they've given us, I would say they’re very, very good value for money.”
Main contractor CJS Halifax installed both the One2Clean wastewater treatment tank and 22,000-litre Carat XXL rainwater harvesting tank into a single excavation, with the support of a GRAF engineer who was available by phone in the run-up to the installation and was on-site on the day. He will also return to commission the wastewater treatment plant.
Peter said: “This year, for the first time in our four years here, we had a period of two to three months where we had very, very little water and trying to maintain the garden was a real challenge. So, the reason for looking at a rainwater harvesting tank was to provide ourselves with water for the garden. When it does rain in Yorkshire that will fill up quite quickly so we should have a plentiful supply of water to water the garden with.
“The other thing was we had a meeting with the planning authority, and biodiversity and sustainability were quite a big thing as far as they were concerned. We mentioned about putting a rainwater harvesting tank in and they said that's going to give us a lot of brownie points. But the arrangements for foul water at that time were pretty primitive and certainly wouldn't pass muster with the Environment Agency, so we started to look around for a solution and decided on a sewage treatment plant.”
Having never purchased a sewage treatment plant before, Peter Googled them, narrowed the choice down to eight, and then two, one of which was GRAF.
“We have a drainage engineer working with us, so I sat down with him and talked it through. And basically, he has no link with GRAF, but his recommendation was the GRAF system,” he said.
“In the early stages, it was really about understanding what we were really getting into and GRAF explained to us, very simply, what the rainwater harvesting tank would do, and more importantly, the sewage treatment plant. GRAF did all the calculations for us and calculated that we needed a 22,000-litre rainwater harvesting tank and a sewage treatment plant that will cope with 15 people on site.
“GRAF have been there for us all along. If we had questions, there was always someone to talk to and the support has been first class. I couldn't say anything different. I'd have no hesitation in recommending GRAF.
“Our site manager said that having access to the GRAF engineer made the whole installation straight forward and less stressful.”
He added: “The planning process was completely new to us, having never done this before. The appointment of the right architect and planning consultant proved to be money well spent. We achieved approval on first submission and only had to make two very minor amendments. We were looking for an architect who would be with us for the duration of the project and who could work closely with the structural engineer, enabling our architect to produce detailed construction drawings which were invaluable to the builders and made working with Building Control plain sailing.”
The Lowman’s architect, Alison Grant, of Alison Grant Architects, said: “I’ve been very impressed by the GRAF systems, particularly the technical support pre- and post-installation. It was also good being able to source both types of tanks (sewerage treatment plant and rainwater harvesting) from the same supplier. This helped with the holistic nature of the installation in terms of location, delivery, pipework connections and technical support.
“When they purchased the property, my clients had a vision for low-carbon living for themselves and their wider family, and were driven to fulfil their commitment to sustainability, biodiversity, good nutrition and plant-based food security. Alongside the construction work, they have implemented changes in the land to improve biodiversity, for example native tree planting, and for plant-based food production using the no-dig, organic and biodynamic principals and methods.
“In my experience, it is common for clients to express an interest in sustainability and a desire to save energy and resources at the start of a project. It is uncommon for this to be so profoundly embedded in the culture of a project that the commitment remains unwavering throughout, despite the challenges presented by budget constraints, material availability and unfamiliar technologies. The Lowmans’ values, commitment and vision are evident in the new high-performance home they have created and in the flourishing use of the surrounding land.”
To watch the video of the project, go to https://youtu.be/Oyuzg-V8ETQ.