From thatch to 3D properties

If your house is just a little out of the bizarre, the possibilities are you'll need to maintain it protected with non-standard home insurance coverage.

The actual fact is, there are much more non-standard properties in Britain than you'll think about, as a result of home constructing developments have modified a lot with developments in development methods, supplies and folks’s tastes.

This weblog supplies a information to historical past of home constructing  as types and supplies modified by the centuries and from decade to decade.

Thatched roofs

Thatch roofing goes again hundreds of years. Howick House close to Alnwick in Northumberland is thought to have had a thatched roof and the constructing dates again to the Mesolithic period (8,000 to 2,700 BC). There may be additionally proof that iron age towers and fortresses used thatch for roofing between 1,200 and 600 BC.

Actually, is prolific when it cones to the historical past of home constructing. It was the predominant roofing materials in lots of locations till the 1800s and stays the stereotypical roofing of the nation cottage. At this time, there are greater than 60,000 thatched roofs in the UK.

Good high quality straw thatch can final for greater than 50 years when utilized by a talented thatcher. Historically, a brand new layer of straw was merely utilized over the weathered floor every couple of years, and this ‘spar coating’ custom has created accumulations of thatch over seven toes thick on very previous buildings. 

The straw is bundled into ‘yelms’ earlier than it's taken as much as the roof and it’s then connected utilizing staples, often known as ‘spars’, constituted of twisted hazel sticks. 

Round 250 roofs in southern England have base coats of thatch that had been utilized greater than 500 years in the past.

Nearly all of those roofs are thatched with wheat, rye, or a ‘maslin’ combination of each. Mediaeval wheat was a brilliant crop that grew to virtually six toes tall, thriving in very poor soils however producing sturdy straw for the roof and grain for baking.

The provision of excellent high quality thatching straw declined in England after the introduction of the mix harvester within the late Nineteen Thirties and 40s, and the discharge of short-stemmed wheat varieties. 

Rising use of nitrogen fertiliser within the 60s–70s additionally weakened straw and diminished its longevity. Because the 80s, nevertheless, there was an enormous improve in straw high quality as specialist growers have returned to rising older, tall-stemmed, ‘heritage’ kinds of wheat.

You'll be able to learn our useful weblog if you wish to know extra about the pros and cons of having a thatched roof. 

Lime mortar

Homes have been constructed with lime mortar for greater than 4,000 years. It's lime blended with an mixture reminiscent of sand and water. Its use didn’t fall into decline till the nineteenth Century and the introduction of Portland cement. 

This was largely because of the ease of use, its fast setting, and excessive compressive energy. Nonetheless, the mushy and porous properties of lime mortar present benefits when working with softer constructing supplies reminiscent of pure stone and terracotta. 

Because of this, Portland cement remains to be generally utilized in new brick and concrete development. Within the restore and restoration of brick and stone-built constructions initially constructed utilizing lime mortar, using Portland cement isn't advisable.

Regardless of its enduring utility over many centuries, lime mortar’s effectiveness as a constructing materials has not been properly understood – its use was based mostly on custom, folklore and commerce data.

Solely throughout the previous few a long time has testing offered a scientific understanding of its sturdiness and the explanations that made it integral within the historical past of home constructing. Professionals and DIYers can purchase lime mortar, and have it matched for color and content material, by firms that specialize in historic preservation of buildings.

Stained glass

Like thatch and lime mortar, glass is an historical constructing materials intrinsic within the historical past of home constructing. Fragments of colored window glass relationship again to the seventh Century have been excavated at sites of Northumbria-based monasteries in Monkwearmouth and Jarrow. 

The Anglo-Saxons made stained glass home windows utilizing colored glass and lead, however basically, stained glass as we all know it was a mediaeval artwork kind which was extensively utilized in gothic structure.

It was not till the 18th Century that pictorial home windows had been produced in any quantity.  The ‘Gothic Revival’ persuaded many artists and designers to analyze the strategies and methods of mediaeval stained glass, about which hardly something was then recognized, and step by step the previous abilities had been relearned. 

The stained glass trade was prolific throughout this era, and plenty of new companies and studios had been established. The glass from Morris & Co (shaped in 1861 by William Morris) dominated the final quarter of the nineteenth Century, and the designs of Burne-Jones and different Pre-Raphaelites rose above the pious sentimentality of a lot Victorian work, and lead traces grew to become as soon as once more an important a part of the design.

Learn our weblog to seek out out how to get the Gothic revival look in your home. 

Timber development

Timber framing has been in style in constructing for hundreds of years because of the sturdy, resilient nature of wooden, abundance of provide and relative ease of development.

Conventional timber framing is the creation of wooden ‘skeletons’ for buildings with the area between the skeleton infilled with brick, stone or filler. Timber framed properties are resilient and really enduring.

All through historical past within the UK, timber framing fell out of trend throughout the Victorian period, primarily as a result of there was such large demand for wooden within the shipbuilding trade, however the method has seen one thing of a revival because the Nineteen Seventies as architects have tried to create extra sustainable buildings. 

Cavity partitions

Cavity wall development was launched throughout the nineteenth Century and gained widespread use within the Nineteen Twenties. In some early examples, stones had been used to tie the 2 skins collectively, whereas within the twentieth Century metallic ties got here into use.

Initially cavity widths had been slim and had been primarily applied to scale back the passage of moisture into the inside of the constructing. The introduction of insulation into the cavity grew to become standard in the 1970s and compulsory in the 90s.

Prefabricated properties

Prefabricated properties are manufactured off-site upfront, often in commonplace sections that may be simply shipped and assembled on website.  

Within the 19th Century 156,623 prefab properties had been constructed utilizing flamable and non-combustible supplies for fast mass lodging. They had been initially scheduled to final 10 to fifteen years however many are nonetheless being lived in immediately. 

Felt roofing and EPDM

Felt roofing was launched within the Nineteen Thirties – it comprised skinny constructing paper which was exceptionally waterproof. These days,  Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer is the advisable roofing materials. 

EPDM is an artificial rubber which lasts for much longer than different options, is straightforward to wash and is environmentally pleasant. 

Ban of flamable supplies in flats

In 2018, following the Grenfell Tower catastrophe in West London the earlier yr, the ban on combustible materials in flats over a certain height was introduced altering the way in which multi-storey flats can be constructed. 

Multi-storeys that integrated combustibles already had been ordered to be stripped of such supplies and various hearth retardant insulation utilized. 

Solar energy roof panels

We in all probability consider solar energy as a twenty first Century innovation, however the first photo voltaic cell was designed by Swiss scientist Horace-Benedict de Saussure in 1767.

Between the 2000s and 2010s, solar panels grew to become extra environment friendly, handy and simpler to entry for home and business owners. Quick ahead 250 years from the primary photo voltaic cell’s creation and photo voltaic panels have develop into common-place on our properties. 

It's presently estimated that greater than 1.2 million properties within the UK have photo voltaic panels fitted. 

Our blogs helps you  to seek out out how much money you can save on your electricity bill by fitting solar panels. 

3D printed properties – now and the long run

3D expertise is within the vanguard on new dwelling development. 3D printed properties are constructed layer by layer utilizing industrial-grade, 3D-printing expertise. 3D tech is the long run, relatively than the historical past of home constructing.

There are solely a handful of 3D printed dwelling developments all over the world however as a result of the tactic is so fast and low cost in comparison with commonplace home constructing, curiosity within the expertise is rising quick. 

The expertise is so new that Adrian Flux launched the UK’s first commercially available 3D printed home insurance policy earlier this yr.

Adrian Flux family insurance coverage

Have a good time your house’s distinctive options with Adrian Flux non-standard insurance. Name 0800 369 8590 for a quick and fuss free quote – 81.5% of all prospects receiving a web-based quote in August 2022 may have obtained a less expensive quote over the telephone. Alternatively, request a callback at a time that fits you higher.