We're really excited about the work starting now; we still couldn't quite believe all the refurbishments were really going to be happening until the builders arrived earlier this week and made a start on things. They plan to be here for 4 weeks, and in that time install extensive insulation, draft exclusion and solar voltaics. Needless to say we've had some sleepless nights in anticipation, thinking over the scale of the changes to come. Catherine and I have been moved into a very nice apartment near-by our house while the messiest part of the work is underway. Amongst other things our kitchen and bathroom is being completely removed to allow for the internal wall insulation to be fitted. After spending our first winter in our 130-year-old house, we're really excited about the heat savings these changes will make.
Meeting with campaign related press was a bit daunting but I'm pleased to say so far the TV, radio and newspaper journalists have all been very friendly and interested to see what's going on.

It's all good preparation for the Ecobuild conference in London next month, where I'll be talking about the refurbishment experience at Earls Court.

It’s been a busy few days for the Grand Designs Great British Refurb Campaign.  We’ve been rushed off our feet.  First, there was the Manchester House refurbishment followed by Kevin McCloud appearing at the Tory Conference to tell them how important a programme of eco-refurbishment is for the UK’s existing house stock.  This was accompanied by the Great British Refurb Campaign’s very own Simon McWhirter appearing on the big screen as part of the Manchester House video

Then it was down to Birmingham and Grand Designs Live. On Friday afternoon Kevin appeared on stage with Colin Butfield from WWF and Marian Spain from the Energy Saving Trust as part of the Big Debate.  Both they and the audience were able to quiz Greg Clark MP, Conservative spokesperson for Energy and Climate Change (we quizzed Ed Miliband in London earlier this year). It was a lively debate with huge interest from the audience. A well informed bunch who were not going to let Greg Clark off the hook easily as they questioned him on exactly what the Tory policy was and where, in their opinion, its weaknesses lie.

So what were the questions that they had to to answer? Do you want a house that is more comfortable, which has lower running costs and is kinder to the planet? And by the way, do you want this to be something which everyone across the country could have without having to put their hand in their pocket for cash? A pleasant proposition and one which WWF supporter Rebecca Williams was happy to say yes to in agreeing to let the Great British Refurb campaign team do an energy makeover on her house.

While progress is being made across the country in topping up loft insulation and filling cavity walls, her Victorian mid-terrace in inner city Manchester is typical of one of the 8 million UK homes that simply have no cavities to fill. And it's one of the 9 million with a suspended wooden floor lacking insulation. Without getting too techy, this makes them a little bit trickier to deal with, and on occasion a lot more expensive to fix (as explained in the solid wall insulation blog).

It’s not long until the crunch climate talks in Copenhagen.  And with this week’s gathering at the UN, followed by the G20 meeting in Pitsburg, climate change dominates both the media and political agenda; for the time being at least.  Unfortunately a lot of this still focuses on talking and what is being offered up is often too vague and lacking in targets for us to make any meaningful assessment as to whether it will really be enough.

Many of the commentators and politicians talk about this being a make or break time.  Whether they back up their rhetoric with action is a mute point.  But with 27 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions coming from our homes we, as homeowners, are in an ideal position to show them the way.  That is why the Grand Designs Great British Refurb Campaign has redesigned and relaunched our website.

Only a few years ago it was all about letter writing.  Then along came email and websites.  Now no campaign can call itself a campaign without a blog, a facebook group and even a twitter.  And the Grand Designs Great British Refurb Campaign is no exception.  So welcome to our blog.  We hope you’ll be a regular visitor and we hope you’ll tell your friends.  But of course you’ll do none of those things unless you know what this campaign is about.

27 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions come from our homes.  Most of us don’t live in brand new eco friendly homes.  We live in poorly insulated, drafty ones which get too hot in the summer and leak heat in the winter.  Most of these homes will still be around in 2050, and we’ll still be living in them.  So much as we applaud the government’s ambitions on zero carbon new homes by 2016 we have a simple question.