News & blog – Page 2

We’re Finalists in the Bristol Life Awards!

February 19, 2019

Exciting news! We’ve just been announced as finalists in the prestigious Bristol Life Awards 2019. We’re really happy to have this chance to put our sustainable, healthy and breathable building message out. The finals are on April 11th so watch this space and congratulations to the other finalists!

Blog: Passive House to Building Biology Standards

December 8, 2018

Blog: Passive House to Building Biology Standards After years of training, input from various sources, and thought, we are building a Passive House to Building Biology standards (https://buildingbiology.co.uk/ ), with the collaboration of Tomas Gaertner of se3 design (http://se3design.co.uk/ ). Tomas is the leading expert of Building Biology in the country and I am very […]

News: We’re building a Passive House!

December 8, 2018

Exciting news! Urbane Eco is working in collaboration with acclaimed architect Tomas Gaertner of SE3 Design to build a Passive House to Building Biology standards. The house is in Dingle Road, Coombe Dingle and has the benefit of a wonderful outlook onto Coombe Dingle, beautifully accentuated by original architect Quentin Alder of award winning Quentin […]

We are in the South West Green 50!

April 10, 2018

We’re very proud to announce that earlier in the year Urbane Eco were awarded number 21 on the West of England Green 50 list! The Green 50 list was set up by the Bristol Post with an aim to highlight the businesses who are doing their bit towards saving the planet. “By publicising and sharing […]

Using Thin Joint Clay Blocks

April 6, 2018

I’ve been meaning to try out thin joint clay blocks for a very long time, and finally we’ve used them on an extension! We used Weinerberger Porotherm 190mm blocks, with EPS insulation EWI system to give adequate U value. I particularly like this Monoblock system, as opposed to UK industry standard cavity walls for a […]

The environmental impact of insulating our homes

January 30, 2018

We are all aware of what is going on with our planet; global warming is having a huge impact and we must be the ones held responsible to take action to reduce it. You may already recycle, walk/cycle or use public transport and have started not using plastic carrier bags, but have you considered the […]

The importance of breathability in building fabric

January 19, 2018

When you hear the term ‘breathability’, I expect the movement of air comes to mind. However, when referring to breathability in buildings, it is, in fact, more about the movement of water in a gas or liquid form inside the building, outside the building, and in the walls, floors and roof. Using materials which absorb and […]

What is wood fibre and how is it made?

July 27, 2017

Wood fibre insulation was introduced about 20 years ago, after the engineers from the timber producing areas of Europe devised new ways of transforming timber waste into insulation boarding. The success of wood fibre insulation is all thanks to an attractive and environmentally friendly profile with a number of functions, including rigid insulation for floors […]

How does external wall insulation prevent damp/condensation in the home?

June 20, 2017

Properties suffer from damp for a number of reasons, some more obvious than others. Three common examples are penetrating damp ( e.g. due to driving rain or blocked guttering), rising damp and condensation. In this article, we will explain how damp is caused and how external wall insulation may help solve the problem. Damp caused […]

Planning permission for external wall insulation

February 20, 2017

Planning portal’s common projects page is a good place to start if you are doing any work on your property. There’s lots of useful information here about projects such as loft conversions, extensions and windows, but the advice for insulation is quite basic… If your property isn’t listed and isn’t in a conservation area (see […]