After years of living in a cramped old static caravan at the water’s edge, on his plot in the South West, Mr Richardson started to plan to replace it with a well insulated mobile home. He had a Lawful Development Certificate in place, and after 10 years of putting up with the draughty old static, a web search brought him to Scandinavian Homes’ website and our energy efficient log mobile homes.
He’d already come up with an interior layout that would allow him to make this new mobile home his forever home. To make sure it would last him the rest of his life, he included wide doorways, plenty of storage space, and ramped access to the front door.
Eco-features
Years of living in a chilly, draughty and very hard to heat mobile home meant that he specifically wanted features such as a high level of airtightness and a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery (MVHR) system, combined with really good insulation. He also opted for solar panels and battery storage, so that he could be more or less off grid.
Building the log mobile home
He continued to live in the static caravan while the new log mobile home was constructed. Fortunately it wasn’t a really cold winter!
The quayside location and narrow access lane made for some challenging logistics when the log kit was delivered, as well as a fair amount of ‘juggling’ with the materials as the build got under way. The build team came up trumps though; the shell grew rapidly and was watertight before the winter storms.
External appearance
Taking advantage of the flexibility offered by our log system, he chose a beautiful dovetail corner option, which works really well on the chunky 114 x 185mm laminated logs. The roof is covered with long lasting ‘green’ profiled roofing, adding to the building’s eco-credentials.
Double glazed timber/aluminium windows and French doors, and a highly insulated contemporary front door complete the building.
Insulation
The log walls are extremely well-insulated using 200mm thick Rockwool batts – all adding to the low energy requirements for the mobile home. The on site build team also paid careful attention to ensuring that the breather and vapour membranes were thoroughly taped in place, to ensure that everything was highly airtight. The MVHR maintains warm, fresh air throughout the building, circulating the warmth from hotter areas to cooler ones.
We installed electric underfloor heating for him, even though this should only be needed in the very coolest months. In practice, even in the coldest weather in the winter of 2022 he only needed to have a couple of the heating zones switched on! And in the summer heatwaves, he was comfortably cool indoors. The solar panels provide much of the electricity required for heating hot water, and the battery stores any excess.
Our team worked with him to select and design the kitchen and bathroom layouts, taking into account his request to have plenty of easily accessible storage in the kitchen.
It doesn’t have to take ages to construct and commission your log mobile home! We first spoke to Mr Richardson in mid 2021, by September he’d ordered the log kit. The main delivery arrived in mid-December 2021, and his forever mobile home was ready to move in by late May 2022.