Live webchat with Kevin 'Grand Designs' McCloud, Tuesday 23 July, 8.30 to 9.30pm

[RachelMumsnet]

We're delighted that Kevin McCloud is visiting Mumsnet HQ for another webchat on Tuesday 23 July at 8.30pm. He joined us for a webchat back in June 2011 when he talked to about (amongst other things) Grand Designs, solar panels and dealing with bats in the attic.

This time Kevin will be joining us to tell us about his latest ventures with his company Hab Housing. As well as continuing to build beautiful sustainable homes across the UK, they are also developing a new arm that will let him guide, coax and aid people as they build their own dream home. Kevin wants to explain why he's put out a call to the masses for crowd funding investment to grow his company, Hab Housing, rather than via traditional routes.

Join Kevin to quiz him about his latest ventures, get his advice on home improvements and ask him about your favourite Grand Design on Tuesday at 8.30pm. If you're unable to make it, post a question in advance to this thread.

@mrscumberbatch

If you go down the line of crowd funding, what would the participants gain from it?

I'd like to think of myself as being green and live in a sustainable home etc but I'm not sure that I would part with cash for a development of homes that I'm not going to live in or have a stake in...

So yes, what's your sweetener for investors?

The answer is money. We're not a charity and we're selling 20% of our business for £1.5 million. In return for a 5% dividend after three years, and an intention to multiply the company's value within five years. And we're not asking you to invest in homes; but rather to invest in the business. We're about halfway to our minimum investment level (£1M) on www.crowdcube.com/investment/hab-housing-limited-13069

what became of the spanish multi colour?

@GentleOtter

Hello Kevin,

We were lucky enough to meet you at Grand Designs through Mumsnet and thank you for being so lovely to everyone. My children refuse to eat bananas unless they are made into a 'Kevin penguin'.

What was the inspiration behind the HabHousing?

The inspiration was a desire to see penguin bananas populate this country and to rid the land of soulless, badly-designed, poorly built housing schemes that looked like they could be anywhere. And which leaked heat and just encouraged people to climb in their cars.
So, it was anger that got me going. And a belief in community, sustainability and a more banana-filled future.

@LifeofPo

Plastic windows are shite, you have to replace, wood last centuries

Guys, please relax. The big problem with plastic windows is when you take them out and have to landfill them (when they proceed to douse the environment with chlorine and other nasties). Meantime, they are efficient and if you've got them, they're there.

We look forward to seeing HabHousing in Scotland - hopefully on Community bought land.

@Spirael

Hi Kevin! I was lucky enough to meet you at Grand Designs Live after getting tickets from your last Mumsnet visit. :)

We hope to get back to Grand Designs Live in the next few years - it was a fantastic day out with lots of interesting and useful exhibits. I highly recommend it to anyone else considering going!

Is your favourite biscuit still "Poor Man's Banoffee", banana on chocolate digestive with a cup of coffee, or have your tastes changed at all?

Aha, the biscuit question. What I have been waiting for all week. Yep, my firm favourite remains the plain chocolate digestive carefully layered with 5mm thick slices of firm banana. Nothing added, nothing taken away.

@MardyBra

Dear Kevin. Would you mind awfully if I nuzzled in and nibbled your left ear lobe? Thanks in advance, Mardy.

I would absolutely mind. Only my right ear is available for nibbling.

@Itscoldouthere

Hi Kevin

So I looked into Solar panels but they are so ugly, I can't put them on my roof where they will be seen.
I saw some solar roof tiles at GD Live much nicer, do you think in 5/10 years people will not want to buy houses with ugly solar panels?

A lot of local authorities won't allow them in conservation areas or on listed buildings. I put some on the ground, or you can investigate the panels which look more like slate tiles. In any case the technology is advancing very quickly and I suspect the products being installed right now will look pretty chunky in a few years time. But the prices are coming down and the Feed-in-Tariff, though reduced, is beginning to make sense again.

hold on!!!

i have just glimpsed the rather fragrant simon Mcwhirter,

Thank you for the birthday wishes & replying

@LifeofPo

{Boaks at banana digestive travesty}

You get potassium, an energy boost, slow release carbs, chocolate, and with a coffee a good caffeine hit as well. What's not to like.

i like a man with a casual attitude to facial hair removal

Swoons into glass of birthday fizz

Yes, but for now it feels like a heavy financial investment into a tech that is becoming old/changing... a difficult decision especially as I want to be green (but live in a conservation area) when bringing back to life a house thats been very neglected.

Is their a time period of building that you really hate

Indeed, Life of Po

I quite want to ask a (related) question about the rigidly literal interpretation of the Scottish vernacular by Councils / local architects, but I know nothing about architecture. And I am a bit tipsy. And its 9.26.

Kevin are you having a biscuit break?

@RunsWithScissors

Hi Kevin,

We are looking to do a single story side extension to enlarge our kitchen in the next few years. It's a 1930s semi detached.

We want to incorporate as many green/energy saving ideas as we can into it. Solar panel on the roof of the extension (receives full sun throughout the day) is one plan.

We have cavity walls on the ground floor, but only single brick on the first floor. Would it be worth doing external insulation when we undertake the extension work? We investigated internal, but would lose too much space to some of the rooms (if what I have read is correct).

Would this be a wise investment if rolled into other work? Also, any other ideas to incorporate?

We love your show (was the first thing I saw on telly when I moved over to the uk 10yrs ago, and have been hooked since).

Thanks so much

You sound like ideal candidates for the Green Deal. Yes it does make sense to retrofit and insulate if you're going to be doing work anyway, especially to an existing house. Be very careful of internal insulation, especially at ground floor level because of the risks of condensation and mould. Cavity and external insulation however are more straight-forward. And remember that the most valuable alterations that you can make are often the dullest; things like draught-proofing and loft insulation. And a new piece of research came out a few weeks ago which shows that homes that have been retrofitted and cheaper to heat are worth as much as 16% more than their unimproved neighbours. We're just launching an initiative with the insulation experts Mark Group called Grand Designs Future Living (granddesignsfutureliving.co.uk) which is aimed at householders who want to improve the efficiency of their homes.

I am a huge fan of Grand Designs and hope to see swathes of your company's housing across the country to become what should one day be referred to as 'Windsor HAB'!
However, and notwithstanding your current refurbishment project, should we not be retrofitting the thousands of properties which are currently sitting empty rather than building new? The decision to bulldoze the terraces in Liverpool today is a point in question.
PS. Don't forget to come and see Preston Bus Station before it too gets demolished!

@LatinForTelly

Indeed, Life of Po

I quite want to ask a (related) question about the rigidly literal interpretation of the Scottish vernacular by Councils / local architects, but I know nothing about architecture. And I am a bit tipsy. And its 9.26.

Beats me. The brilliant architect Richard Murphy, based in Edinburgh, keeps having really good architecture turned down by planners who want to see bungaloid, fake crofter cottages everywhere in Scotland.
PS - use "bungaloid" to improve your architectural credentials