Kevin and Emma Kniveton’s vernacular cottage is anything but traditional, as their self-build has brought passive house design to the Isle of Man, and could help to kickstart many more projects like it

WORDS HEATHER DIXON PHOTOS JEWELL PHOTOGRAPHY

THE KNIVETON FILE

NAMES Kevin & Emma Kniveton

OCCUPATIONS Electrical engineer & banker

LOCATION Isle of Man

TYPE OF PROJECT Self-build

STYLE Traditional

CONSTRUCTION METHOD Timber frame

PLOT SIZE 1,038m²

LAND COST £100,000

HOUSE SIZE 212m²

PROJECT COST £240,000

PROJECT COST PER M2 £1,132

TOTAL COST £340,000

BUILDING WORK COMMENCED September 2014

BUILDING WORK TOOK 40 weeks

CURRENT VALUE £400,000

When Kevin Kniveton’s grandfather stood on the cold windswept hillside and surveyed his land, he probably never thought his own flesh and blood would one day build the most energy-efficient house on the Isle of Man right where he was standing. But that’s exactly what Kevin did, as he now lives in a new home designed to withstand the harshest of winters, but built at a minimum cost.

“All my family live in this area so it was quite natural to think about building something permanent on the plot,” says Kevin. “The company I approached about the job, Complete Construction Services, had built a traditional property for my parents in 1994, so I trusted them to do a great job. At the beginning I hadn’t actually considered an eco design, but as we developed the plans they asked whether I had considered building a passive house.”

The house stands on a hill overlooking land that has been in the family for generations

”I wanted to make our home as future proof and low cost as possible”