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ECOGÎTE… a four-year building story
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learn more (sorry only in french up to now) : see Ecogite-Paca. Our B & B is a silver Écogîte. Over four years ago, we planned the remodeling of this old barn ; we had a few priorities : - we chose to live in the village so we were able to walk everywhere and use the car as little as possible. This also allows us to enjoy friendly relationships with our neighbours in Valensole - we wanted to be comfortably warm in the winter and cool in summer and we wanted our heating system to be easy to use and worry-free. So we built a passive house, with maximum sun in the winter and maximum shade in the summer. And we added well thought of insulation (insulating bricks, hemp, cellulose wool). - we saw no reason to heat water when the sun could do it, so our water is all solar heated 11 months out of 12. As for the rest : lime, wood, eco-paint, energy and water friendly apparels, selective waste disposal… Now that we are living in this house, we know how right we were. Our home is a joy and our well-being is assured. But what a story ! To achieve our low-maintenance, high comfort house, four years of titan work was necessary. The french builders did not share our passion for this kind of building ; it led to too many unusual demands. So the potter had put aside his pot-making and become both mason and carpenter… trades, in the end, he came to love. |
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A BUILDING STORY
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