Homebuilding & Renovating Show

Entering a packed NEC at opening time, the show offered a large variety of information about home building and renovating. With over 500 exhibitors we gathered inspirational ideas on SIPs houses and timber frames; finance; renewable energy solutions (solar photovoltaic, heat pumps, rainwater harvesting, heat recovery, biomass); landscaping & garden (luxury bamboo gazebos, carbon capture turf, decking, garden rooms); architects and stuff for the house (TV fireplaces, showers, kichens and central vacuum systems). We enjoyed a couple of interesting seminars on sustainable self-build (building a low impact, low energy home) and budgeting (how to build a 4-bedroom detached house for under £150,000) and strolled round the "Cutting-Edge Home" by Border Oak and Oakwrights' "Low Energy Home" - partially built traditional-like oak frame houses within the hall, demonstrating energy efficient building materials, prefabrication and craftmanship! Such a busy day, we wandered out as they were closing!