A life dedicated to Selfbuild
Robert 'Bob' Matthews spent his younger years studying at the Univesity of Cambridge, and later travelled across much of Asia and the Middle East. He lived on two separate occasions in the Old Hall community in Suffolk, first in the late 1970s, and later in the early 1990s, where he built the first major straw-bale structure in Britain. He first explored Selfbuild in 1980, when such a pursuit was very uncommon in Britain. He lived his later years of life in Godshill, Isle of Wight, where he settled into writing regular articles for the SelfBuild & Design Magazine, and published three books on SelfBuild.
One of Bob's last wishes, after becoming terminally ill, was for all of his works to be made freely available to the world online. This website is the result of that request, and is aimed to be made available for as long as possible for all future generations. It contains all 179 complete digitised articles, that were mostly published in SelfBuild & Design Magazine.
Robert John Matthews passed away peacefully early in the morning on Thursday 15th March 2018, at the age of 77.
Bob's memorial service was held at Ryde George Street Baptist Church Hall, on Saturday 28th July 2018 at 2pm. All friends, family, and acquaintances of Bob were invited. Details of the service can be read here.
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Articles
The articles have been written for people who intend to build themselves a home (generally contracting out the site work). They cover many selfbuild topics ranging, for example, from land law to PV panels. In fact, the articles may be of interest, more generally, to anyone who wants to know about some particular aspect of eco-friendly house building in the UK.
The articles are supplied as PDFs. They are generally about 2,000 words in length, and some include photos and/or diagrams. They are the originals as written by Robert Matthews, not the edited versions that appeared in the SelfBuild & Design magazine.
Though written for UK readers, they may be of interest in other countries, especially those with similar building techniques and climate.
All of the 179 listed articles are available to download for free (in PDF format). Please download and share widely to any who may benefit. Navigation to articles is via year heading (ie 'Articles from 2003').
The articles are supplied as PDFs. They are generally about 2,000 words in length, and some include photos and/or diagrams. They are the originals as written by Robert Matthews, not the edited versions that appeared in the SelfBuild & Design magazine.
Though written for UK readers, they may be of interest in other countries, especially those with similar building techniques and climate.
The Planning Register
Building Control
Firm Foundations
Foundations - in more depth
Construction of Floors
Green Builders Meet
Making your Future Home Fire Safe
Fighting Fire
Central Vacuum Systems
More about Central Vacuuming
Maintenance of Vacuum System
Quirks in Services
The Cost of Costings
Getting Engaged
Starting Out on the Design Journey
The Design of your Home-To-Be
The Finer Details of Design
Exterior Design
Drawing to a Conclusion
Essential Reading
Professional Incompetence
Land Law
The Land Registers
Land Rights
Gaining Ground
Gaining Ground II
Gaining Ground III
'Timber Frame'
Timber Frame or Block Work 1
Timber Frame or Block Work 2
Reports Galore
Yet More Reports
Articles from 2006
Contracts
Simple Building Contracts
JCT Minor Works Building Contracts 1
JCT Minor Works Building Contracts 2
The Resolution of Disputes
Reflections on the H&R Show
Building Regulations Update
Be Sapient
The SAP Spreadsheet
The Green Building Gathering
Harvesting The Rain
Selfbuild in Ireland
Twenty Tips for Selfbuilders
Simple Building Contracts
JCT Minor Works Building Contracts 1
JCT Minor Works Building Contracts 2
The Resolution of Disputes
Reflections on the H&R Show
Building Regulations Update
Be Sapient
The SAP Spreadsheet
The Green Building Gathering
Harvesting The Rain
Selfbuild in Ireland
Twenty Tips for Selfbuilders
The Ventilation Question
Delving Deeper into Ventilation Question
Ventilation and Heat Recovery
Ventilation Humidity and Noise
Other Ventilation Technologies
An Overview of Ventilation Systems
Ventilation Speculation
Air Cleaning
Selfbuild and Politics of House Building
The Quest for Zero Carbon
Building a Greener Future
Zero Carbon and the Bigger Picture
Renewables
The Callcutt Review
Photovoltaics
The Potential of Windpower
Harvesting the Power of the Wind
Selfbuild Shows
David Snell
Mark Brinkley
AECB Conference 2008
The Passive House Movement
Renewable Heat
Solar Water Heating
Solar Collectors
Solar Water Heating
Innovations in Solar Water Heating
It's Raining Inside My House
Selfbuild Associations
Wood and Wood Stoves
More About Wood Stoves
Heating With Pellets
The Doctor Pays a Visit - to the AECB
Wood Heating Miscellany
Heat Pumps - The Theory
More About Heat Pumps
Ground Source Heat Pumps
Air Source Heat Pumps
Exhaust Air Heat Pumps
Heat Pumps - Other Sources of Heat
Heat Pumps Miscellany
Two Shows
Feed In Tariffs
The Renewable Heat Incentive
Sustainable Energy I
Sustainable Energy II
Sustainable Energy III
Sustainable Energy IV
The AECB Gets Wised Up
Keeping Up With Building Regulations
How Green Is Your Selfbuild
CSH Categories 1 and 2
CSH Category 3
CSH Categories 4, 5, 6 and 7
CSH Categories 8 and 9
CSH Getting to Code Level 3
Last Thoughts about the Code
Embodied Energy and Embodied Carbon
Accounting for Carbon
The AECB Conference 2011
Articles from 2012
The Cost of Fresh Air
Quantifying Airtightness
The Design Air Permeability
Achieving Airtightness
Testing Airtightness
The National Homebuilding Show
Ventilation
The National House Building Council
The NHBC Foundation
BRE
The Innovation Park at BRE
The Innovation Park II
The Cost of Fresh Air
Quantifying Airtightness
The Design Air Permeability
Achieving Airtightness
Testing Airtightness
The National Homebuilding Show
Ventilation
The National House Building Council
The NHBC Foundation
BRE
The Innovation Park at BRE
The Innovation Park II
TRADA and the BBA
Standards
The Construction Products Regulation
Certificates Galore
Insulation
Astounding Insulation
Books and Bookmarks
More Bookmarks
Multifoils
A Faltering Step Towards Zero Carbon
SAP 2012
SAP 2012 continued
SAP Miscellany
Thermal Stores
2016 and all that
Thermal Bridging and SAP
How to Produce Thermal Bridging
Thermal Mass
Thermal Mass and SAP
Phase Change Materials
Passive Solar Design
Glazing
Window Energy Results
Daylighting
Windows
Materials for Window Frames
Voting for Selfbuild
More about Windows
Windows and their Building Regulations
Exterior Doors
Exterior Doors
More about Exterior Doors
Interior Doors
Out Goes the 2016 Carbon Target
Stairs
More about Stairs
Flights of Fancy
A Build Beside the Seaside Part 1
A Build Beside the Seaside Part 2
A Build Beside the Seaside Part 3
A Build Beside the Seaside Part 4
A Build Beside the Seaside Part 5
Solar Power
PV Systems
PV Roofs
Feed In Tariffs for PV
Boosting Self Consumption of PV
Hybrid PV-Thermal Panels
The Performance Gap
Closing The Gap
The Passive House Movement
The Passive House Standard
More About Passive Houses
The Passive House Planning Package 1
Two Decades of Selfbuild
The Passive House Planning Package 1
Two Decades of Selfbuild
The Passive House Planning Package 2
The Passive House Planning Package 3
The Passive House Planning Package 4
Heat Recovery Ventilation
HRV Units
Ducting for HRV Systems
Design and Installation of HRV System
Sundry Aspects of HRV
The House That Bob Built
Home Making
My Straw Bale Cabin
Contact Us
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