

House Planning Help Podcast
Ben Adam-Smith
If you want to build a house, where would you start?
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 12, 2025 • 31min
HPH373: Using a willow bed to treat sewage - with Laila Dudhill
Laila Dudhill explains some of the challenges she faced when planning her new build home at the bottom of a sloping field. Not only did she have to deal with drainage across the site, diverting the natural flow of water away from the house, but also come up with a foul drainage strategy that would off-set phosphate discharge into the local watercourses. Check out the show notes for more information.

Feb 26, 2025 • 45min
HPH372: Introducing the circular economy to housing
Katherine Adams and Connie Spoor talk about the circular economy and construction, and practical strategies for making reuse a priority on housing projects and self-builds. Check out the show notes for more information.

Feb 12, 2025 • 36min
HPH371: What is wood fibre insulation? – with Chris Brookman
Chris Brookman from Back to Earth explains what wood fibre insulation is, how it could be used on a project and why careful specification is required. Check out the show notes for more information.

Jan 29, 2025 • 1h 1min
HPH370: Where your money goes on a home retrofit project
Florence Collier, founder of Humblebee, takes us step-by-step through the deep retrofit of her 1970s home. She explains the costs relating to each measure and the cumulative total as the project advances. Check out the show notes for more information.

Jan 15, 2025 • 47min
HPH369: Converting a barn to meet the Living Building Challenge – with Toby Diggens
Toby Diggens explains what it takes to meet the requirements of the Living Building Challenge, and working to the standard when renovating an existing building. Check out the show notes for more information.

Jan 1, 2025 • 47min
HPH368: Creating biodiverse natural landscapes – with Toby Diggens
Toby Diggens, founder and co-director of Digg and Co outlines how we can all contribute to creating ecologically diverse and resilient landscapes to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. Check out the show notes for more information.

Dec 18, 2024 • 33min
HPH367: A furniture maker builds a timber eco home – with Lucinda Leech
Furniture maker Lucinda Leech shares her story of building a modest, but beautiful eco home. Check out the show notes for more information.

Dec 4, 2024 • 45min
HPH366: Could a home energy transformation pay for itself?
Howard Johns, founder of One Zero, outlines their home energy transformation service which includes topping up insulation and adding solar PV, battery storage and a heat pump. Check out the show notes for more information.

Nov 20, 2024 • 38min
HPH365: Becoming a housing activist – with Cypren Edmunds
Cypren Edmonds, a housing activist and advocate for bio-based building materials, describes the challenges he has faced living in social housing in London, and the health benefits and energy efficiency that can be achieved through building with straw. Check out the show notes for more information.

Nov 6, 2024 • 1h 3min
HPH364: The power of community led housing – with Kareem Dayes from RUSS
Kareem Dayes, co-founder of RUSS in Lewisham, explains why setting up a Community Land Trust was a route to deliver genuinely affordable housing and create a better neighbourhood. Check out the show notes for more information.