Gerard Bekius

“I live with my wife in an old rectory; a large house of twelve by twelve meters. It has a flat roof with sloping side surfaces. This type of home is known as draughty.”

“When we bought the house, the roof was fitted with insulation panels. But there was 60 centimeters of empty space between the roof and the walls of the rooms. I had the feeling that it was always drafty there. I heard about recycled Styrofoam balls from Ab Kiewied and I went to Germany to get them. I made holes in the roof from the outside and poured the balls in. I used a leaf blower to distribute them evenly. This way I filled all the hollow spaces and also the space between the roof and the ceilings. The difference was enormous.”

I have little interest in energy costs. I insulate as a hobby and for living comfort

“Our house has no cavity walls. At the time, the walls were insulated on the inside with silver-colored bubble wrap. Now that is actually outdated; that could really be better. But we’ll leave it be. I think it would be a shame to trash the whole house. I have investigated whether we can apply an insulating layer to the outside of the house. But that turned out not to be really feasible. I did insulate the wall between the basement and a workspace with glass wool.”

Feels good

“I’m doing this because I feel it’s right. I don’t really care about the energy bill. We also have a whole lot of solar panels, a solar boiler and we collect rainwater. I often build something new from discarded materials. I think it’s a sport to give things a second life.”