The BRE Trust has published two new, freely available publications that provide essential guidance for those in the housing retrofit market.

The first publication, ‘Sustainable refurbishment of domestic buildings using BREEAM – a practical guide’,is a simple guide to integrating sustainability into existing housing upgrades. It breaks down a home piece by piece to help general practitioners, such as builders, architects and plumbers, address the elements of a home – from the walls and roof to the fittings and fixtures – using a holistic approach. 

For example, when upgrading the electrics the guide explains how to consider wider issues such as flood resilience, ease of access for the disabled and the use of energy efficient features. Or when undertaking an extension or major works to an external wall, how to consider daylighting, acoustics, ventilation and energy efficiency.

The second publication, ‘Low carbon domestic refurbishment – briefing note’, advises on delivering low carbon refurbishment for a range of UK property types. It highlights the house types in the UK which have the greatest potential for improvement. The guide also explains what measures may be required to achieve various BREEAM standards from ‘Pass’ to ‘Outstanding’ in a range of existing homes. It shows how BREEAM ‘Excellent’ can be achieved in most UK house types without the use of renewables, where a fabric first approach has been adopted. 

Both of these publications will be available as free downloads using a code available from the BRE stand number F36 at Housing 2014.

Information on BREEAM Domestic Refurbishment can be found here.