111 NOM homes Bomenwijk | Heerhugowaard

Green homes in Heerhugowaard tree district

Tenants of housing corporation Woonwaard in the Bomenwijk district of Heerhugowaard have made considerable progress. After an intensive preservation project, carried out by Dura Vermeer, their homes are now Zero-Meter (NOM). That is good for the environment and for their living comfort.

The homes are part of a large-scale preservation project across the entire Woonwaard estate. Together with heat suppliers, grid operators, municipalities and residents, among others, Woonwaard is making hundreds of homes future-proof each year. All this earned the housing corporation the "Sustainable Building Award 2019. "Deeply deserved," says project manager Robbert Rebel of Dura Vermeer. "Woonwaard sticks its neck out with projects like this and works together in a pleasant, cooperative way." 

Good insulation, no gas
In the Bomenwijk, Dura Vermeer made 111 homes more sustainable for Woonwaard. The homes were provided with a good insulation shell with new facades and a new roof. The gas connection made way for an energy module with low-temperature heating. There are solar panels on the roof. A3 Architects designed the new exterior facade with stucco and stone strips in different shades of masonry and various masonry dressings. The fauna in the neighborhood has also been considered. Bird houses hang on the front and back facades and a number of end walls have been given an integrated bat box.

Preparing residents
During the work, residents remained in their homes. A few weeks before the work started, Woonwaard and Dura Vermeer informed them about what to expect. Rebel: "We prepared the residents for the intensive renovation process, but also for the new situation. The most radical change involved the gas-free connection using the energy module. This consists of an air/water heat pump for hot tap water and low-temperature heating. For many residents, this took some getting used to. The same goes for electric cooking." 

Ten days of preparation
In mid-May 2018, Dura Vermeer started the first block. In March 2019, the sixteenth and final block was completed. Rebel: "For each block, we were busy with the preparatory work for about ten days. This included clearing the facades, digitally plotting the dimensions, applying an insulation strip along the facades and making provisions for the energy module. We then prepared the assembly of the new facade. On the existing facades, against which the new facades came, we installed a suspension system and the installations."

During construction.

Ready-made facade elements
The new facades consisted of elements with the width of the house and the height of one storey. Thus, four façade elements were needed per house. Dura Vermeer applied the  facade elements from Rc Panels. These ready-made elements consist of an insulation panel glued together in a unique way, with stone strips and plastering on top. Rebel: "Before installing the elements, we removed the entire door frames. For the windows, we removed the glass and the mullions. This, plus installing the new facades, we performed within a day."

Ten days in the home
"In each home, we had about 10 days of work," Rebel continues. "In addition to installing the facade elements, we connected the energy module and filled the crawl space with insulation pellets. We also renovated the roof. We took off all the roof tiles, filled out the battens over the roof boarding and installed the installations. Then the Kingspan roof elements went on, followed by the solar panels. Finally, we connected the air ducts, water and central heating. We also finished the window frames." Outside the house, the final work consisted of backfilling the ground, getting the paving in order and installing gutters and ridge caps. 

Intensive
"The residents have had an intensive process behind them," Rebel reflects. "But they got something beautiful in return: an energy-neutral, comfortable and beautiful home that can last for decades again."