This month marks the first anniversary of pioneering couple Heidi and Sav Pavlou quitting their home in Newington to begin a new life building a house in the ground.

The pair have sunk all their £280,000 savings into creating what is believed to be Britain’s first “ground house” on Sheppey.

Mum-of-five Heidi brings readers up to date on its progress.

It was last Tuesday morning when the cement mixers arrived to create the floor of our new home.

Workers had been on-site since 6.30am to ensure the underground heating pipes were in the right position for the pour.

We had hoped to move in by Christmas but house builds seldom go to plan and this project has been no exception.

We have pushed back boundaries creating a home for our family out of 800 recycled car tyres, 1,500 tonnes of chalk, lorry loads of Kentish ragstone and flint, straw from a farmer, recycled bottles, innumerable cups of tea, lots of blood, sweat and tears and the occasional glass of wine.

We have used layers of insulation and sheets of water-proofing material to create what is becoming a hi-tech house.

The floor is the latest milestone and is made from screed, a fine cement, laced with shell and stone dredged from the sea.

Eventually the five-bedroom home will be covered with earth and grass to blend into its surroundings.

Solar panels will generate electricity, an air-source pump will provide heating and human waste will be broken down organically.

It will be a year on March 29 since we moved from our “normal” house in Playstool Road, Newington, to begin work on pastureland at Brambledown once owned by my grandparents. As a girl I remember running through the fields.

The first thing Sav and I did was build a compost loo and outdoor shower.

During the past year we have met many interesting, amazing and inspiring individuals who have flocked to the Island from Italy, India, Argentina and Brighton to help build what we call Ground House Sheppey.

Others have dubbed it the Hobbit House.

It is very eco-friendly. I love that we will be collecting rainwater from the roof to flush our toilets. But I never realised how many controls there would be for the under-floor heating powered by the air-source pump installed by Jamie Thomson of Energymyway.

Volunteers have turned unwanted wooden pallets into sensational pieces of furniture and flower baskets and tree stumps in the garden have been transformed into “hotels” for birds and bugs.

Our next challenge is to tackle the inside. I can’t wait!