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Absolutely 👍

Fair point. In our calcs, I’ve used our current standard rate for the electricity, but have ignored the fact that we’ll also have PV & batteries, so provided there continue to be off-peak rates for charging the batteries in the months with low generation, we should be paying very significantly less on average. Our current average cost per KWh is around half the rate that I’ve used in the calculations (I was aiming for ‘worst case’) 🤞

I did concrete over UFH and insulation, it was all done before the walls went up - the external ones.

Broadening out the topic slightly but when do people think screeding is best sequenced in the overall build? I had in my mind that it would be done early in the process once the main structure was watertight. But, I've seen a number of University of Tube videos where ufh pipe and screed has been laid after first fix electrics and after walls had been plastered. I think the instances I saw were for floors screeded with modern liquid screed, as opposed to the more traditional concrete so there may be a difference with regards to moisture levels. Thoughts? Pros/Cons? Pooh traps to be avoided?

At the low end, it’s 3G aluclad timber (e.g. Internorm) and at the higher end it’s aluminium, which we’re most unlikely to go choose. I’d say the bang/buck sweet spot would be the likes of Zyle Fenster, Rawington or Nordan, all of which are a lot cheaper than Internorm but are still around 0.8. That’s similar to our rationale… minimising ongoing running costs is important. This house gives us everything we want so we need to be confident that we’ll be able to afford to stay in it, come what may 😬

I think as you approach very low u values it's better to switch your attention to better airtightness detailing, because that's going to be where the bulk of your heat loss occurs. But it's not just about saving money. You're creating a comfortable house without damp, drafts, condensation, and mould. And it's extremely hard to improve insulation and airtightness later.

Energy prices may vary, they have over the last 4 years, so you need to make some assumption there. Also, are you comparing the marginal price increase, per MWh saved. Then there is general inflation. When I bought my first place in 1981, I was told that it would bankrupt me and it was a silly amount of money (£17k), millstone around my neck. Not. As many have found out on here, it is possible to do a good job, for a similar price, just don't accept the contractor's initial price.

Indeed. I’m fairly sure ours will cost a little more than its value, but it’s the only way for us to get the house we want in the area we want to live. You never know what’s around the corner, but we intend it to be our last home so what it gives us is more important that how much it’s worth. That being said, once we’re gone I imagine it will be sold by our children (quite rightly) and I have limited desire to invest my hard-earned for the benefit of the next inhabitants That’s a good point… what are the things that you would strongly advocate, even if the strict cost analysis doesn’t perhaps appear to make sense?

I used to have planning enforcement down to my place all the time. Building an unauthorised structure in the garden, which turned out to me laying a lawn. I told them to f.off. I then had a legal letter sent to them saying that if they came to my property again, wasting my time, without doing due dilligence first. I would sue the arse off them. Never heard from them since, but i expect when i start my build, they will come calling. I might throw eggs at them next time. I have not made my mind up yet. I find the level of intelligence within the council to be rather lacking. Highways came to inform me that i had to keep the ditch at the front of the property clear. I pointed out that it was full of water. He replied exactly. I pointed out that the reason my ditch was full of water was because i was the only twat in the lane that bothered to keep my ditch clear, while all the others are blocked or non existant. I asked how much he was willing to pay for my education services. He mumbled something, got back in his car, and drove off. Twat. Then there was the twat from the council, who came about my garden fire. I asked him when the council had made the area, a no smoke zone. They hadn't, so i told him i could store 50tons of wood, and burn something like 5tons a day. To f.off and not come back. The list goes on. Total muppets, sharing a brain cell between them.

When I was pricing up, zinc was an option soon dismissed, when I got the prices. In the end I did a Sarnafil pvc roof with decor profiles at 450mm centres. But we did about 200m².

The last house I built in oz I did 75% and had help with the rest, when we started this I said I needed more help. then as we started I just kept doing everything myself got quotes to do stuff but didn’t like them, everything seamed to expensive when I knew I could do it, even if it took longer, then covid came along, things went up, ran out of money, things went up again, ran out of money again. plus I’ve got multiple other things on the go. I’ve also had large periods of time when I just couldn’t be bothered spent hours wondering what on Earth I was doing and why we even started. and I’m just about to start a couple of small refurbishment projects. must be mad, could be sitting on a beach with a cocktail.

Now you can (expletive deleted) about for another 10 yrs like me on other projects !

What this says if you are comparing 3G windows with 3G is the frames on 1.1 are truly rubbish thermally. You may as well install good double glazed with Krypton gas and get same performance. So you need to look a bit deeper it's not just about cost and just back its also about quality of materials being offered as well. It also depends what you want out of the house. Actually building a house is utter nonsense based on payback period, just get a tent! You heat a tent for several life times compared to just the basic windows for a house let alone the whole house. I improved stuff based on not having to fork out much for utility bills when I retire. I can afford stuff now, on a pension I may not. Lower heat loss also drives other costs down, simpler heating system, smaller heat pump, done correctly less noise, better house feel, air quality etc

UFH in cooling mode (during summer) summed up in 7 words.

Judging (only) by a few posts on here re difficulties with quality on standing seam roofs I wonder if you might have things against you - not least a roofer wanting to 'get out of bed' for 20m2, when there are full houses to be done. Or I may be too pessimistic - 20m2 may be just enough to fill that small gap left after the last job...

February 2018 seams like yesterday.

I mean unless it was new boards you can't really straighten anything out with finish.

True payback can be long although it seems that payback is not always a good reason not to do it because the 'value' dimension gets lost. So while you can know both most people know the cost of things but cannot articulate the value. I suspect that if you stand back far enough on the payback side only in £ terms you will be hard pressed to make self building pay back.

Seriously I thought he was skimming it with that deliberate non evenness - because most of the house is that style anyway .

I like to think of an inverter as a CVT gearbox. Most of the time you can drive a car in third gear, be a bit hard to get going, max speed will be limited, and fuel consumption will be dreadful. Generally electronics are reliable, the biggest problem is replacement parts are silly money, we had a board changed in the dish washer at work, the problem was a relay, 20 quid part. The repair was over £1200, for a secondhand board. They kept our broken one which I could have repaired.

There is a massive law of diminishing returns! I figure U values of high teens is the point at which it becomes futile to poor more money into it, as ROI becomes many many decades. The irony we find, the house is so well Insulated the floor feels cold during mild periods when the UFH doesn't come on as house hasn't dropped below 21 degrees.... So we end up artificially boosting the heating to cancel our the cool floor feeling. Cool floor and warm ambient = feel chilly. We also have a huge amount of average glazing, so that probably doesn't help. All that, and we still spent several £grands increasing all the insulation to mid teen U values.

Looks great. What delayed the completion from the 2 yr guess?

Fantastic! Can we see some more pics.....maybe close ups of the locks and security measures? 😉

Got more pics? Layout, tell us more. Congratulations, our moving in anniversary will be this July, amazing how much you look back as if it was all a dream.

I realised the same the other week when I put 150 vs 200mm cavity insulation into AI. The payback periods are insane.