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So not much happened on site today. Hahahahhahaha! Just kidding - the 'whoosh' of the entry title refers to the speed of the upper floor going up. Just amazing. Equally, though, it could refer to the rotor blades of a Royal Navy lynx helicopter. Huh? Let me explain. For some time now, ever since the slab started going down, in fact, there have been a couple of navy lynx helicopters that seem to have a regular route (I assume from RNAS Yeovilton as it's not that far away) passing not far from our site and they're generally over at least once a week. Since the slab started going down, their fly-pasts have become a little closer each time and a little slower. This afternoon, a single lynx flew over. I mean right over. Like, directly over head, banking steeply around the build at a very low level right over. I'm sure I saw the pilot wave. So, I'm just saying it now, but if MBC get an order from either aircrew or a pilot of a navy lynx helicopter, they know where to send the bottle of wine for the free advertising. So, what did happen today? Well, the final load of timber frame components arrived around mid-morning but the crane and MBC were there from early doors this morning, busy putting into place what was already on site. First in were the south east and north west corner walls. Then came the walls either side of the east and west gables: Once the adjacent walls were in, the gable steels were craned in: The east gable was done a little differently. The steel was put in first, then the timber section placed on top: Here's a closer view of the east gable steel being worked on: And here's one of the big side wall panels being craned in: Then the slightly different design for the south gable. This doesn't have an apex in the glazing, so the section is done differently. Once the team broke for a late lunch, I scampered up and took a couple of photos from the scaffold for a different perspective: By late afternoon, the full height opening for the stairwell window was all in and work was starting on the internal stud walls. As well as the internal walls, the guys were prepping the top of the gables to receive the roof beams that will go in soon by cutting slots in the very top of the apex. Final pic for today that I know will excite all you construction fans, is the treatment of the steel beam ends and the glulams: So, what next? Well, the scaffolders are due back tomorrow to put the second lift in place and make any adjustments that the MBC team need to do the final stages of the timber frame. In addition, I'm still chasing down and getting more roofing quotes as my solar PV installation is due on 26th September and I still need to get the eaves course and velux windows sorted by then as I'm pushing my already extraordinarily good luck with the weather in getting weather-dependent jobs done that far into the autumn. The glazing is also due that week, so I'm hoping for a good one! I've got quite a few admin tasks to do and need to get to grips with the next section of workflow but I've been giving some attention to that today and will detail my 'next steps' in a separate post away from all this distracting timber frame porn. Enjoy!

My upper floor, that is. Due to the vast number of MBC guys on site early last week, my upstairs was ready for the underfloor heating pipes and spreader plates to go in much earlier than my plumber had anticipated so the plates were duly put in. MBC were due back on site this morning to get the egger boards down on the first floor, so it was a case of then or never. The downstairs UFH pipes are embedded into the concrete slab and so a different method is needed for the upstairs, and this is it. What you are looking at are aluminium spreader plates with the UFH pipe bedded into them. The spreader plates are thin sheets of aluminium with two semi-circular recesses running the length of the plates. These are stapled to the joists along their length and their job is to hold the pipe in place and also to diffuse the heat over their area. The plates are very thin, barely a couple of mm thick, I would say, and very sharp, as I found out when poking the corner of them all stacked up in the shrink wrap packaging when they first arrived. Here's what they look like individually: There were a couple of delays in getting started on Friday and as a consequence work went on till well into the evening. UFH by sunset: After some hard graft on Saturday, it was all in place and the manifold had been attached, pressurised and tested and all looks good. Once all the egger boards are on, the centres of the spreader plates should be stapled along their lengths to the boards above to ensure good contact and heat transfer, although this was overlooked and not done but not picked up on in time to be rectified before the flooring went down on top. I did not sit idly by whilst all this effort was going on, oh no, not me. I had some very important decisions to make and these took a high level of innovation and imagination. Like, where's the best spot for the furniture in the to-be living room and where do I prefer the view? Really important. And, it turns out, that off-cuts of EPS upstand make for a really good improvised sofa. To be seen in all the best furniture showrooms soon: Having tried this, I came to a very meaningful conclusion. I need more furniture. Another thing for another day. Back to business, MBC were back on site today, a team of 4 to put the egger boards in place. You can see from the spreader plate pictures above that there is virtually no joist exposed, hence the need for screwing them down, particularly as the spreader plates will need to be attached from them underneath. The guys also used the egger adhesive along the tongue and groove runs of the board sides. Being a complete ingenue when it comes to all matters of construction, I was pondering last week what the purpose was of the hefty blocks of wood set into the recesses of the I shaped steels. Today, I found out. The posi-joists don't just rest in place, they are very firmly attached using steel thingies called roof hangers. These are they: And this is where they go: On other matters, I'm busily chasing down roofers at the moment, and they are proving difficult to get hold of. One has already declined to quote because they are so busy, but I'm working through a list of possibles, so it will get done. I've also booked in for my service alteration on the electricity - it's on a pole via an overhead line right now but will be buried eventually and the pole removed. Current date for this is 17th October, but electricity companies dance to the beat of their own drum so this could easily change. It's the big stuff back tomorrow with the final frame delivery and the upper floor being constructed. Sit tight for the next thrilling episode!

Ok the issue is you are assuming you are the last delivery from your merchant. A fully laden HIAB equipped wagon from a merchant can be upward of 27 tonnes so whilst you may only have a pallet with 6 bags of plaster on it, the next person may have 10 bulk bags and 8 pallets of blocks. Assume all merchant deliveries are full load worst case and you won’t get any surprises. The other consideration is that if your attenuation is under the drive, you need heavy vehicle cubes - move it under the grass or lawn and they drop to standard or lightweight cubes as a significant cost saving.

You did know that I used to be in charge of the entire Lynx fleet, as the Lynx Integrated Project Team Leader at Yeovilton, and the Programme Manager for Future Lynx (now Lynx Wildcat) didn't you? Some of my former colleagues being curious, I rather suspect, especially as a couple of them came over to see our build going up. IIRC, there's at least one other Lynx-connected individual with an MBC build, too.

We had a long thread about this a couple of years back. @JSHarris and @SteamyTea were two of the other main actors. The figure drops out of Stefan–Boltzmann as the radiant component dominates heat losses at the small delta T. There are minimal conductive losses on an solid / air interface and a few °C is too small to generate enough instability to create any convective flow in a passive house. In our case we have a mat slate floor which is rough at a micro level and about the perfect radiant surface. The figure would be lower for a carpeted floor, but not as much as you'd think because whilst carpet is a good insulator, the surface is almost fractile and so the effective radiant surface is a lot larger. Certainly looking at the slab temps and our rate of heat loss, this is in the right ballpark.

Hi all, I self build 20 years ago in Milton Keynes in the glorious days when the Commission for New Towns were knocking out building plots left, right and centre. The house has been a great family home but having read about Passivhaus and visited one, I know have itchy feet to build a Passivhaus all over again in a more rural setting. Following up on a couple of leads at the moment but realise this is going to be a long game. The forum is a great source of information and inspiration particularly as the building technology has moved on so much since I last self built.

I'm sorry to hear your news but time to fight back and tomorrow is a new day.

Another post got me thinking about the point in my build where no more HGV vehicles need to drive onto the plot and it would be safe to install an underground water drainage soakaway tank formed from plastic storage crates. Here is my league table of typical material delivery weights per wagon in descending order: Foundation Concrete. Bricks and blocks. Driveway hardcore. Tiles. Suspended ground floor concrete beams. Floor screed. Roof trusses. Glazed windows. Plasterboard. Patio flag stones. Fitted kitchen. LPG underground tank. What have I missed?

You should have a chamber near the boundary of your property. Make the drains up to that point as shallow as possible as they will be cheaper and safer to lay and easier to access and rod if ever needed (which they probably won't be). Lay the bit from your chamber to the sewer connection as steep as is needed.

Wiring regs just say you have to be competent. So no reason at all why not. But if the purchaser notices your address is the same as the address of the property being tested they might raise a concern. In my case it is handy having 2 addresses, e.g when I do an EICR on the old house, I use the new address. When I do an EIC for the new house, I use the old address. So just use your new address and there should be no problem.

Pull the toggle and wait for the water to rise and float out of the skylight ..??

Amazing seeing it go up isn't it! Even though you read about it on here nothing can beat seeing your own go up. From nothing, to almost a house in a couple of days. Timber frame rocks lol.

Rope ladder ?

Happy to talk you through changing the settings as needed. The manual isn't as clear as it could be, IMHO. There may be a slight delay whilst I get back up to speed on the settings, as it's a while since I've played with ours - I got the settings right and have just left it alone since!

Floor surface temperature is the standard parameter used for UFH design. The formula for heat output per m² is (8.92*Δt)1.1 if you want to work it out reasonably accurately, where Δt is the differential between the floor surface temperature and the room temperature. I'd treat guesstimates for flow temperature from UFH suppliers with caution, as they tend to fall over as Δt falls to passive house levels.

Who would complain if the wire suffered accidental damage this winter?

Keep an eye on Ebay for crates. I managed to buy 20 off heavy duty Aquacell crates for a ludicrous price - I think I paid a fiver each for them. A local contractor had a pile of them left over from a highways job. IIRC, he charged me as much to deliver them as I paid him for the crates. You quite often seem to get soakaway crates come up on Ebay, probably worth also looking at places like Gumtree, too.

Dig it all as shallow as possible with a fall of 1:40 to 1:60 connected to a chamber near the boundary of your property, then you can connect to the sewer at any gradient you like as long as it is greater than 1:60. So you may be at, say 600 invert at your last chamber and drop down from there to the 2.5m on the foul drain, where you may have a radiant like 1:1. I think with surface water you may even be allowed to connect in with an internal backdrop but you would need to check.

It is but see "Drop Shaft or Back Drop Connection" on this page... http://www.pavingexpert.com/drain05.htm#dropshaft Allows you to keep below the max recommended falls on the pipes. Edit: Note the use of a large radius bend at the bottom of the drop in the photo. I think this is safer than the tight bend shown in the diagram.

£5.5 million buys you an exciting solution to that problem. Can we all come around and test it? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/4305229.stm

I just added above the FFL recommended by the EA. They recommend a FFL of 6.13 m ODN for a 1:100 risk level of 5.83 m ODN, a difference in our case of just 300mm, rather less than your 1.5m. In our case I spoke to people who had lived locally for 20 years or more. They said that flood water has never even reached the access road (which is at about 5.9m ODN), let alone my building which will be at 6.42 or above with my no-dig and passive-raft foundation. However, with global warming, perhaps the future will not be like the past. The annoyance for me is that I may need to put an evacuation door in the rear of my property (I have no garden). The EA considers the access road to be flood prone and so assumes I may need to high-tail-it across my neighbours' back gardens in the event of a flood. Rather ridiculous I think. Perhaps they are envisioning a Krakatoa-style flood with mere moments to respond. I would have thought a sedate egress in wellies would be more than sufficient!

Yes, but I'd known him for months by that stage, and trusted him completely. We didn't bother with accounts for electrical stuff, as we did a bulk buy for most stuff up front, and it was just bits and pieces after that. It was usually just a matter of him buying an odd thing locally at the last minute.

They influenced the drainage spec for my plot before I purchased it. I have to install 4.5m3 of storm crates for about 160m2 of roof area. In addition my drive must be gravel. At the end of the day it looks like £2500, £700 for the crates, £1200 for the regulator and 1.5 days for a crew of two to dig and bury the tanks.

One potential gotcha with discharging to a watercourse or body of water is the vagaries of the Environment Agency. The people there dealing with surface water run off into the stream alongside our plot were a total PITA, and went so far as to insist on a planning condition that we didn't allow any water from the plot to run across the lane into the stream (a complete joke because in heavy rain the lane turns into a stream full of mud, horse poo, gravel etc all washed down from higher up the valley and straight into the stream). If you can avoid dealing with the EA then I would, but the chances are they will be consultees during your planning application (they were for ours) and so may well poke their nose in with regard to drainage. The bizarre thing is that the other bit of the EA I dealt with, that looked after licenses to discharge treated sewage into a watercourse were really helpful, and granted me a license to discharge to the stream within an hour or so of me contacting them.

Jeremy the easiest way to connect this is through a simple gateway. If you have a spare serial port off your PIC hub then you can hook it up to a Wifi-enabled processor. You might find the RPi zero W as the best choice because you can run Linux and script this in Python. Alternatively you can use an ESP processor and script this in Lua which is pretty Fortran-like. If you do want to go this second route them you do have access to one of the ESP/Lua gurus, but this is a case of Matthew 7:7 (an exercise for Google)

Thanks guys. It is just a quote at the moment. He is a nice guy & comes from a recommendation. It was just to check before & I go back to him & ask him to re quote minus the VAT. I do not think it will be a problem.

The LDPE hose I used is like this stuff https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LDPE-plastic-hose-tube-x-30m-6mm-ID-8mm-OD-pipe-irrigation-pipe-tubing/112949756566?hash=item1a4c548296:g:jGYAAOSwYtla2KcE - I had some lying around from another job (probably still have a few metres of it somewhere if you get stuck and need some - I could easily drop a short length in the post). The fill loop with non-return valve is one of these: https://www.screwfix.com/p/combi-straight-filling-loop/46605 fitted with one of these 8mm reducing sets: https://www.bes.co.uk/15-mm-x-8-mm-reducing-set that fits directly into the inlet side of the non-return valve. I slipped a bit of thin wall 6mm brass tube inside the end of the LDPE pipe to prevent the olive from crushing it (B&Q sell 6mm thin wall brass tubing). I permanently fitted the valve on the fill loop to our UFH filling point, but you could just discard it. You may need an adapter to fit your fill valves - they look as if they may have threads that are larger than the 1/2" BSP thread that the fill loop connector has.

Sadly neither Filterworld or Filtermate can supply filters that fit our Genvex, so it's either buy them for around £50 the pair from the Genvex agent or get 5 pairs for under £100 from Jasun.

Just found a better photo of the whole unit - looks like I used a 7 litre pressure sprayer rather than the one linked to earlier, although I doubt it makes any difference in practice: The standard flexible fill loop hose just screws directly on to the non-return valve.

Write to them and give them 28 days to remove the kit.

I've just bought our Kinetic filters from https://filtermate.co.uk very reasonable.

I reckon you could adapt a garden sprayer, as I did to fill and pressurise our UFH system and as is sold by one or two companies for filling and pressurising solar thermal systems. All I did was buy a Screwfix garden sprayer (this one https://www.screwfix.com/p/sx-cs5-white-black-pressure-sprayer-5ltr/7490x I think), remove the outlet pipe and replace it with a bit of 8mm LDPE pipe, that I connected to a non-return valve and a fill loop flexi pipe, that screwed on to the filling point. @jack took some photos of the fittings I used when I lent it to him: The 8mm LDPE pipe fits the compression type fitting on the sprayer where the spray pipe normally goes perfectly, as that's also 8mm. IIRC these things will pump to around 3 to 4 bar, which was fine for filling our UFH to 1.5 bar, as your system needs a higher pressure then such a bit of kit may or may not do the job, but I think it would be worth a go for the relatively low cost. You do need to be careful when using it to not pump air in, although in my case there is an air bleed close to the fill point so any air could be bled out easily. If you don't want to make one, some of the solar thermal system suppliers sell them. At least one solar thermal supplier just modifies a hand sprayer as I did and sells it as a sort of kit of parts to fill up a system.

Welcome to Buildhub! A couple of quick points. I'm also within Waverley council. I haven't been keeping close tabs, but you may be aware that their revised neighbourhood plan was rejected by (I think) the planning inspectorate a couple of times over the last few years. As a result, there was (and may still be) a situation where only national policies applied, which apparently made it harder for Waverley to knock back planning applications. Also, there's a lot of pressure to increase the number of houses being built in Waverley. You may be aware that Dunsfold (the old airfield) was one option for building a large proportion of those houses. I don't know what impact this might have on an application for a new plot in this general area, but again, something worth chatting with a planning consultant about. Finally, I think I read recently that Waverley's planning department was coming under some pressure due to the number of appeals they were fighting and losing. Again, worth trying to find out more, because if it's true, there's likely to be some immediate pressure to be more forthcoming in granting permission. Whatever the situation, it's definitely worth a chat to a local planning consultant. There's a firm just across the road from the planning office at Godalming who a couple of people we know have used with success. You get a free up front chat, which can be very useful.

Slightly random observations as my head isn't working very well today - treat with caution!: Garage looks quite close in size to a double garage, but not quite - and you don't appear to be using the space for anything else. From the 3D rendering you could probably keep the ridge height the same and just bring the eaves a bit closer to the ground to get room for 2 cars. As @le-cerveau points out, it's a good location for site services, maybe storage, welfare etc. during the build as well if you finish it first. If I've got myself aligned right, the double desk over the landing will have both chairs facing a wall, with a window between them. That window faces over the main view, but the sill looks quite high up so when seated it might well be that all you can see is the sky rather than the view over the hills which would seem to be one of the main attractions of the plot. You've got two doors to pathways at the side of the house but none to the back garden. Where are you going to be going to from them - the back garden or the paths? There appear to be acres of empty space in the middle of the kitchen. I'm not sure what works for you, but that wouldn't suit me. Downstairs shower/toilet looks really cramped to me, and the arrangement of the large cupboard next to it looks really awkward. Swapping that cupboard with the MVHR would give longer supply and return ducts in need of insulation, but more usable floor space and would ensure that your ductopus is in a more convenient place for the upstairs floors - I like the suggestion of putting the en-suite back to back with the main bathroom, and doing so would allow you to steal space for a duct run right over the revised position of the MVHR.

Going back to the OP... If short of time I would just get the boat house to do a basic connection and pipe run to your boundary or manhole just inside you boundary, worry about the onsite detail later.

I'd definitely want something like Heras, as public liability is pretty serious, and Heras (or similar) secure fencing is so widely used that it would be a pretty good legal defence argument is something did happen. The orange low level stuff is wholly inadequate, and only intended to be used for short duration hazard marking around temporary works, like roadworks. Our site insurers wanted security fencing that was at least 1.8m or 2m high, IIRC, I'll try and see if I kept the bumpf they sent out with the policy and quote it, if I haven't thrown it out.

I think there's some confusion here between "airtight" and "vapour tight". OSB is, to all intents and purpose, more than adequately airtight as far as a building air test is concerned. It won't let air through at a rate that would make a jot of difference to the house air tightness in practice. OSB is vapour permeable though, so will allow water vapour to move through it. As such, OSB is not suitable as a vapour control layer - for that you need to use one of the boards made specifically for vapour control, such as Spano DURÉLIS VapourBlock or SmartPly, or similar. Our build uses Spano DURÉLIS VapourBlock as the inner skin and OSB as the outer skin for this reason.

My initial thoughts: Master en-suite is pokey yet family bath is huge, consider re-arranging the master bed with the en-suite back to back with the family bathroom (steal some space), give yourself a descent built in wardrobe where the current en-suite is. Also simplifies the plumbing putting everything over the utility room. A big master bed is nice (we have a massive one) but is mostly lost space, more importantly is that every bedroom can take a super king bed if required without compromise! Agree with @PeterW that kitchen open to stairs is an issue, fire regulations I think that would have to be engineered out, put an entrance hall at the bottom of the stairs to solve the problem. MVHR positioning does not lead to usable duct routes to the first floor, need to consider where the ducts will rise, through the corner of the bathroom/en-suite where the cylinder is, they are the largest service and everything need to work around it, otherwise it will be an afterthought (the plumbing will already be in) and will end up being a compromise/bodge! Consider a central service riser (where the utility cupboard is next to stairs) access to wet rooms above, vent trunking (option). Put your DHW cylinder/SunAmp and MVHR unit there Bin store, location and access in pouring rain! Service access to plot, meters in/on outside of Garage, build Garage first then you have on site services. You can also take dedicated feed for car charging. Car port beside garage for second car, and external charging point, second charging point in side garage. What about the attic, warm roof I presume, access, boarded out for storage…. We can all pick holes

Welcome. I think it looks good. Now is the time to think (organisational, financial) about how to facilitate an efficient build. At this stage I would take a tour through the VAT reclaim regulations and see if you can add anything to the plan (eg landscaping detail, up and over electric garage door rather than the side hinged Morris Motor House manual type, offset the garage door so you storage is at one side) which would permit that to be included in your VAT reclaim at the end of the project. One thing that determines what you can zero-rate is what is explicitly included in your PP; if you have just submitted then you can add things in with a letter or email. Also remember the detailed regs regarding CIL-exemption. That needs to be in place before you start developing, if applicable, or you can get nobbled with the liability. If I have this right you have a lot of soil shifting to do, and will need your sunny sitting area at the bottom of the back garden. It might be worth thinking through how your back "garden room" will work - like me you seem to have the sun at the front. @newhome has just posted what is a fairly comprehensive thread on this. I would think about including an option of making that sunscreen solid over the front door so you do not get rained on while looking for your key, or your visitors whilst waiting for you to answer. Also I would have some permeability to eg see a hint of the back garden from the front - that could be a slightly moved front door or a tall narrow window to the right with the current stairs. I think some detail could be improved in some respects (eg shower downstairs to clean the "dog-under", bigger shower upstairs), but most of that can come later in the conversation. That is an exercise in exposing yourself to different suggestions and choosing the best options; no one here will be offended and we will all say different things. There is also a mass of liveable details you will want to think about - eg where is the discreet parcel drop off, and where will your garden tools be kept. Best of luck, but looks good. Ferdinand

Camo net on a roll? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075SVTGJZ/ref=asc_df_B075SVTGJZ55351699/? They do a 20m roll for £45 inc delivery.

Welcome ..!! nice plot, lovely views ..! Couple of observations on the plans .. that master ensuite is tiny ..! Why not spin the bed 90 degrees and bring the headboard back against the bathroom wall, and then extend the ensuite to the left ..? Would leave space for the chair next to the window and a view from the bed too..? Kitchen open to the stairs is a bit odd too - lots of space for a really nice hallway but seems very open so smells will travel upstairs. Other than that - looks great !

Installed with an expanding Polyurethane glue, OSB is air tight to well over the pressure used in air testing - make a box of offcuts and attach a hoover to it and you’ll see what I mean ..!

I can confirm that cooling using the MVHR isn't that effective; the volume of air moved just isn't great enough. A fan coil unit recirculates room air through the cooling coil and can have a much higher air flow rate, and hence much greater cooling effect. Our MVHR has a built in air-to-air heat pump, that can be used to deliver pretty cold air, but the maximum cooling power is only around 1.5 kW for the whole house, which isn't much on a day when there is a lot of solar gain. We've mitigated the solar gain as much as we can, both practically and in terms of what the planners would accept, but the greatest cooling influence on the whole house is just cooling the slab by reversing the ASHP and using the UFH as under floor cooling. That is far more effective than having the MVHR on full boost delivering cool air.

As pointed out before, be very wary of only looking at COP, it can be extremely misleading in terms of real-world performance, especially in the sort of cool and damp weather common in the UK heating season. Far better to use SPF, which takes account of the true energy used versus sensible heat out through the operating season, taking account of all defrost measures. These defrost measures can range from actively switching the heat pump into reverse to more subtle measures such as turning the heat pump on and off, or modulating it up and down, to allow the evaporator to naturally warm and reduce the icing risk. The COP also varies a great deal with cycling and the control methodology, as the EST showed in the adjunct to their series of heat pump trials, with COP dropping to as low as 1.5 when an ASHP was caused to short cycle due to a light demand. All measures intended to reduce icing, or that induce short cycling, impact on the SPF, but not necessarily on the published COP, as COP is usually measured without taking proper account of any defrost system or short cycling. There's the added problem that ASHPs may tend to have defrost controls that may be optimised to give a good COP under the two standard air/water test conditions, rather like the infamous Volkswagen emissions cheat. Edited to add: Just found this quote, from here: http://www.hodkinsonconsultancy.com/ashps-and-the-code-in-the-british-climate/ that sums up some of the problems with just using COP in the UK climate (my highlight of key points about COP and icing): The article is worth a read, as it highlights many of the points that I've found out by experiment with our heat pump and the UK climate.

I managed to get a full day tiling the kitchen floor I’m working tomorrow so won’t be able to get there to grout till next weekend

I've been thinking about this for some years now, and I know roughly what the fees are. My intention is to be able to offer a service to committed DIY'ers that's free, but for which people can choose to make a donation towards my costs if they wish. People are always going to do electrical installation work they shouldn't, and I don't think that will ever change (I'm sure you guys who work as electricians see it all the time). By offering free inspections and testing at least I can (hopefully) make a small dent in the number of really iffy installations there are around. As a side effect, I can make some of my own "unofficial" wiring in the water treatment plant shed and in my workshop legal, which alone will probably come close to covering the initial costs I'll incur.

I found the same thing, that Genvex filters were a silly price. I had a batch made by these people: http://jasun.co.uk/ . They were around 1/4 of the cost of the Genvex ones, but look identical. I just emailed them the sizes and types I wanted and they made up five of each for less than £100. I find that the filters can be cleaned with a vacuum cleaner at least once, sometimes twice, before they need replacing, so five sets of filters should last at least five years.

Well, we lost We took a report prepared by the planner and added our comments, showing every bit of misinformation. We put it in an email, attached pictures demonstrating our statements and added a summary. Sent it to every committee member. My wife was worried delivering letters in person was a bit of "we know where you live". SHMBO. The first disappointment was when no-one else but the head of the committee replied saying he forwarded our email to the planner asking to prepare a presentation. That was the sign for me he was not on our side despite calling the case to the committee in the first place. The second disappointment was that even though our neighbour was happy to come and speak it was not allowed as there were no objections in the first place, hence I was not allowed to speak either. So it works like this apparently: the planner presents the case repeating all the lies, then the councillors discuss the case, some of them citing the lies told by the planner as concerns, then they vote. 4 vs 4 twice, then back to square one where the head joined the vote against us. Shocking process. I honestly can't believe the answer to our statement about say the discrepancy in the size of the building stated was "I measured their plans". How about the size that we specify - does it count for nothing??? He then on a request of one councillor presented the net increase in the footprint which is way over the real one. He claimed we have a ground floor front extension - porch - pointing at the roof above the front door. All is recorded on video. They are clearly not afraid to be caught. Anyway, on every item they voted as planners told them. Sleep now. Prepare to appeal later. The only good news is we talked to someone else who had a similar problem with the planners and they won the appeal. Seriously considering getting a consultant for this as it just takes too much time and I would rather be told right now if it is hopeless.