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Confirmation received that its being determined under delegated powers with a recommendation for approval. So sometime in the next few weeks i should be getting my planning application granted (95% sure), after a long long process. After buying my house 5+ years ago, never thinking about developing it at the time, i am likely get an approval for two additional 160m2 houses on the plot! Next steps, figuring out WTF to do with the plot/permission(s)! ?

Like clockwork, everytime. I need something. I ask the people Involved- no clue. I call HMRC, pointless. I google, pointless - i search the forum - success after 30 sec. I think i should just stop using any other source of information/advice . Waste of time ?

Not quite what “her indoors” had in mind! She said her mum and dad had the chimney breast papered in that in the 1980s!

Have you used the JG Speedfit Push Fit MDPE stuff from Screwfix...?? Hope you kept your receipt...

Good point, but as I mentioned above, it's also worth looking carefully at the specification of the MVHR, especially for the larger sized units. Some can be a great deal noisier than others. In some cases, where the location pretty much has to be above a habitable room, it maybe worth paying a bit more to get a quieter unit. For example, a unit that's 3dB noisier than another will be twice as noisy, as each 3dB is a doubling in noise level, something that may not be obvious when looking at the spec. The bottom line is that you often get what you pay for in terms of both noise and efficiency.

Looks like the whole dwelling background ventilation rate is the same as the required extract rate for the kitchen + bathroom + WC, then. The kitchen needs 13l/s, the bathroom 8l/s and the WC 6l/s, so 27l/s for extract, and if the net internal floor area is 90m2, then the whole dwelling continuous background ventilation rate is also 27l/s. It's often the case that the whole dwelling continuous rate ends up being the thing that determines the ventilation rate needed, which is handy, as it saves having to mess about considering the impact of boost settings, as boost isn't needed to comply with the regs and everything can be set at the background rate. To put things in perspective, I reckon I managed to get our old house pretty well sealed, but it was around 15 ACH at 50 Pa at a guess. Our new build is far from being the most airtight here, but it came in at 0.43 ACH during the air test, so around 35 times more airtight.

We've recently had similar discussions on relative cost, and I ran some numbers for different fuels and heat sources to provide heating for our house:

Rules of thumb and arm-waving begin: Oil costs about 7p/kWh after allowing for boiler efficiency ASHP costs about 4p/kWh assuming electricity at 12p/kWh and COP=3 But ASHP runs at lower flow temps, or COP decreases, making cost about the same as oil. So a retrofit is tricky, unless you already have oversized rads. That's my oversimplified way of looking at it, anyway. Happy to be told otherwise.

Not me, i have seen half a dozen “professional” tin roof installations and and every time there was a velux window or some other complicated section it was bodged in some way..... that’s why I did it myself, yes my roof is not perfect but it’s better than anything I have seen so far and next time I do one it will be spot on.

You can fit heat pumps to any building, just that because of the oversizing, the capital cost may be higher. That is always the case, regardless of heating system. Possibly, possibly not. Oil has been pretty cheap the last 12 years or so. There was a guy, who lives near me, over at the other place, that fitted a GSHP because the price of oil shot up (about 2006/7 I think). Then the price of oil plummeted and his GSHP cost him more to run than oil. As a rule of thumb, if people are on mains gas, heat pumps are not financially viable, they may be more environmentally better. But it does depend on many factors. If it was simple, we would all know what to do.

@willbish just spoken to a mate of mine who said give Nicholson’s a call. He reckoned you could use their Airtrak product to do what you want but may need to lift the ridge roll slightly to get the ridge to settle at the same angle as the roof. Think this is the stuff he’s referring to - see VR200 https://www.nicholsonsts.com/sites/default/files/files/standard/AIRTRAK Feb 2017 HR.pdf

@Savage87, forgive me if I've missed something earlier in the thread, but have you had an air test on the property? If not, it may be worth doing so before even considering installing MVHR as, if the airtightness is not great, you may find that no MVHR unit is going to work efficiently.

If fitting MVHR in a cold loft then it may well need installing in an insulated box, with good access for the regular filter changes etc. The ducts in the cold areas will also need insulating well.

Seriously don’t bother ..! You’ll be there for ages and achieve nothing ... once there is 8-1200kg if shed on the plinth, it’s going nowhere ..!!

@pocster it was Barney, I use flexible cable conduit which is very similar?

This is what I did . Split the plot . Sell main residence CGT free . Then build on plot . Also option of making that your residence when complete and sell CGT free again ?

Correct, I need to check with an accountant about the tax liabilities, but we could potentially sell the whole lot with the permission excempt from CGT, pocketing the land uplift pretty much tax free.

@Triassic by coincidence today I was researching brick slips while await my planning permission. I will need to cut some brick slips for the specials that will bridge to an angled wall I will have in my design. In doing so, I stumbled upon an entire world of brick cutters, cutting bricks not just slips. To my surprise there seems to multiple such companies in each county. Here is just one example fairly near me in East Anglia to give you an idea: http://www.masterlaybrick.com. They can make slips from any brick you choose. As an aside, I have learnt there are two types of brick slip tiles: (1) those made by cutting bricks; and (2) those made by extrusion. Type 1 creates rather more waste in the production process so, to my eye, Type 2 seems better.

nope ... Process of approach is ... Clean the holes (thin bit of hose and blow will do..!) wear safety specs as cement in the eye hurts .. Put a nut and washer onto the threaded rods so 10mm of thread is showing. Place the plates in place Inject resin into the holes drop the rods in, give each a push and one full turn. Don’t do anything with the nuts at this point. repeat for other pads go make a brew and get a couple of HobNobs (preferably chocolate) Drink the brew, check the weather for tomorrow then when 60 mins are up, go back outside. Take the nuts and washers off the rods, use additional washers to level the plates then put nuts and washers back on ... hand tight only. Tomorrow ... go back and tighten with a spanner..!! Job done ?

You can sell the plot(s) with no liability for CGT and pocket the cash.

Might be worth checking to make sure that the MVHR is actually OK and to spec as far as noise goes. I remember reading somewhere (may have been on Ebuild years ago) of someone that had a problem with noise from an MVHR that was due to a faulty fan, or maybe fan bearing. Noise from something like that might well be worse when the unit's running at a higher fan speed, so that may be something to check. Although the manufacturers can be a bit creative when it comes to things like sound levels, our Genvex is at the noisy end of the spectrum for these things, as this excerpt from the manual shows: The key figures here are the ones that cannot easily be silenced, the left column that gives the sound level 1m in front of the unit. The duct noise is really neither here nor there, as the silencers will remove most of that. Even with silencers and additional insulation I would still very definitely not want to have a unit like this in a loft space above a bedroom! As a guide, you don't want anything louder than about 30dB(A) in a noise-sensitive location. If the choice of location is limited, then it's best to choose the quietest model you can find, rather than rely on trying to reduce the noise by additional insulation, etc, although the downside of that is that it may cost more.

Congratulation, well 95% congratulations I guess ?

Depends really on how the noise is being transmitted. Some units are just inherently much noisier than others, and anti-vibration mounts may well make little or no difference, they may even make things worse if the noise comes from the case itself, by allowing it to resonate a bit. If the sound is coming from the case of the unit, which was what seemed to be the source with one of those we looked at years ago (pretty sure it was a Paul unit), then the only real fix is either to change it for a quieter unit or, perhaps, try and fit some acoustic insulation around it. There's no guarantee that fitting additional acoustic insulation around will get the noise level down to an acceptable level, though, especially if the unit is just inherently noisy, as some can be. I lined our services room with acoustic foam, in a bid to reduce the sound level, and that does seem to help a bit, in that it seems to absorb a fair bit of the sound coming from the MVHR, but it doesn't exactly make the unit silent.

2 nozzles if you don't use it all at once. Because it is not pre-mixed it keeps OK. They sometimes have a screw cap as well. Yes, grind away!

Key things I found when using MDPE: - Make sure that the ends are always cut square, preferably using a plastic pipe cutter with a very sharp blade. - Always fit an insert into the pipe before putting it in the fitting. - Always mark the pipe with a Sharpie or similar to show the full inserted depth, so you know when it's fully home in the fitting. - Always may sure that the end of the pipe, where the fitting seal sits is both clean and free from scratches, particularly longitudinal scratches. MDPE pipe does scratch easily, so it's always best to keep areas where fittings will go protected until you're ready to connect them. Electrical tape works well, and leaves no residue (as long as it's decent stuff). - If the end of a pipe is scratched, then you "may" be able to polish the scratches out with a bit of fine Scotchbrite pad, used so that it is spun around the outside end of the pipe. This will leave very fine circumferential scratches, but the seals in the fittings are better able to deal with fine scratches like this than they are longitudinal scratches. - Worth adding a smear of silicone grease around the inside of each fitting, where the O seal is. They usually have a bit of silicone grease there, but a bit more often makes things a bit easier to assemble. Finally, the worst fittings I've used have been the Flo-Plast ones from Screwfix, the ones with the very pale blue collars, that use a sort of lip seal, rather than the O ring that other fittings normally use. For some reason these seem very fussy about the condition of the end of the pipe.

Perhaps partially answering my own question, for Passivhaus certified components the PHI database provides numbers that seem more comparable (presumably measured through a common protocol) https://database.passivehouse.com/en/components/list/ventilation_small This puts just 4 dB between those units I listed although it looks like the Brink Flair 325 if the newer/better comparison, 1.5 dB quieter than the Zehnder

Why is a 20mm difference a worry...?? Can make that off in the last couple of courses and the mortar under the pillar cap..??

Great, thanks. We have two upstairs showers and a downstairs one that'll be used for guests/mucky kids in the same way so I'll look into connecting a single unit upstairs then.

I don't know about the difference between units, other than that the longer vertical ones are quite a bit more efficient than the horizontal under-tray type units. From memory, the one I bought recommends connecting up to two showers per unit. We have three upstairs showers, and just connected the two that are used most often (I think the guest shower's been used two or three times in four years!) I personally think you'd get away with connecting even three showers into the system.

It went into 17th for access and egress routes as those were considered the highest risk, but AIUI that then prompted a lot of jumping through hoops by big developers to try to define things as not being access and egress routes to save a bit of cash. So the 18th made it apply everywhere to avoid any argument. AFAIK the intention is actually to support wires before ceilings have burned through : in the fatality fire the ceilings were intact, the problem was the cabling was all in surface mounted plastic trunking which failed very rapidly. My understanding is once sheets of plasterboard start raining down the firefighters will be withdrawing anyway. "Premature collapse" in this context means "while the building is otherwise structurally sound" eg the cables are not the first thing to go. Certainly cables that are passing over joists etc at fairly regular intervals are unlikely to be an issue unless the ceiling is very low. I know some of the certification scheme providers require clips everywhere (and tbh there's often no real reason not to on new build / major refurb : it doesn't hurt and isn't really that expensive in the grand scheme of things) but that is a very strict reading of both the intent and wording of the regs. Also worth noting that in some cases vertical runs may need support, depending on where they are, how much free cable is involved, and how/if fixed at either end. Although less likely to tangle BA they could still pose quite an obstruction at floor level/to other kit if they can sag too far away from the wall. E.g. I would be more concerned about a vertical surface run up to a plastic light fitting/PIR detector/WiFi access point than a horizontal run above the plasterboard ceiling.

I've had one for the last 4 years, installed with an ASHP. This isn't accurate. First, most people use their ASHP to heat water in the tank to at least 50 deg C (@ProDave takes his to 48 deg C, and that's the lowest I'm aware of anyone on here using). Most people like their shower water to be no hotter than around 43 deg C. So you need to add cold water to bring the temperature down. But guess what - if you add some of the heat from the waste water to the cold water before the mixer, then you can use a higher proportion of that (preheated) cold water to achieve a given temperature at a given flow rate. A higher proportion of cold water means a lower proportion of hot water, hence energy is saved. Even better, to get the nearly 70% efficiency you mention, the system needs to be connected so that the preheated cold is supplied to both the cold side of the shower mixed and the cold feed to the DHW cylinder. Higher temp water into the cylinder means less energy to heat it to the final temperature. In short, the numbers work even if you're using a lower temperature heat source like an ASHP. In fact, I'd argue that waste water heat recovery is particularly suited to ASHP-based systems. There's a big difference in the amount of hot water that can be supplied by a tank at 50 deg C (ASHP) and a tank at, say, 75 deg C (gas boiler). In most households, showers consume a large proportion of all generated hot water. I'd estimate in our case that showers account for at least two-thirds of our usage. Waste water heat recovery increases the effective amount of hot water you can get out of your DHW cylinder. That lets you either use a smaller cylinder, or go for a standard cylinder and get more time in the shower.

Here is the incident report: https://www.ife.org.uk/Firefighter-Safety-Incidents/shirley-towers-2010/34619

This change came about after two firefighter's became caught up in electrical cables that had dropped down from a suspended ceiling in a block of flats and lost their lives. The cables got trapped between their BA cylinder and the backplate and they could not get free. The Fire Service also brought in a new strap for B/Apparatus that now prevents cables getting into the narrow gap, when a cylinder is changed there is a strap that goes from the backplate to the cylinder so if a cable does drop on to this area it just slides off.

Relatively cheap for high quality design and build social housing in that neck of the woods given recent cost inflation. Some of the big English social landlords have paused their development programmes (for sale to cross-subsidise affordable) as the numbers just don't stack up. Doesn't include land costs. But presumably yes. In general terms it does send out a very positive message about the social value of good design and the public sector should be leading the way in making better places, so glad to see it won albeit it's not quite to my tastes. Some very nice little sustainability features like the brise soleil canopies.

Blimey some kudos.. I'm gonna fall off my perch. Thanks RO.. I thought I dealt with this (a v. heavy call) pretty fkn well tbh: kept him happy but showed I was aware of mistake gaining a bit of a bargaining position. The fact I didn't kick up a fuss over this AND the dumper-in-forest police fiasco.. as any other client would.. = some respect from him. Yes- understood: thread's drifted off topic from concrete/ rain > to the build > to police matters > & on to this tricky & stressful situation/ mistake opening a can of worms & hence the many replies. Right time to draw a line.. hope the build can progress A+ from here. The fact I vented some stress out on here, rather than at my builder, has been extremely beneficial in the end.. so thx alot for reading my bllx & apologies if I got a bit shirty. zoot.

You can get similar tiles that are, for want of a better word, "smoother" to use on shallower angle roofs. Check the Marley ones are as suitable as the Redland for your angle.

You will find that your Architect has specified a. certain tile or slate to give an example BC won’t care what colour or type of tile you use Planning will only get involved if it looks totally different to what has been agreed If it is similar to what has been specified I’d go ahead and use it We where specified local slate I used Spanish Quote local to Preston

Phone up Redlands and ask why you should use their product instead of the Marley one. I have done this with a number of companies, I like to be frank and I like frank to the point answers.

I have no idea how I’m going to pay for mine either - that’s all part of the challenge. !

6 courses to go!

In England/Wales it is called the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) https://www.cscs.uk.com/ (it's purely a H&S scheme) All large properly-run building sites in England & Wales require you to show your CSCS card before they will let you on site. Some now also require you to prove that you've had asbestos awareness training. This one is simple to do as the training is on-line and only takes approx 3 hours.

one big plus is its only 120mm of concrete not 150mm like most others --so cheaper to fill

A simpler method would be to start on site as a brickies labourer. It will give you a feel of what goes on and how hard a job it is. You can earn a very good wage but you earn every penny. First thing you need will be your site safety certificate. In NI it's called the construction skills register,CSR, and is a single day course that covers all the basics. No one has ever failed it but you can't work on a site without it. Once you have the card then you can call into various sites and see if they are looking anyone. I'm not sure you will be able to combine it with your present job though as they will want some one available everyday. We had lots of apprentices that went to tech for 3 years and could do all the fancy arches and useless things they teach them but couldn't build a corner or run a few blocks along a line.

It is worth mentioning the City & Guides qualification in bricklaying, I think it sits between a formal apprenticeship and a two week experience course. I wonder if the status of C&G could lead to someone else paying the tuition fees at least in the short term. https://www.cityandguilds.com/qualifications-and-apprenticeships/construction/trades/6705-bricklaying#tab=information Thinking longer term there are opposing economic factors to consider: Modern construction techniques will surely lead to a reduction or complete elimination of bricks and blocks used in a new build's construction. Conversely I think there is a demographic bulge of UK citizens about to retire form the building industry, so the short-term supply/demand imbalance is good for a new entrant. House building will never get outsourced to a call center in India or an AI algorithm running in a cloud computer server in Seattle.

I can confirm that washing machine waste pipe fits lovely in a 25mm hole . 15mm Hep2o glides through ! Was it @Barney12 or @joe90 I need to thank for this tip ?

RHI was a massive incentive for me,during a refurb i have removed the storage heaters and the THTC and replaced it with a 7kw panasonic ASHP system wth radiators, coupled to the fact that i got a £10k interest free loan (im in scotland) and the projected payments of £300 per 1/4 or £8400 over the 7 years means that my heating system has cost me £1600, my house is far from passive but the system is well specced and manages to keep the house warm even in horrible weather like right now the wind is 34kt gusting to 46kt and its raining i am still curently waiting for progress on my RHI application, although that is mostly my fault as i have had to produce more documents that have taken me a while to sort out. The loan in my opinion is not a loan as you still have to have the funds to install the system then claim the money back, in my case i had to pay roughly half the total after first fix install and delivery of the heatpump/ DHW cylinder, fan rads etc i then had to complete plasterboarding, taping and filling/ painting before the second fix and commissioning could take place, only after the system was commissioned an MCS certificate was produced. I then had to have the EPC redone to reflect the changes. before submitting my loan claim form by which time i had paid the plumber the remainder of the balance. i don think it is reasonable to expect a tradesman to wait for payment for so long.

@passivhybrid, if you did not know about mu values you may find the attached pdf useful. Do you have name/characteristics of your breather membrane? Vapour_Resistances includes perm conversions.pdf

I think the simple answer is that all materials are probably water vapour permeable, but there is a massive variation in that vapour permeability, from materials that can be considered, to all intents and purposes, to be water vapour impermeable, to those that could be considered to be highly water vapour permeable. Perhaps worth just creating a list of likely materials, ranked in order of water vapour permeability, and using that, in conjunction with material thickness, to do a basic design that maintains a safe vapour permeability gradient. Also worth trying to model the worst case transient/dynamic conditions for the outer part of the structure, too, something that many models don't deal with that well. It is possible to have a situation, for example, where after a cold night, that cools the outer part of the building fabric, you may then get a warm, wet morning, that drives vapour inwards, towards the cool area. This may then condense, and if that part of the structure is then in shadow, it may not receive enough sensible heat in the area where moisture has condensed to be able to turn that moisture back into vapour, so it can move out of the structure.

We have ran out of hot water from out 300L cylinder 3 times now. At 15L per minute on full tilt that is only just over 20 minutes of showering and you should never under estimate how long a woman can spend in the shower. We only heat the hot water to 48 degrees to get the best COP from the heat pump so it is not diluted with much cold so probably gives a real world 30 minutes of showering. I have "solved" this by adding a modulating instant electric water heater on the output that will take over if the cylinder runs out. Be careful putting more than 3KW excess PV into the tank at one time. You will either need 2 solar PV diverters or one custom made one to deal with that load.

This is where I think an UVC is a better solution. The problem with a thermal store is the temperature in the tank needs to be a lot hotter than your desired DHW temperature. If you heat it hot enough with the boier, there is not much capacity to heat it further with PV On the other hand, I can heat my UVC with my ASHP to 48 degrees, which is plenty hot enough for DHW and that still leaves a lot of scope for the excess solar PV to heat it hotter. If the PV heats it hotter then that just means it is a lot longer before the ASHP comes on again to heat it. No complicated control system other than a time clock to say when the ASHP is on and off, and a home made solar PV diverter that sends any excess to the immersion heater.