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We had our final inspection yesterday and building control were happy with the house. Just awaiting on an EPC certificate and we should have our completion certificate next week. We had a little tidy up before the inspector arrived so probably the ideal time to upload a few pictures. Landing and upstairs - not posted much here as this was covered in a earlier blog entry. Considering we put in outline planning in 2009 when we were 23 it's been a long time coming and a great relief to know it's nearly all over. I intend to post a couple more entries with the last bits of outside work and one about the costing/finance. Thanks for all those who commented over the years and answered odd queries, much appreciated. The to do list of actual jobs is getting short now. Proper downpipes – ordered Gravel - ordered, coming on Monday

that said, building traditional (brick and block I guess) can be passive. We built brick and block and although not certified as passive with the addition of PV and a few minor changes it could well be.“ Fabric first” is the mantra, loads of insulation, attention to small details (that the major house builders mostly fall down on) orientation etc. Not sure what I would do differently if I did it again (unlikely due to age and health issues) apart from a few very minor bits. I really enjoy living in my “cottage” that costs very little to run.

It's been a while since we obtained planning permission and my last blog entry but we've not been idle. it seems that the last 3 months or so have been a constant stream of decisions that need to be made to get this project started. It's also been a period where money seems to be going out but we don't have much to show for it! The majority of the decisions have stemmed from the architects needing to get the detailed BC drawings finished. here's a nice summary of our decisions so far (although I've probably missed and forgotten a few) Timber Frame Company This was a one of the biggest decisions for us (windows and doors was the other) and was the one that had to happen as soon as possible after getting planning permission so that we could get the timber frame designed and the BC drawings created. We previously had quotes from 9 on the original plans before we had to make changes to get through planning. Of these one was discounted as they never got back to me about changing their set specifications, one because they wouldn't use metal web joists insisting that they only used I-joists, another due to extortionate costs and one more because of costs although not as excessive the ones that made the shortlist but just enough for us to make an easy decision not to include them. That left 5 for us to get updated quotes on the approved planning documents. We are going for an open panel system and I will be fitting the insulation to help reduce costs; even though this will extend the build time the savings are substantial enough to justify it. With those quotes we discounted another due to their location and narrowed it down to 3 local companies and MBC. MBC were by far the most expensive for an open-panel TF but they get such good reviews on here and we have friends that are using them we couldn't discount them out of hand, but in the end we couldn't justify the extra cost when we weren't getting from them what they excel at, i.e. factory fitted insulation and promised air tightness levels. to give them credit they were completely upfront about it and completely understood the decision. So that left just 3 local-ish companies to choose from. We visited sites from each company to see their work and after that, although it wasn't easy, there was one clear winner and that was Flight Timber (https://flighttimber.com) based in Essex. We were very impressed with the quality of the build we visited and are very happy with how they've conducted themselves during the negotiations. So we signed the contract and paid a deposit. Since then they've been doing great work in getting the TF design done and liaising with the architects to finalise everything. That has now been completed and it's all with the structural engineer to do the basement/foundation calculations and drawings. Structural Engineer For the structural engineer we had 3 quotes from firms that the architects use, one from a friend of a friend and 2 from recommendations from the buildhub hive mind. We are having a basement and so this was a consideration and needed someone who could provide us what we needed. One of those requirements was an insulated slab foundation under the basement and the arms of the house. There was quite a discrepancy on costs between the 6 quotes and a couple were easy to discount as they were so much more than the others. So from the remaining 4 and after much consideration and communication we decided to go with TSD as they have a great reputation for insulated slabs, are highly recommended by many on here and their price was very competitive! So far, they've only been working on the design since the start of the week, I've been very impressed with the communications and their open-mindedness to my ideas and requirements. I made a decision (doesn't really require it's own heading) to ditch the idea of using block and beam for the lid of the basement and will be using hollow core precast slabs. Sadly though, after the SE spoke to a supplier it was obvious that they wouldn't span our basement at a reasonable thickness without internal structural walls (which we were trying to do without) and so we've resigned ourselves to having load bearing walls in the basement, otherwise costs could easily have gotten out of hand by going for thicker precast slabs, thicker foundations and thicker external basement walls to all accommodate the extra weight of the thicker slabs. so be it, I'm sure it's not the last concession we'll need to make to save money. Civil Engineer we are creating a new entrance to our plot from the road that will go over a ditch and so requires a culvert. so we decided to hire a civil engineer to plan and manage that, the drainage, driveway levels and water course discharge. we only got 3 quotes (it's my magic number for quotes) all from companies that the architects deal with and simply chose the one that wrote the best proposal and the costs were reasonable trusting that the architect's recommendation for each company was good enough for us. Windows and Doors This was a huge decision for us and caused a lot of brain power to try and work out who best to go for with spreadsheets being created to compare the various companies. We have a lot of glazing (about 120m2) and we want triple glazed alu-clad units. We approached 7 companies initially, visited lots of self-build shows to get a feel of the windows to help us to decide. We did consider IdealCombi for full alu windows but in the end our desire to have timber internally won and we didn't proceed with them. We discounted a few others due to costs and in the end it came down to Internorm and Norrsken. Internorm windows are so nice but they are so expensive; despite this we thought we could potentially justify the extra cost but the reviews of the supplier on here put a dampener on them as the last thing we wanted was to pay a load of extra money for windows that we didn't get any sort of support for when things go wrong. We visited the Norrsken showroom in Poole and were very impressed with the windows, doors and sliders and I couldn't find any bad reviews on here for them. The price was very good and so we signed on the dotted line and paid our deposit. We are very happy with our decision and the money we saved over going with Internorm will pretty much pay for our kitchen! External Blinds With all the windows we are having I was worried about overheating, especially after reading some of the issues other forum members have had with solar gain. We needed to make a decision on these before the TF design was completed so that they could be built in to the frame and are then hidden from view. So, external blinds were on the cards and needed to be researched and a decision made posthaste. I've posted elsewhere about my experiences with Roma blinds so I won't repeat that here. In the end I came across Warema blinds which look good and seem to do what we would need them to and found 2 London based Warema suppliers to get quotes from. Both were so similar in price it was hard to choose between them. In the end, after my company house checks (which I do on all people I wish to do business with) it looked like one of the companies had grown their business really well over the last 5 years when looking at their accounts that I decided to take a punt on the smaller guy and went with Corner Star Aluminium. Only time will tell if I made the right decision on that one. MVHR This is a subject that I have done a ton of reading on here in the forums and also posted a few times on the subject. the whole 1 or 2 unit debate is real but I really would like a single unit solution. I got 5 quotes (one through the architect and 4 off my own research). BPC wouldn't do a single unit saying that the largest unit they do is for a 350m2 house but our house is 450m2 and so we need 2 units. I felt that they're just sizing on Part F calculations and the manufacturers own statements regarding house size for unit size and didn't take running at Passivhaus levels that most on here feel that running their MVHR units at is fine. Also, they do sell bigger units, e.g. the Airflow DV245, so they could do a single unit but I just got the feeling that they couldn't be bothered to consider another option. so they're not getting my business. CVC were just too expensive and I didn't trust the company the architects asked to quote as they didn't give any details as to the ducting etc that they'd use (and also were selling a 2 unit solution). so it came down to PAUL Scotland and Enhabit, both of which were offering a single unit solution (Zehnder Q600 with 90mm ducting). Pricing was very similar so in the end it came down to location again (although a price reduction did help!) and Enhabit won. the deposit will be going over today and then they can crack on with the design. Others I'm sure there are loads of other smaller decisions we've made, like external finishes for the discharge of planning conditions etc, and I know there will be hundreds more to come as we move forward with the build including ASHP, Solar PV, UFH, DHW, RWH, floor coverings, tiles, lighting, home automation and so on. The next big decision will be the groundworks company to do the culvert, driveway, foundations and basement. Once I have the SE plans and designs I can approach the companies I've shortlisted to get detailed quotes and can carry on with the decision making. I have ended up having to make a list of decisions to be made there are so many. that way I can tick them off when they get done as it was getting to the point that it seemed they were never ending. at least this way I can see what has already been done and can see the list getting smaller as we progress. thanks for reading. ?

Thank you for accepting us into your community, we are in a process of planning a passive house home, I’m looking to find some direction here. Many things on the web, but I like to understand, what is important in designing such a build and what are members experiences following a completion. What would they do differently next time. Help required... not sure how to work this forum, so please navigate me if I need to post my questions in another section. Thank you M

The garage is too narrow. Can you increase the width of the house by say half a metre with most of that adding to the garage width? Other rooms will benefit. that should still fit on a 10.5 metre wide plot and allow a path both sides of the house.

What about rolls of weed fabric, which you can repurpose to use with your garden later? Should get fewer tape marks on your windows.

Sorted.

I’ve some K rend cleaner that kills Alga and moss Spray on a dry day The rain does the rest I can send you the make

Looks sharp. I think my only Q is your chosen way of cleaning those Veluxes in the void. F

Remember that connect-to-phone cameras on wires are actually quite reasonably priced.

There is but it’s not cheap and invasive. I’ve had quotes to have fibre removed and beads installed. They take bricks out on corners and use steel rods and a long vacuum cleaner nozzle to suck the old insulation from the cavity. Then blown beads installed. Got a couple of contacts for it.

A ladder long enough to reach the roof and lift the first tile and slide your phone in and take a pic. Don't drop your phone in the cavity!!! There might be something closing the cavity at the top that might need removed.

Like many on here I chose to build to just about Passive house levels of insulation and air tightness but I chose not to have the house certified as such. The result is a house with low energy bills that is comfortable inside all the time with no extremes of temperature etc.

Excellent, like the style.

Great views. House looks good too!

The importance of the fabric first design appoach. It's the first and last consideration, everything else depends on it. For me, discovering fabric first was a bit like my introduction to wine: first, sweet and white, lots of it - now the decision is far more nuanced - far drier, much more expensive, and just one or two glasses at any one time.

Well done mate, cracking job.

Welcome We have built traditional So not passive But we have used plenty of insulation throughout We have UFH but hardly ever use it The house is 5 bed over two floors 282m2 We are finalizing land purchase for our 2-3 So things we would have done differently are on our mind Timber Frame is something I’ve considered this time Over the past 35 years I’ve worked on both While they don’t feel as solid as traditional and are more prone to cracking Definitely more expensive They are quicker More convenient and much better to add a high level of insulation Things we would do different this time I won’t bother with heating in the bedrooms I will install sliders rather than bifolds Bifolds look great and are great to open up in summer But sliders would be used more just to leave open slightly My wife would Like a laundry shoot on this one ? Only two of us We built a d garage for us and the neighbour This time we will build a treble with a third as a workshop for my wife Tge rest can remain a junk store for me I built a nice big utility / plant room In hein sight we should have made this 50% larger I’m sure we will find a few more

I have the large one from Screwfix... Titan I think. Great job. Tool function and also wet function. Not used the wet function yet.

Do you have any wall vents? E.g kitchen extractor? Pull the cowl off and you should be able to see in to the cavity. Ditto if you have a electric or gas meter box. My money is on poorly installed 100mm of mineral wool. You don't be able to do anything about it. If you are in luck, the cavity will be empty and you'll be able to pump with beads.

I would prefer contractors to read / look at install instructions rather than wing it, which a lot do. I once had some chippies install expensive cement cladding. They decided on a 155mm lap although it should have been 180mm. Cost me an extra £1,800 and some of the junctions looked crap.

Have gone upwards of 5 metres tall without intermediate supports before. It's just a case of what wind-load you have to deal with and how much you have to spend. Upwards of 2.5-3m spans is where the cost starts to increase. Certainly if you have a door as part of your gable, you will be wise to have a steel at the head of the door - you can't rely on a fixed window to support the head of the door frame.

Much easier to clean...according to SWMBO! ? Tbh the flush/ "scouring" action on our Bernstein pan is superb. Really shifts "stuff" if you know what I mean. https://bernstein-badshop.com/rimless-wall-hung-toilet-wall-hung-washdown-wc-nt2038-nano-protection-with-soft-close-seat-included I get moaned at much less now...

I've got one now. I dunno I suppose they are but it's not anything life changing

Yes, I'm behind on the blog posts, but MBC are almost done.. just putting roof membrane on and fixing a few issues this week. You can read more about this here: http://www.windandsun.co.uk/products/PV-Mounting-Structures/GSE-Integration-Roof-Integrated#.X1uJ3JNKjUY But, for MCS certification you need a fire tested panel/tray combination or a AA rated fire-proof substrate. You weren't going to use GSE though were you?

Hi and welcome, not far from you either, no new build for me.... into the renovation Of various buildings on my plot..... and living a somewhat alternative lifestyle / retreatIng form mainstream..... And generally enjoying my days while trying to be productive..... best of luck.

I asked this a year ago, and @SteamyTea kindly supplied the calculation method for heat loss of warm air in continually running trickle-fans. It turned out that for me my ufh heating system and level of heat demand is such that it tipped it over into making the heating system insufficient, so I switched my fans back to traditional "one with the lights in the bathroom and a 20 minute timer afterwards". It is a bungalow to dormer bungalow self build project doe by the previous occupier - better than regs when done but insufficient insulation for this latest ventilation intervention. You could switch your Dmev fans for trickle/boost HR units which would recover 80-90% of the heat lost. Here: The numbers were approx £25-30 per year on the gas heating bill for each DMev fan running at 6 l/s. But you need to read the thread. And since mine is a recent comprehensive (3 walls and a hole in the ground) self-build reno, it *should* be reasonably airtight. In other circs the loss of heat through wall leakage etc could be more than the fans. If you really wanted to you could also calculate the extra cost to heat up the extra water vapour in the more humid air ?. For me comfort was the determinant rather than the extra charge as I was nursing my mum (who passed away last November), and I wanted the house as warm as possible. I may reevaluate in due course. I have at least one where I could install a Heat Recovery unit, whilst the other is in the ceiling of bathroom 2. And I agree with Tony that working on improving airtightness is important - I always make my tradesman pay real attention to detail. Ferdinand

Here is mine. Height is 4 .5 meters to ridge. Bi folds at the bottom. I didnt want a chunky steel splitting the top and bottom section horizontally and it would have made the portal frame design redundant. The horizontal piece of steel used was as thin as possible and had a vertical piece of steel added in the centre to tie to the steel at the top and prevent sagging. This was clad in black aluminium by the window manufacturer to disguise it. Glazing was from a place in Middlesborough, and was 10 k less then my next quote. Happy to share details if required.

& his mate from The Tufty Club.

are you the SISMO uK agent humpty dumpty ? you post lots of velox pictures ,most of which I have may seen before on other sites--don,t see any of SISMO builds ?

Yep! https://www.diy.com/departments/windolene-glass-cleaner-0-5l/257820_BQ.prd

You can use the Elephant Technique. Drill a hole at either end. Connect your elephant at one end, then make it sneeze. Sorted. (You can do it the other way by squeezing its trunk with a clothes peg to prevent an intake of breath then connect it very quickly so that the insulation is sucked out. In this case you need to be fast runner as the elephant will be quite grumpy.)

I don't care on covering the sliders and glass gable. Priority due to scarceness of newspapers ? Good point, I'll start stockpiling Amazon boxes. Order a mobile phone case and they will pack it in a box the size of a small child.

It always surprised me when I'd stay in hotels in central London as no-one bothered to shut curtains in their homes despite being overlooked and surrounded by offices, hotels, other residential places etc. I could literally look out of my hotel room into someone's dining room and see what they were eating for their tea and no, not everyone bothers with curtains or if they do have them they certainly don't always use them ? Curtains and blinds aren't in our budget at the moment so we will be moving back in with newspaper on the bedroom window!

Every now and then we do the odd house for a small builder Recently he’s built a group of four cottages and really pushed the boat out Natural stone Cedar cladding Solar panels His joinery company tackle most things But decided to bring in a specialist company for the solar Panels While we where boarding the loft space we could see and here them following a you tube guide to fitting