Leaderboard

I think serious issues with the latest generation smart meters are pretty rare. Ours (on Octopus Go) seems to work perfectly. On your other question, we do have an electric car, but from memory Octopus didn't ask us to even confirm that when we signed up for the Go tariff, let alone require any evidence.

My pool is set at 29C, the temperature always says either 29C or 30C. This is the recommended temperature for a leisure pool. For sports 28C is recommended and for small children/old people 30-31C. Everyone feels it is cold when they get in. However, once submerged in the water your body adjusts almost instantly and after a few minutes moving around you feel quite warm. If the temp is set higher you quickly overheat. The problem is people really don't like the shock of getting into the water. My wife took months to get used to it, although she is fine with it now. My suspicion would be that an outdoor pool only get occasional use when it is really hot as any other time people don't enjoy the cold shock. My in-laws in California have a shared outdoor street pool. Even when it is 35C plus outside it is absolutely freezing and most unpleasant to get into. But it is very nice and cooling after a few minutes. An outdoor pool has some large cost advantages. You won't need £20k of dehumidification equipment and of course you won't need the best part of 100sq metres of building to put it inside, so that saves £200k. Heating costs depend a lot on when you plan to use the pool. First of all it should be covered which reduces heating costs by up to 70% on an outdoor pool. If you only heat the pool from May to September, you are probably only talking about £100 a month in heating for an outdoor pool. However, this cost would increase massively to £100s a month in the winter. The main question you have to ask yourself is what do you want to use the pool for and how often. My main worry re an outdoor pool would be maintenance. Leaves will blow into it, pollen, insects and so on. It will require considerably more effort to keep it clean.

Hi and welcome to the forum. From what you’re saying here, and above, you may already have the horse and the cart the wrong way ‘round MVHR cannot be ‘on the table’ if the intention is to go for air tightness that is excellent. You’ll choke on your own fumes without MVHR, for one, plus to be “green” or “eco” ( terms often used very loosely, and more often with a complete lack of understanding of what that is supposed to deliver to you in this reasonably unique build ) you will 100% need to be actively recovering waste heat for re-introduction through the MVHR system! Building control will demand your as built air tightness ( ventilation / infiltration ) results to be sure you have adequate numbers of air changes per hour. If all the above is known, how do you propose to meet those requirements? Make the house AT and then fit loads of trickle vents? ?. All these questions need firm and robust answers BEFORE pressing ANY more buttons. I’m currently providing M&E for such a dwelling ( pool etc ) and the design work was enormous. The pool hall will need its own envelope as the dehumidification and heat recovery system typically runs at a slight negative pressure to preserve the build fabric, therefore it should not be able to ‘share’ the air volume of the residential section of the dwelling. Forget recovering heat from the pool hall, as every ounce of that will be absolutely needed to maintain the temps in the pool hall!! How big is the pool? Is it a pre-fab that you are “dressing” into the house Lots and lots of things here will impact on the others, so measure twice cut once ?

Moisture ingress?... from what and where? To me, that sounds like company marketing bs to get people to spend more cash. There would never be enough moisture in the relative humidity in a well insulated and heated house to cause any concerns over moisture "excess". Even if you spilled an entire bucket os water of a section of floor, I'd bet the subsequent absorption would be so minimal, that it wouldn't be noticeable a week later. On the subject of adhesives used too, the pu stuff has far greater gap filling abilities than pva, so that's where it would have an advantage. Whether that's even "that" necessary is debatable, as with fairly close fitting joints on the boards and once screwed down onto joists, all areas of contact would likely be tight enough to provide good solid service I'd have thought. Of course, the pu is probably better, and would likely be superior in terms of flexibility also. As already pointed out though, if a good mechanical fix is ensured (screwed down well) it's unlikely to go far.

Unless the joists are planed then there will still be rough surfaces to fill. It looks a bit like D4 PVA from the photos

Go to Ecology, they are quite superb. I also owned the plot so just had to lend for the actual build. Obviously they will value the proposed finished build and lend on that basis. They will check you are able to afford the mortgage payments. If you already own a house that you intend to sell they can lend that amount of equity on an interest only basis, meaning you have lower monthly payments whilst owning one house while building another. Then when finished building you can sell your own house that equity can pay off the interest only element of your self build loan. You’ll only struggle to get a self build mortgage if your project values don’t add up, or there is an affordability issue. I actually found dealing with Ecology for a self build mortgage easier than previous traditional lenders / mortgages. Phone them, you’ll be surprised that you can actually speak to a knowledgeable member of staff who answers the phone, as opposed to a generic call centre. They seem to be a small and thus personable company.

Watched the episode, and I quite like the house. In the landscape it reminds me of Stonehenge. I'm not quite clear where the 400 square meters went, except that the corridor is about 12-13% of the space. I'm quite appalled by the waste, however - throwing away more glazing units than were installed is shocking. And by the rather chaotic budget. Suspect they could have kept 95% of the attraction and only used 60% of the budget.

Coat hooks are so 1990s.

Thumbs up for cavity with diligence and oversight. Otherwise timber frame. MBC is the most sorted package I've seen in this regard. Not the cheapest mind you. About €35k more for our house.

TV, isn't that short for transvestite. Cool, hope it has a built in webcam for those all import Zoom calls. I like this one, could watch all of Farage's speeches and feel very patriotic. I hope that is not a foreign plant in the corner.

I could print you some of these with the hook lower down...

I am still considering this, but SWMBO has veto'd running the ASHP for the 4 cheap night rate hours. The issue is when the HP is on, there is a low level noise audible from the circulation pump, and at the moment we deliberately don't run the heating at night so it is silent. So if I were to switch, it would not be to make particular use of the 4 hours at 5p, rather for the general savings. So switching to GO would save me 1.67p per kWh on the day rate, so that would save about £100 per year. I would not go to all the hassle of changing energy supplier for that small saving. The question is, is that enough of a bribe to get me to accept a smart meter and then any hassle that goes with it if the thing proves incapable of providing the correct readings?

I may have missed something but shouldn’t there be glue obviously leaking from between the joints in the chipboard?

….but are advantages in not allowing you to cheap out and blow yourself into the next borough

solar panels for heating pool are probably the best option as only running cost is the circulation pump ,but I suppose that could be solar powered as well

This is what I have found, plumber, windows and roof all 0% rated but everything that has come from a builders merchant has VAT added including Velux's which are just supply rather than the normal windows that are supply and fit. I do find it's worth asking the supplier on things that you're not sure on. For instance, muck-away is not VAT reclaimable (the HMRC guidance specifically mentions this) but my muck-away firm were happy to do it which saved me £500. I appreciate the firm may get caught but I can live with this having paid him £2k to take away good top soil only for him to sell it to someone else...where there's muck, there's money as they say... What I have done to help with the VAT claim is to make an excel spreadsheet that is the same format as the HMRC form and then add each invoice to it as they come in. I also print the invoices out and them put them in the same chronological order. It means come claim time I can more or less just put my name and address on the claim form, print the spread sheet and post with the receipts (having made copies of everything just in case) via Special Delivery. It should be a 20 minute job once the house is completed.

Big windows facing South are surely old convention? Perhaps we all need moats and drawbridges ? ?

You should insist on it. If you have counter battens everywhere you can omit ventilation through your cold roof section, breathable membrane dependant of course, and ventilate above. This will make your cold roof perform properly as the wind won't be blowing through the insulation and there'll be a saving on soffit vents etc. Venting an attic below the membrane is poor practice thermally and a hangover from days of yore . I like battening and counterbattening in a practical sense in that the batten running parallel to the rafters pinches the membrane fully making it much less likely to tear. The counter battens then make a nice ladder to climb the roof within sticking your boot through the membrane.

Its a systems thing - you squeeze it in one place and it pops out in another. People have gone from thinking now is a good time to start to thinking that now is not a good time to start, probably loads of reasons. Materials shortages, sky high labour costs, spent the money we saved in lockdown, this new normal way of working from a remodeled home is perhaps not all it could be, 'what they want me to back to the office' - what's the point of remodeling, too much hassle. Upsides are: the planners have more time to look at and process applications, the sky high prices will drop as less work about, the material shortage will go away as less demand, oh and commuting was not so bad after all. So relax just put your application in and keep on keeping on.

breathtaking

Yup. Twisting action rather than linear strokes etc to avoid such damage.

So its a "eco-just-in-the-name-build" ? . Welcome to the forum. It is the most helpfull source of information out there. The great thing about it is, that each can find their own type of "mentor" to listen too , some like it more technical - others, like me, are illiterate idiots and need everything explained with pictures or videos... Both can be found here.

In July also the I-Beams for the timber frame and the OSB (or should i call it GOLD - prices went through the roof since i first had some quotes)arrived. https://tintabernacle.blogspot.com/2021/09/1-house-on-1-lorry.html

It’s scratching that you have to be careful off as this can lead to leaks around the rubber O rings.

Very hot soapy water for me

Multiwipes, but carefully

Some architects do yes. Our first one was insistent on having the big windows facing south because that's the convention and it's also the side people arrive at. Problem is that it's also looking across the field to the farmers industrial barns. He had only a few small windows looking at the view which was what we bought the plot for. We just could not make him understand that we wanted to sit looking out across this in the evening. Second architect was an entirely different experience.

Also look at yacht rigging systems?

Materials can only be zero rated at source if they are part of a supply and fit arrangement. VAT applied to these type of invoices cant't be reclaimed. If you can get materials supplied independently on their own invoice, with you named as buyer (site address etc) then you can reclaim at the end of the build when complete.

That was tongue in cheek about the pool, if you want it then fine. The pool brings it's own issues with humidity, but there must be a way to recycle excess heat from the pool room to help heat the rest of the house? Research Ground source heat pumps before you commit. Most find the extra cost of the ground pipes makes it way more expensive than an air source heat pump and the small extra efficiency will never repay the extra capital cost. Also an ASHP will do cooling as well so no need for a separate air conditioning system.

Interesting to hear that it may reduce overtime. Our gable end has some but it seems to be on hot days when the metal expands so hopefully it will reduce. Being matt rather than shiny also seems to help.

Having not had the best of years health wise this year, which has unfortunately made the decision for me that someone else will have to build the side extension, i thought i'd get a bit more work done, but rather than the norm of a room taking me 3 days tops, i've spent weeks on this one, slowly picking it apart and now putting it back together (admittedly it is the biggest area of the bungalow). This is the last room which needed everything out, so I can finally say goodbye to woodwormed timbers (and this one didn't disappoint). This one was quite a bigger task than some others, as I've reopened the chimney breast, which I'm going to board out and put my AV receiving, and bluray/tv box, and in a few weeks when i've had a rest, i've got an acoustic partition to install which will cut sound down between mine and my next door neighbour. Heres how far i've got up to now... This was a before after i'd taken the fireplace out (to be relocated into the to be built dining room) and opened up the chimney breast Discovered a LOT of soot, one of the owners must have had a coal open fire at some point, so cleared as much off as I could and washed it all down. Will put a tube from under the floor into the chimney stack to provide a ventilation source, chimney pot is capped, but has ventilation built in. This room is probably the worst for rubbish out of them all, so a good clean out... Quick re-wire, and new joists in place... Base layer 20mm insulation... And topped up... The top layer was re-used from what was down, hence it being a bit worse for wear, but the 20mm layer is well sealed below. Some of the bits have popped back up a little from when i foamed them, but i couldn't move at this point my back had totally gone, so will sort it out when i do the next stage. Next to do is airtight membrane, and then the chipboard back down which was taken up. The floor in the chimney area will be formed when i've done the main floor, life without a TV is slightly boring lol! So yeah more to follow when i can actually move again and do the work

Have a look at the title deeds for all the properties involved and discuss with your solicitor. There should be something in there already about the soakaway. Their right to use it and and maintenance. It will be difficult or impossible to add something that binds the neighbours unless the other houses haven't been sold yet, then the seller could add something when they are. If the neighbouring houses have already been sold the deeds should be available from land registry for just a £few. They are sent by email seconds after you pay. This is the real land registry Web site. Beware of fakes that charge more. https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/eservices/FindAProperty/view/QuickEnquiryInit.do?_ga=2.256197643.1208010228.1630642415-877028900.1600035571 You might also ask the seller for evidence the soakaway has been sized correctly for three houses.

I used ecology, straightforward and no major issues. It's based on affordability with them not multiples of wages. They are very good to deal with and I would highly recommend. I have stayed in our current house (paid off) while we build. I havent looked at the budget since started because we are in it now and just need to keep going till at least its fully complete outside.

E12 is a standard size bulb, used to be known as SES (Small Edison Screw) so you can get 240V lamps for it. The wiring will be US colours. Caution, black will be L and white N probably, it is important you confirm which connects to the body of the screw thread, that must connect to N.

Your build sounds similar to @joe90 I think he used wet plaster internally. I'd avoid using aerated concrete if I could. They only reduce your U value by 0.05 W/m2K, they're twice the price and difficult to fix to and prone to cracking. I'm sure @tonyshouse can elaborate more. You could get the same benefit from making your cavity 5mm wider. Also what cavity ties are you using? Basalt are the best but very expensive. We just used SS ones and widened the cavity to 250mm. This gave us some breathing space if we didn't hit airtightness targets and were able to cut down on attic insulation later on when we did. ( This was the theory at least, I still put 400mm cellulose up there out of stubbornness!) We used dense concrete blocks throughout, wet plaster internally and skim. 0.31 ACH50 so if done properly there's no issue with that method. It would need to be a paint on one as any membrane would require sealing around every cavity tie. The airtight layer is also in the wrong place to allow for any test before completion using a DIY fan or otherwise. This is the only reason we were able to get such a tight house. If you have non passivhaus builders they can't and won't reach a good airtightness result. It's very expensive. Good for junctions though. Why is this? The only alternative solution I thought of when doing ours was to inject closed cell foam into the cavity. It was almost 5 times dearer than bonded EPS bead though.

Looks nice, and practical too, however for me, i'd Install a full fat 8" liner, that way you'd be covered if you ever changed your mind. Wont cost you an awful lot more in materials either.

Ok. Time for a reality check……. Has the builder said that a glue of whatever type had been used? If he says yes, then get a 100mm hole saw and sample 4 areas ACROSS joists. Remove the pilot after the hole has been started and then you won’t penetrate the top chord of the joist. If the discs of board come loose and lift out then his bluff is called. Start there. Don’t bend and tell them you want to know without any shadow of a bout that “a glue” has indeed been used. The part that stinks the most here is the fact that the builder has said that the floor will lift!! That tells me no glue whatsoever has been used because if it had you would NOT lift that floor 1mm. Stinks of no glue to me. Call it, and get the deck samples across the pozi’s and don’t accept any more BS.

If you are happy with how it looks and its structurally fine I would go to the planning office and ask if they will sign off the change. If they do then your all good and covered if any neighbour complains If the planning office decline, then get the builder to rectify the issue. Its better than taking the risk and having to pay out of pocket to fix it

Do you mean that?

Would need to thermally model it, then statistically model it in the thermo-temporal domain, then verify against the alternative configurations. But would probably be faster to just swap any pipes around.

Sounds like it. Learning from the Olympic bicyclists .. marginal gains on gas usage.

Jesus. Ouch x 20. However, we may have found somewhere for the 2024 Buildhub volleyball championships.

On the house, I would pause once the weather goes, and do some careful thinking / analysis in the time before Christmas and restart next spring. I think there is a lot of detail that is best sweated now, rather than when you have to change it later. Read some of the site blogs. For the pool, have you considered a natural swimming pool? You don't need heating; you just need not to be a wuss. Though that diving ledge looks dodgy at first glance: