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I think that at the moment just spend the difference on insulation/air tightness. That’s surely the ‘greenest’ thing to do - use less energy whatever the source!

Wickes have just knocked £8 a sheet off Structual ply Only a fiver a sheet more than buying a full pack from the saw mill Nice to see things going the right way

Hi Olly lots have done this, do a search and there is plenty of info including a handy spreadsheet to help you out with building control. Can also borrow the forum gadget to help with balancing. Sorry on my mobile so not easy to search and paste links but you'll find the info easy enough

Hi Charlie. I started out nearly four decades ago, cut my baby teeth on the contracting side and when I was about 40 went back to uni to get the qualifications and experience I needed to handle structural design, reason being that I could see a way where I could become a designer. I had got fed up building other folks ideas. For me I think design is holistic. You could equally start out as an Architect and become say an SE if you wanted to say perfect the art form of exposed structures or, you could specialise in other areas that say relate to environmental / civic structures, dams for example. I now make a living working for myself as a designer, mainly now in the domestic market. It's a great job.. I wear many hats but there are enough Clients out there that pay me for my offering. For me one key (it has served me well) was to first recognise that the domestic market is very.. very much a people business. I have found that you need to spend a lot of time learning how to tease out what your Clients "need" as very often they have no idea what they do "need".. some have not actually sat down themselves and thought about.. how many kids are we going to have.. who is going to cut the grass, why do we want open plan when we need some quite space.. many many questions need to be asked. There is so much information to gather before you even start on thinking about the design. In fact is easy to to fall into the trap as a designer where you think. ah.. that is the design in the first few minutes.. that is an indicator of poor design and trouble ahead. Some Clients appear to have all the answers.. but you'll always find that just as in life folk can't think about it all. Some Clients are like this because they are nervous.. personality! It's up to you to understand this as it will serve you well later when evaluating how risk averse your Client may be. For all we often call this Client requirements and these can be sub divided not least into "hard" and "soft". The domestic market is very much different from the commercial market where you are often dealing with other professionals or people that are used to say running their own business and want say an extra steel shed to expand. Teasing out this information is a skill that takes time to perfect, you need to be able to build a rapport, sometimes you just can't so that is the time to walk away.. if you don't gell then the old expression is.. what is for you won't go by you. Once you get good at it then you can start to understand better what makes your Clients tick. Then it gets interesting as you start to think.. ok I am getting a feel for the Client's design boundaries, approach to risk and how they may think, the soft side. What do I have in my design tool box that I can start to introduce. What works for me is this. If you want to do great design that is of beauty, functional and is going to out last you then it all starts with the soft side and that first interaction with your Client. Before you start getting out the sketch pad ask the questions about how your Client lives just now.. empathise (takes time to learn) and they will tell you the rest with a bit of prompting. That has value.. trust is build and if you fee is a little higher than a competitor.. you'll often get the brief anyway. Charlie.. you mention vanity projects.. you are pushing at an open door here...

I'm not really sure who you think you are. From what you have said previously, you are an employee of someone else's Architectural practice, has an actual house yet been built that is your sole design, and not one that the partners have been consulted on. What makes you think you are the arbiter of what a "beautiful" house is? Isn't that for the person paying the bill and choosing to live in the house to decide. House design is a compromise, and one that first and foremost has to be financially viable. There's no point building a "pretty" house in suburbia if what makes it pretty knocks 30m² off the floor plan, a bedroom and £150K off the value. For many plots "beautiful" is down the priority list, and rightly so. You say you want to head out on your own and have the self build community finance your new business venture. However, you appear to have nothing but contempt for them. A little humility, and listen to what the paying customer wants.

I don't know but beyond the cult-like belief system of this forum it is an incontrovertible truth that an ASHP setup costs way more than a gas boiler equivalent. The market might normalise one day because as you indicate the fundamentals should not lead to such a price discrepancy. Your were in IT and so you should understand that the leading edge of a technology trend is overpriced and human skills with a new technology command a premium. As the many tales of ASHP operational woes indicate the consequential suffering caused by ASHP installation incompetence will cost more than the premium price of a competent installation. Look at the @joe90thread, in his otherwise perfectly executed self build it took the combined wisdom of the best forum brains weeks to diagnose his wonky heating system. The ASHP/Gas decision is not just a financial equation of kWh prices and heat source unit prices. Any self builder needs to consider the probability of becoming the owner of a misdesigned complete screw up of an ASHP installation.

Stairs going in now, upgraded to oak in the end as thought it was worth spending an extra 1k in this area. Limestone tumbled floor now complete in hall, kitchen and utility. These have really hurt the budget and taken up all of our PC sum for flooring. 22mm thick so lots of extra grout etc. Now it’s down I think it was well worth it, it’s much lighter in person and gone with a matt sealer. Downstairs toilet area now formed, quite small but enough for a toilet and small wall and slim vanity unit Our slush fund is now gone which was 20k so really need to try and stick to PC sum to completion.

Hi, We've dug some trial holes and it seems that the foundations of our bungalow are unlikely to allow us to do a second storey without effort. It's not nailed on and waiting to speak to a SE, but the builder didn't seem positive. Anyway, if we do have to go with a rebuild, are there anythings that help save time (and presumably cost) that we could be getting on with in terms of strip out etc. I confess I don't know if a house is being demolished if it just gets flattened with a dozer, or is there days/weeks of prep before the walls come down? We're still actively pursuing other alternatives, but just wondered is there a good guide somewhere to the stages for site prep? At the moment it's just sat there, and I feel our weekends could be spent doing something on it that saves money later!

With our start date looming closer Something I’ve put off for a while Mainly due to constant material rises Even muck away was up and thankfully down now Most things seam to of either stabilized or are heading down Even Pasquils quote of six months ago has dropped by 15% In any case I can base coatings on here and now We finished our previous build three years ago So the spreadsheet for that was a good place to start and a way of not missing what seemed like small items Off the new spreadsheet Previous build came in at £815m2 Two story Traditional build Two detached garages Very good quality of finishing Ive noticed this morning That I never included the m2 of the two detached garages Just added the cost into the overall build cost So the 815 was probably lower But I will still split m2 of the house and garage - Workshop As overall is 416m The actual house is 308.21 I feel quite confident that our budget of 350k should be ok The ground is a lot better now We had a tank and three 4 meter holes to fill Two with concrete and thankfully the the third with hardcore I Once I get the foundations in I should be able to cost most things accurately

I got as close to like for like quotes as I could from the list of: Norrsken Nordan Rationel Green Building Store Jeldwen (priced direct with them rather than through a merchant) and a couple of others. ages ago I'd also got a quote from Velfac but this was for Aluminium windows the architect spec'd rather than timber we eventually went for. They were competitive price wise and rather than relying on a ridiculous negotiation process for the sake of it, just gave us a good price up front. About 7k or so less than GBS for 3g windows that had a whole window average u-value of 1.05 including the doors (We weren't looking for PH performance in ours so didn't spec this) . The Nordvest windows were slightly better on G-value (we've got lots of south facing windows shielded from summer sun with large overhang but wanted the winter gain - and can attest now that this works well). Rationel was the best quote on base price but Rationel couldn't do our 1st floor egress window as designed, nor could they do our front door IIRC, nor did they include the sills or transport in the quote. With Nordvest they quoted including timber sills, pretty much everyone else wanted extra for the sills of course, especially the aluminium ones. Nordvest also included transport in their quote so you basically knew everything was covered. What really made the difference with Nordvest is that they actually looked at the designs and window schedule and instead of just quoting for what was on there, they came back and suggested alternative arrangements for window openings etc. So, for example, they suggested tilt and turn windows at some places and fully reversible top swing in others etc. With the front door, I think only one other company could do our size and Nordvest said they only supply front doors with an Accoya external face and it was to be steel reinforced due to the size, which was reassuring. I also like their window profile which was 109mm deep x 56mm. This helped because with their frames I was able to bring them out further from the timber frame to cover the 50mm insulation installed externally and not have to use deep aluminium sills. I only needed 65mm timber sills rather than the 120 + mm aluminium ones. There are also some other neat additions to the design. For example, even on the timber only windows they include aluminium profile as cladding on the top of the bottom rail which clips on just above the bottom bead. As I understand it, this is one of the weaker areas of a timber window and this profile provides better protection. We ended up spending more with them as we decided to increase some sizes, like for the french doors and up the spec of a few bits and bobs but we still ended up paying marginally less less than Rationel would have been with sills and transport included. In total it was just over 20k plus VAT. Can share full schedule so you can see all the details if you'd like. Windows & doors not long after installation. Bays have fully glazed returns:

Given that electric, gas, and oil prices are all only going one way, both through demand and government market distoring measures, surely as part of any installation you should be considering solar, thus reducing reliance on whatever energy source you choose. Whilst the hardware may cost, its a much more certain running and payback cost. I think even this government would find it hard to tax sunsine!!

That means if you physically alter or change components. There is nothing to stop you changing the settings.

You can’t, just switch the WiFi off in the settings. You need the router to be the DHCP server and give everything IP addresses.

Good design does not have to be expensive. But it is usually based on many years of learning and experience, so to give it away too cheaply can also be wrong (if it is your living). Expensive design is not necessarily good design. It takes longer to do something when less skilled. Some clients want and will pay for vanity projects (usually with someone else's money (churches, banks, universities, government), and just a few normal people. Most people want a box that will keep the weather out, last many years with low maintenance, and be a pleasant space to occupy, and cost as little as sensible to build. Thus there are those of us who need everything done by Architects*, or those who need Technicians, and those who pretty well know what they want and welcome some expertise. * who don't of course do 'everything', or necessarily understand costs or building science, though many of course do. And then there are those, sometimes on this Hub, who think it is all easy, don't agree to rules, and either suffer themselves or make the rest of us suffer. What was the question again? Ah yes, why do some people not appreciate me and pay me more? The answer in summary is that there are good and bad designers as well as good and bad clients.

Not that much money, you still got some walk on glazing for sale.

Chav

I I really do believe that most people wouldn’t know an architect from a hole in the hedge.

Your comments apply to pretty much any area where an individual is seeking professional services. We all want what is best for our clients and they have engaged you as the 'expert' to provide professional services. It's easier in some professions where you have a long term relationship with a client to become a 'trusted advisor'. If you have not worked with a client for long, building up trust as quickly as possible is what you need to do. This book has some tips to do this. I often adopt the Columbo approach with clients. https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-trusted-advisor/david-h-maister/robert-galford/9780743207768

Sadly no, too small a garden area and built on granite. Looked into it a few years ago. Cornwall is a bit of a special case. The water is normal price, just the sewage side is expensive to make sure the beaches and ocean are clean enough for dogs to shit on and in. Better for tourism to have blind seals as they tend not to attack emmet's kids who throw stones at them.

You talk to yourself too much.

Tell people to stop watching those 'Grand Design' type shows. And fiddly, unnecessary details costs much more. Just ask customers to take/find some pictures of places they like, then work from there. But what do I know, I live in a grey house, with a corridor for a living room. But it is 2 minutes from A30, so can get to some great places in minutes.

I think a nice design doesn’t have to cost anymore I like a gallery landing as it gives a wow factor Many just seem hung up with bedroom space I do think that if you are set in your ideas An Architecht is probably not for you We told our Architecht what we wanted and he came up with three designs I’d like to think we have the best bits of all three

For me it’s been a real struggle finding an architect who had their own ideas rather than providing an initial bland proposal and then just making the changes I suggest. As a consumer, I don’t want that. Just because something makes sense in my mind, doesn’t mean it will work in practice, and it’s their expertise that I’m paying for. We did find a really good architect a few years ago now who produced some plans for our previous house, but unfortunately he’s since retired. The last couple I’ve worked with have been a real struggle.

I can see where you are coming from But the self builder should end up with a home that they like Not what an Architect thinks looks right

Heat pumps are hardly leading edge. The market for them in Europe (including UK) has been significant for many years. https://www.rehva.eu/rehva-journal/chapter/european-heat-pump-market It's more to do with mass-unfamiliarity in the UK. And some rather vivid scaremongering from our wazzock-ridden media, and industry lobbies seeing the 21st C version of a Spanish Treasure Fleet, so running up the Jolly Roger.

That could be down to 30-35% over the summer, and only go back to 40% at this time next year.

Title instantly made me think of some people

I am currently reading a book about oil. Just finished the chapter about drilling. When it was written, the cost of drilling was $9/boe. This has been steadily increasing since 1984. Gas exploration and drilling is a similar price. There are 1628 kWh in a barrel. Onshore wind is now about $1000/kW installed capacity (maybe a little less in developing nations). So if ever US dollar spent on getting oil/gas was put into onshore wind, and assuming a life of 25 years, you would get 0.073.5 MWh/$, whereas oil is giving you 0.18 MWh/$. Whoops, error corrected.

eh..?? Decent gas boiler, £1200 plus the gas pipework and about a day of a GSR to fit it so another £500. 9kW ASHP £2300 plus a day of any plumber to fit it so say £300 on top. £1700 vs £2600 is small change in a £300k build cost.

If a habitable room above ground floor level requires an external window/door for escape purposes, the bottom of the opening should not exceed 1.1m above internal floor level. If a Juliet balcony is in addition to a room already providing an escape window, the balcony can be as high as you want. It could not be lower due to health and safety.

Having both ASHP and excellent insulation / air tightness I recommend concentrating on the fabric of the building first.

I think you’ve probably hit the nail on the head here. I guess it’s more than just the economics of it, and comes down to balancing the type of house we want to build, predicting future energy costs and how much we dedicate to greener technology.

It's very difficult to make the call based on running costs because they change. When I installed my ASHP in December 2020 I could buy electricity for 13p per kWh and for the previous 2 years I had paid an average of 45p per litre for heating oil. Come April the price of my electricity will have more than doubled whereas the current price of heating oil is a little less than 50% more than my average. So for most of 2020 my ASHP was cheaper to run than my old oil boiler but since October 2020 it has switched and oil is cheaper. If you are looking for at least 10 years of life for whichever heat source you choose then you have to predict fuel prices 10 years into the future to try to compare running costs!

Dynamic control PRV limits dynamic pressure and not static pressure. That is the only real explanation IMO. If there is pressure loss in a pipe run, then the dynamic pressure clearly is not the same everywhere!

It has to be HETAS qualified installer or building inspector, I installed one fir a customer as other work was being inspected by BC, He asked me if I done this before and I said yes, so he accepted it ?. If your BC won’t you have no choice, instal it after he has gone.

Keep it. Remember the famous saying, he who dies with the most tools wins??

Personally I think any grant should be for insulation so whatever fuel you use to heat it will use less ?‍♂️ As an aside, my builder, who had a stroke just after finishing my build, has just been told he can upgrade his old storage radiators, have cavity insulation and additional loft insulation for free, grant based on his benefits as a stroke patient ?

That reads very expensive...

I'll play devils advocate and say probably not. It's unlikely that your final air tightness will be better than 5m³/m².h @50Pa. Maybe your extension will be built to a level that could achieve slightly better, but it is unlikely that in combination with the existing house that the overall air tightness will be better. Down to an infiltration rate of 3m³/m².h @50Pa, building regs imply that mechanical ventilation is unnecessary since there is sufficient background air changes for reasonable air quality. Yes, these back ground air changes are uncontrolled and have no heat recovery, but they are there whether or not you fit MVHR. If you do fit MVHR you are creating additional air changes, although you should recover 80% - 90% of the energy, but you loose the 10-20 percentage points unnecessarily, since you don't need the mechanical ventilation for air quality. For me, with a ventilation rate above 3m³/m².h @50Pa, MVHR is an unnecessary expense that requires future filter changes and occasional servicing. Room extractors in bathrooms and trickle vents in the new windows are more cost effective. If you want to be sure, pay a couple of hundred pounds for an air tightness test prior to the extension starting and see what your baseline figure is. If it is close to say, 5m³/m².h @50Pa, then maybe it's worth doing the extra detailing on the extension to try and bring the overall figure down to somewhere near where an MVHR system adds value.

Ach, it burnt down uninsured. But I had 5 great years and sold the plot so now moving on old bean. No point looking back and ruminating ??

Only 3 things I have not done. Piling. Floor screed electrics. Apart from that ive done the lot.

We’ve been doing ours over three years now and have done quite a lot ourselves with some great advice from the very friendly and experienced people on here. I think a lot of it will depend on your circumstances, what sort of time you can put in and do you have somewhere cheap to stay as it’s going to take you a lot longer to build. But when you do finally move in the satisfaction and money you will of saved will be priceless. regards. James

I had no specialist building experience but had done some renovation projects. In this project it's easier to list what I have not done: Infill extention blockwork wall (at the beginning just before I decided to do the rest of it myself) Steel frame erection Is this the most efficient way? Definitely not. From a cost perspective it turned out to be the only way we could get anything close to what we wanted - we're not that far off and are so far at about 1/3 of the price we'd had indicated by builders. Round here, builders just seemed to want to fleece us. I reckon that by the time we finish we'll be at about 1/4 of builders cost.

This was the thing I was talking about. It's actually bigger than I had remembered: https://www.viessmann.co.uk/products/combined-heat-and-power/fuel-cell/vitovalor

Plan where you want new house and get any trees and hedges removed. Check for tree preservation orders and conservation area. If not get them removed before bird nesting starts. Clean old house very well on outside to remove any sign of bat activity. Remove any habitation piles any any rubbish that could be habitat for newts or any other protected creatures. Be be aware of doing all this with upmost care as disturbing protected species comes with some hefty fines.

take out all the wood, skirts, doors, window frames, kitchen, archi etc and burn it. you will still have to pick the roof trusses from the rubble to burn. take out all the loft insulation. strip out all pipework, cylinders, tanks etc. when you knock it down you will have to pull out of the pile anything that isnt a brick, block or roof tile so easier to do it before hand.

A broker I approached said it might be difficult to find an insurer to take on a risk part way through and told me to approach my self build insurer to find house insurance (because I want to live in the house before full completion). They were happy to find a suitable policy which would work in tandem with the existing one.

Hi Tom A few thoughts.. If you can taste and see the physical rusting you need to get to the root cause of it..on the upside you can be "Columbo" or Miss Marple.. Your starting point is often to look at the obvious and rule things out. Here are few: 1/ Have you done anything in the house that may have impacted on the internal plumbing..is your boiler leaking system water into the potable water?.. do you have modern or old pipework? 2/ Is pipe from the head of the bore to the house ok, is it leaking and syphoning back say and drawing surface ground water in? 3/ Is the cover to the borehole sealed ok. 4/ Is the bore cased at the top and is the casing falling apart. 5/ Is the bore hole pump falling to bits. 6/ How deep is the bore hole. Very deep and it could be in the lower aquifer, shallow maybe in a perched water table..the two behave differently as they can draw the water from far away or close by respectively. Worth a bit of time researching this. 7/ Have a walk about.. in your garden first.. have you been using any fertilisers or chemicals? next.. what have your neighbours been up to? Have any local farmers etc been "improving the soil" or using the likes of iron suplhates? 8/ Has there been development going on round about you that could have altered the ground water regime. 9/ Any factories shutting down (mines used to be an issue but not many of them left) that have been pumping the ground water. When they stop the ground water rises and can flush stuff out to your bore hole. 10/ Has anything been poured down drains you own and other folks too. Drains / soakaways leak so consider this. I'll stop at ten things but if you can rule these out and think of a few more yourself then you could save yourself a bit of cash on professional fees. Just put together a small package of info you have and this will often serve you well. All the best and stick to the bottled water until you get to the bottom of it.

It would be a shame if after you moved out the old building caught fire.......