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Then in most cases it won't get done. I still see threads about people who have just moved into a new (to them) house and are shocked at the energy usage. Buyers in general ignore the EPC rating then wonder why their EPC G house costs a fortune. I guess one day, we will reach a point where a house with a poor EPC is worth less than a good one, to factor in the cost of the work needed to improve it. I don't want to be the owner of a poor EPC house while we go through that transition.

That is the question nobody wants to answer. If a house is so poor in it's insulation that you can't heat it with an ASHP and there will come a time when you have to stop using fossil fuels, then the answer is NOT an electric combi boiler. The question yet to be answered is just what do you do with such a house to make it to an acceptable energy usage, and who is going to pay for that probably quite major work to be done?

yep. ours is on a mix of EPS300 and EPS100 depending on where the SE said to put it. just like @Bitpipe our basement slab is also on EPS300 with the walls built on that and coursing blocks on top that the soleplate is fixed to. it's still standing but isn't finished yet and has only been up about 6 months so can't really give you a long term analysis. for our above ground structures we had to dig 2m down to the bedrock and trench fill and then lay the EPS on that. obviously, all done to SE specifications. I can highly recommend TSD if you want to investigate an insulated slab like the MBC design. but paying for more structural engineering might be a bitter pill to swallow

The MBC passive slab detail is here - https://www.mbctimberframe.co.uk/passive-foundation/ They fix a timber soleplate to the perimeter of the concrete (DPM and airtightness fabric sandwiched below) and the frame panels attach to that.

The car fan is really effective at de-pressurising the house so the fact that we had some known issues eg ply in doorways didn't really matter as for sure there was air coming in from there but with the fan strength you can still detect other air leaks. Did cover WC waste pipes and obvious holes but we didn't spend too much time on that. Construction is ICF so we focussed on the risk areas of window/sliding doors and roof to wall junctions. Holding a burning stick we watched the smoke - if the smoke was disturbed then we looked for the source and taped it. Takes a while to move slowly around all areas but 2 people 4 hours and pretty thoroughly done. Some areas will need a bit more time to fix and will deal with them next week - the window installers put tape in all required placed but in a few areas they taped onto dusty blocks which is useless of course so we'll remove, prime and re-tape. The roof junction seemed OK - maybe some small air leaks so will see how best to deal with that - probably some plastic fixed with a batten along the wall in ceiling void and then a batten pinning this onto a joist. Worst areas we could find were a few window corners that weren't taped very well. We don't have external render on yet or plasterboard inside so things should only improve from here on!

Anywhere where you think that you might need to put a screw in the floor.

Hello @kiehugh, welcome. Yes, and no. No, because we can't 'see' your property. Its that concept ...value... thats the most difficult to judge : it's worth is always judged in the eye of the beholder: a family of 4 (2+2), or two old folks like me and SWMBO, our two dogs, one cat a scramble of chickens? Yes Could you send us (upload) a sketch plan of your property, and maybe link to the planning documentation held by your Planning Authority as in .'.. believe this was rejected ....' : doing that will help us help you. What we need most is called the Decision Notice. But a simple link to the application will do. Take a look at this resource: 30 home improvements that aren't worth the money I bet you anything that some folk on here would love a home gym (specially @pocster cos he needs one 🤨) and my OH would love a mature garden. Who are you likely to sell to? Here, there's a high turnover of University staff ( minimal garden maintenance, fast BB, easy parking, easy access to schools) and lots of medical staff at the two hospitals good yearly turn-over of medics - nearly no old fuddy duddies like us two. What will your likely market appreciate? Talk to an estate agent about that. Gold dust. For balance here's an article about the things that some authors think are worth it. Pinch or three of salt needed here methinks.

My doors sit on the outer course of bricks which leaves the cavity open, my plan is push insulation tight up and bridge gap and cover with screed. Regards James

Sorry, my comments were on the assumption the surfaces were on show after drilling, whereas that is not the case. The best investment here is a set of very high quality ( Bosch / DeWalt )1000mm SDS drill bits at 10, 16 and 24mm sizes for provisional drilling. Drill the first side with the 10, then the 16, and then send the 16 through the rubble fill and into the second side. The 16 will stay relatively straight whereas the 10 will not. Go to next size up accordingly, and best of British with the rubble fill cave-ins. One trick is to drill the 10 and 16 and then get a closed cell expanding foam, push the nozzle in as far as you can get, and inject a punt or do of foam. Squirt some water into the hole first to soak the rubble fill, which will make the foam cure faster and spread better, and then leave for an hour or two. The cured foam will keep the rubble fill in check whilst you drill through and install the resin.

That is easy, the property owner. I am a bit miffed that the daily rental on the electricity meter has gone up, in part to pay the debt on the failled suppliers. No one, who save on their bills through these bad businesses, offered to but me a coffee even, let one pay part of my bill.

Yes @Temp I would expect all modern inverters to have MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) as significant conversion efficiency gains are available by optimising the load presented to the PV modules. It's also the process that allows us great flexibility in choosing our PV modules and the number we use. It's quite a fascinating design challenge - measuring the power being transferred is as simple as measuring the voltage (V) at the input of the inverter along with the current (I) flowing in. But then what do you do with the measurements? Power is V*I and, in the case of the inverter, can be changed by controlling the load impedance presented by the conversion stage. If the load presented by the DC to AC converter is started off at a high impedance and gradually reduced while monitoring V*I the power should increase up to some maximum point then begin to fall off again as current continues to increase but the PV voltage falls. The MPP has therefore been found. The trickier bit lies in the algorithm that adapts this process to the dynamics of numerous variables like the radiant energy being absorbed and other factors that affect this such as shading and temperature. I had a go at designing one for the PV/battery combo I use to power my garden lighting and the best I could come up with at the time was to hunt up and down, constantly going past the MPP in each direction to achieve a good average but then all kinds of finer tuning has to come into play to manage situations such as sudden loss of power due to passing clouds. All good fun though.

Combination, back of hand and Jos sticks. Not the smoke matches as I of course left them at home but they only burn for 20 secs a time so not that useful probably. House now smells of sandalwood

I'm no expert on PV but many years ago I spoke with people building a solar powered plane. They explained that the key for them was to operate the cell close to its maximum power point which did not occur at maximum current. Apparently changing the current drawn from the cells changes the voltage in a non-linear way so it was necessary to adjust the current drawn to find the maximum power point. To do that they used a variable pitch propellor. Presumably modern inverters do something similar then convert whatever voltage and current that turns out to be to the grid voltage.

Quick smear of vegetable oil on the O-rings to help avoid shredding them as you tighten up the fitting. This is what loctite 55 looks like fwiw. Truly magical stuff. Premium valves will come with pre 'roughed up' threads to grip string and drag it into the joint. The compression nuts on the are inverted. More like a brake pipe flare nut. It helps to keep the pipe "straight" in the fitting - the bore that the pipe runs through is much longer so it's difficult to stuff up the joint by waggling the body relative to the pipe. I suspect your leaking compression will be caused by tweaking the valve body relative to the pipe as you fix it to the rad. Try to ensure that the valve body is held absolutely stationary as you tighten the compression. A smear of oil on the olive and the threads of the compression fitting will reduce the force that you need to apply on the spanners for the same joint pressure. This can help by making keeping the fitting stable easier.

Given that the questioner merely wants people to express an opinion, perhaps this statement is the one that we should be challenging?

I know you want to educate and that's very noble. I'm currently so depressed by world events, I can't bear to lay any more misery on anyone else. Let's be as gentle to each other as we can 😔

Tadaaa worked very well. Just used jump leads and an old but of cable with a couple of spades on the end. Found some small leaks and very helpfully found one of our huge sliding doors was ok at the bottom but not the top along the closing edge so the door may not be fitted straight. So worthwhile.

I'm sorry if my cautious approach has thrown you, it's just that I'm beginning to see unmaintainable lighting being plastered-in and I have a lot of experience with Chinese LED products. The drivers are inexpensive so you might consider getting a 350mA one and give it a try. It will definitely work and if it gives you an acceptable result, it will prolong the life of your LEDs and save you some money on the electricity bill.

Start off small ( 6mm SDS ) and go up in 4mm increments. Should be easy enough that way tbh. When you get within 6-10mm of the desired size, use a diamond tipped hole saw to start off the hole, so as to prevent the surface breakout, and then put the same size SDS in to complete. Use a hozelock pump up spray bottle to keep the diamond bits soaking wet slushy cutting. Will the the remaining surface be on show afterwards?

As I understand it you need to avoid packing it as it might create a bridge for sound to travel through. Maybe it was @nodsaid the thickness of mineral wool doesn't really matter, more that it acts as a sponge and an anti reflector for the sound. obviously more mass is better as it is harder to for sound to "move" but that's not it's primary function. If you could stagger the studs and create a mini twin stud wall it would help. Resilient bars would be good or acoustic strips on the studs. In terms of plasterboard, Kg/m2 is the only meaningful measurement. Soundblock at 12.5mm is probably similar to normal plasterboard at 15mm. It's just up to you what your trade off with cost Vs labour Vs space lost is. I think someone did an excellent table on here. Maybe @Ferdinand. @Nickfromwales mentioned soundblock is better than normal for mounting stuff on. I don't know . I've never used the stuff.

I would love someone to work out the round circuit efficiency of burning gas in a gas powered power station to generate electricity to heat your house with an electric boiler. My instinct says it will burn MORE gas as well as costing you a lot more. People seem to make such suggestions thinking somehow we can get any amount of clean electricity we want. While I agree we have to reduce fossil fuel usage, energy security is a more urgent issue. Do we still have any coal powered stations still in a state they could be re started? As unpalatable as that may be to the environmentalists, as a short term alternative to Russian gas, it has to be considered?

Restraint straps are much the same as wall plate straps. 5mm thick steel straps usually with 100mm bend and come in a variety of lengths. These are often part of your floor plan spec. They sit 1/3rd the span of the joist perpendicular to the span. They need solid noggins between the joists to fix the straps to. I cut these in to the joist top and set noggins low so the strap doesn’t foul the flooring. In the past I’ve stood the ledger off the wall at the fixing points with timber to create a void for services to run. I’ve seen it done with compactfoam as an alternative to timber too. Before installing the joists I lay them all out side by side vertically supported at their end points and shuffle them around to get the tops in size order. Even PAR timber can vary by 6mm. Crown the timbers up at this point too.

Also, if you are building a well insulated, airtight house to close to passive house standards, you will probably find you don't need any heating upstairs. We have no heating in the bedrooms and just a small area of UFH in the bathrooms to avoid "cold feet"

I worked for a builder years ago that built a cricket pavilion facing the car park 😂

No I know we are... Even though it's a family member, you still have to run things through a practice to get the professional indemnity cover - I wouldn't ask a family member to personally take on that risk. Simon

It is! But if it's any consolation to @Adsibob we're on about the same and we're on mates rates for the Architect..... I'm sure there are lots more on here that will have spent similar amounts, especially when using main contractors and/or a PM and trades to do the build, i.e. they aren't hands on themselves. Simon

We are building in ICF - polystyrene blocks. We have a builder. This is our first new build and the builder whilst excellent and experienced with 30 years has never built with ICF before so a big learning curve. Builder is very conscientious and quality of work is superb. The speed of construction is a big advantage. There is very little we would change - but one thing that would have made the whole build easier is designing the openings of the house (windows doors sliders) around the size of the blocks. There is a window which is right on a corner which is not ideal when cutting ICF corners. We would also get a structural engineer who understood ICF as ours has lots of rebar which the manufacturer deems unnecessary. The blocks sit on a waterproof concrete raft with a water bar. The ICF is faced in natural stone and blockwork (to be rendered). We have not moved in yet so can't comment on how it works in reality.

A lot of joss sticks, and you couldn't open a window.

Having watched a fire take hold in my neighbour's kitchen extension, I would say downstairs smoke alarms are essential, away from the toaster end or whatever. By the time we all realised what was happening, flames were near the top of the building. This was daytime, with everyone wide awake. It took much less than 5 minutes. What you are proposing means that your downstairs would be properly on fire before the smoke alarms tripped at night. Is that really what you would want?