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One of the most common posts from new members focuses on peoples opinion : what do others think of what we want to build? The answer is derived almost exclusively from the opinions a series of people all of whom - one way or another - visit the site of your proposed build. They either have a statutory duty to attend your site, or are interested locals, some deliver stuff, yet others simply stop and chew the fat. Not all are sympathetic - and decide one way or another to let you know how they feel. In person, or by anonymous comment in the Planning Process. So I thought I'd give an overview of our experience. Reading many of the other posts, it seems that our experience is remarkably similar to most. The Councillors We've been 'at it' now for about 8 years now. There's nowt like a house-build it seems for turning otherwise normal folk into Nosey Parkers. We live on a one lane road - it's also an official cycle track, so loads of folk drive, walk shuffle or ride by most days. I wrote a few years ago about passers-by: the white van driver, forearm on the steering wheel, driving as slowly as he could - chin straining to get low enough to see as much of the site and house as possible; the little boy wondering aloud to his mum whether it was Darth Vader behind the shield while I was welding the container roof; the retired doddery old builder walking past slowly, wife proudly on one arm - his broad wink and grin always makes me smile. In twenty or more years I've never spoken to him. Ever. But what about those who make the effort to stop and chat, or - as some have - sneer? Visits to the site by others begin before Planning Permission is given. And make no mistake, those before Planning Permission visits tend to be high-stakes. We lived next to our site: lucky in some ways, others not . Read on. The doorbell goes and the unmistakeable profile of the Chair of The Parish Council peers through the faux glass whorls in the door. "Just passing " was the introductory lie. He had the grace faintly to wince when he heard himself say that. His real agenda was to protest at the design we wanted. Sharp Scandi, clad to look like the old local barns which litter the countryside here. In a previous life, I used to run Conflict Resolution Courses but - when it comes to my own conflicts…. managing the irritation flushing rapidly into my cheeks was difficult. The technique runs loosely like this …..Repeat the question, rephrased if helpful, show you understand the problem, offer some sympathy for the challenger's situation. Stuff that mate. This is my place, my house my build my… my… my …. And up yours if you don't like it. It is very lucky that I am married to a consummate diplomat. Lucky also for me that a local builder had - using PD rights - just erected a wooden barn within sight of our build. (see image below) I swivelled on my heel and waved my hand in the direction of his beautifully clad barn 50 meters away. Same size as our proposed house. I swear the Parish Councillor nearly swallowed his tongue. I couldn't resist it: "You mean you don't like that either ?" Further waffle only dug him into a deeper hole, and instead of being kind, I continued "Our current chocolate box house is built of stone isn't it?" Nods sagely. "And we are proposing a timber build, but you want ours built in stone." More sage nods. "How long Councillor, does it take to create stone? A few million years? And how long does it take to create wood? " "Well we (the Parish Council) are all agreed you should be building in stone" came the -now- tart response. "Our whole design philosophy focusses on sustainability. I'll use the material that only needs a few hundred years to reproduce over a material which takes a few million to recycle itself anytime." Managing the local politics of a potential newbuild is a nightmare. At the time, I'd had not made time to think about how to manage this issue of the build. Learning fast though. We parted on the worst of terms. A significant error on my part. Other Councillors came and went. One even told us that our newbuild would spoil her Sunday morning run. Five years later, that same Councillor obtained Planning Permission for her own garden and built four executive houses on the land. At the same time, she had the effrontery to campaign for 'starter houses' in the area. At least , once she had sold the newbuilds and her own house, she had the decency to move out of the area. I'm looking forward to meeting her one day. Can't wait. And then last week : on another matter, I had the singular displeasure of a knock on the door from another hissy weasel of a Parish Councillor. One who had shared her ex-colleague's opinion: we should have built in stone. She wanted to tell me wonderfully our new house was blending in to the countryside : you can hardly see it from the canal-side. (see image below) Mountains sometimes do pole vault to Mohamed. Conclusion? Tolerate - but only just and for just long enough.

The most stupid (shows their lack of knowledge) comment was from the planner at my previous 1930's house who refused my planning for a detached garage. I had described the construction as "concrete block and rendered to match the house". The planning officer said to me "but it would still look like a prefabricated garage" and no amount of explaining would change her view that it was not a prefab building. It passed on appeal.

Eden project are at ~5km, bless 'em: https://www.edengeothermal.com/the-project/drilling-and-operations/ That's "proper geothermal" though, a ground-source heat pump can do alright with a ~50-200M vertical well, depending on where you are and whether you go open or closed loop. https://www.bgs.ac.uk/geology-projects/geothermal-energy/ has a brief overview of different technologies and a couple of shiny maps.

Have I found the answer to my problems in a power cut? This little rascal is the EcoFlow River 2 Portable Power Station. I can plug it in to the mains and then plug the MVHR into it. In the event of a power cut it will instantly take over (in 30ms according to the blurb) and run the MVHR. If I’ve got the maths correct and more importantly I’ve understood the electrickery bits properly it’ll run the MVHR on setting 2 for over 11 hours (standing by for being slated on both the above points…) It’s capacity is 256Wh and the rated power of the Brink on setting 2 (200m3/hr) is 23W. On top of all that, when I go wild camping (I don’t) I can take it with me to power the ghetto blaster for ages! Does anyone have any experience of the portable power stations? Is my planning sound?

Could use a phenolic insulation boards like Kingspan Kooltherm K103 Floorboard. About 10 to 15% better than normal PIR, but quite a bit more expensive. Or normal PIR boards. Put it down in two layers with staggered joints, all a tight fit. Fill all gaps with expanding foam and tape the top layer. Thin polythene sheet, staple the UFH pipe to insulation through poly sheet and then screed.

Hi All We are just about to finish specifying the lighting for our self build We are hoping to control certain areas of the house in groups (hallway and living room / kitchen) to allow us to dim and set scenes. Casambi has come up as an option and i wanted to ask if anyone has experience or advice on using this soluton ? Any experience welcomed as always Bob

Get digging I say, only one chance to get this right. 300mm of EPS or 200mm of PIR is a good starting figure.

Yes my electric car. Technically meets the definition of a portable power station. I powered a 1600W concrete breaker from it on and off for 9 hours for several days. We also have a portable induction hob we use for camping. We had some builders at the farm in the summer and there was a power cut. I ran an extension cord for them to let them power their concrete mixer and charge their batteries. So yes your battery pack will work fine. The main thing is to keep it charged and to actually use it occasionally. Power cuts are infrequent after all.

Dunno, got this for nothing and even got two new batteries for it, for nowt, the other week. 500W. Just use it for the phone, answerphone and router.

Luckily our build was towards the head of a small steep cul-de-sac of 8 properties. Even though you could see the build from other parts of the of the village only one person came to view the build whom we did not know. They were a lecturer in building techniques visiting family and wanted to discuss the ICF. No problem good chat and wave goodbye. No local councillors visited and we attended the local parish council meeting which discussed our application. No other member of the public was there. That went through without a hitch. As for neighbours - well one has been an absolute arse of the highest order and I will never forgive him for it. I know it's part of the process but in a time of high pressure during a build you don't need threats and intimidation especially if they are never backed up.

I think you will need to replace the lintel. It has to be supported at both ends by at least 100mm so needs to be at least 35 inches (890mm) wide central over the new opening. I like to go 5 to 6 inches each end...

One for the OP, how'd you get on?

DNO don't seem interested in what DOES happen, just what COULD happen.

My other half is a little photophobic: she can't stand glare. The light from surface-mounted LEDs almost always cause her slight physical pain. So all our LEDS are recessed about 30mm. There is no more a 'cone' of light with those as with surface mounts: but there is absolutely no glare. In terms of lumen output, I'm not sure if there's a difference between recessed or surface mounted lights. We worked on 5000 lumen in the kitchen and office, a good deal less elsewhere.

What’s the width of the fireplace further back? Looks like the opening has been reduced. If this isn’t wide enough then your options are limited or going to get very expensive.

Is the opening height sufficient to insert a 100x 65mm concrete lintel below what is already there ?

I've also used Soudal flexifoam (which Toolstation sell) and it's good foam but the blue colour makes it hard to hide stains or spills. 3 hours it took to get an accidental drip off the middle of the wood floor in our lounge...

Well my build was refused four times by the bl@@dy planners but passed by the Secretary of State at appeal, I have had loads of compliments from passers by in fact not one complaint or negative comment, it is “chocolate box cottage “esk people have even said “wow, who designed that?”, what do planners know 🤷‍♂️.

If you can sacrifice some more headroom, go to 150mm of PIR as the better you invest in the Insulaton now, the cheaper this will be to run forever. Go regular PIR for the 100mm base layer, and 50mm phenolic for the top layer ( if possible ).

Yes, I think it is CSST rather than mdpe, but worth double checking if it's used as a continuous run from boiler to gas meter or if mdpe is visible somewhere along the run because the yellow coils in the other extension look more like MDPE. As mentioned, the PRV arangement is questionable and the tundish looks undersized for potentially 2 discharges, but not as bad as a recent job where the builders were about to plasterboard over the existing open end prv discharge in the new extension. The owner was surprised when I mentioned it, saying nobody had said anything about it, not even the gas safe engineer who capped off the boiler during the works...

jewson use estimators online.

parish councillors have zero say on the detailed plans. Don't even bother arguing with them. All the parish committee can do is recommend or refuse and because its joe public they are clueless on actual planning matters 99% of the time anyway so are ignored by the planners.

Very tidy, is that a standard bullnose profile?

Looks great, I love the uniform skirt and arch’s

We used solid wood door linings and MDF architrave and skirtings.

MDF or solid wood is often a dilemma. In area that will be mopped or likely to be damp/wet then solid wood (MDF can and is used but it needs fully sealing on all sides before install). In non wet areas then MDF is fine, no one goes around tapping skirts and arch’s like they do doors and furniture.

I'm not going to comment on the plumbing as I'm sure Nick will be along soon, swearing. Why is there so much dirt / rubble / stuff on top of the polythene and UFH pipes? Should be insulation down on Monday, polythene and edge insulation/expansion strips on the tuesday, UFH pipes on the Wednesday/Thursday, screed on the friday and back to business on the following Monday. And no other trades in between. Otherwise you open yourself up to a load of potential issues, damaged pipes, crushed / moved insulation boards, gaps in polythene etc.

As per @markc and @Temp an EU supplier should not charge any VAT if they are exporting to any customer outside the EU https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/cross-border-vat/index_en.htm#outsidetheeusellgoods-1 - this is different to the rules for exporting within the EU (where it depends on business/personal status of the customer). If the supplier incorrectly charges you foreign VAT you will not be able to reclaim it. If you are not VAT registered you will be charged UK VAT on arrival of goods in the UK, this can be reclaimed from HMRC on the normal self-build scheme. The only thing I'm not certain of is what VAT territory NI is in at the moment. I am pretty sure it's UK (therefore outside EU) but it's possible there's something in the protocol that fudges that and treats you as being within EU for exports... Worth double checking.

What’s the issue here ??

I am afraid that's what the general public think and need a is simple Tag to associate low running cost houses with. Passivhaus - what's that, very small group of people have heard of them and understand them, most no clue, if they have heard of them they're airtight and must be stuffy and mouldy. That was the feedback I had from people I spoke to when I was building our near Passivhaus. Building education is very low in this country, with the general public and building professionals. Picking up on another thread, Tado sell smart thermostats to rest of the world, they degrade them for this country to on/off thermostats

Use one that ducts air in from outside. https://www.vaillant.co.uk/for-installers/products/arostor-domestic-hot-water-heat-pump-58880.html https://www.orionairsales.co.uk/cool-energy-ecostore-200l-all-in-one-air-source-heat-pump-hot-water-system-ce-es200-solar-thermal-16610-p.asp https://www.clickonbathrooms.co.uk/3069426-ariston-nuos-fs-200-floor-standing-direct-air-source-heat-pump-water-heater-nuos200d-c2x12743911 https://www.orionairsales.co.uk/giona-all-in-one-indirect-unvented-air-source-heat-pump-with-250l-cylinder-288kw--10000btu-240v50hz-4682-p.asp https://www.dimplex.co.uk/product/edel-hot-water-heat-pump

It drives me mad that some architects still use imperial size opening widths.

might be worth looking at an insulated slab for foundations? obviously your SE will design what's suitable but i was of the understanding that a raft/slab foundation works ok on clay. also agree with the comment on getting a proper ground investigation done. it's what your structural engineer will work off.

Welcome @Lucasgrantmaw You can build almost any style or type of house out of anything but some styles lend themselves to different methods. Do you have planning permission? Do you have a budget to work to. Do you have any special requirements for the house? We used block and block. Strip foundations. Passive house spec. One small heater keeps the house comfortable. pros 1. Cheapest option 2. Ready supply of materials and skilled labour. 3. Easy to insure, engineer, and explain. No educating professionals or searching for specialists. 4. Low risk of suppliers defaulting. 5. Very quiet. 6. Weather tolerant 7. Durable. Cons, 1. Messy 2. Slower 3. Huge embodied carbon. 4. Not nice to install services or drill holes .

We opted for brick and block and would do so again but with more insulation. +1 We are on clay with trees within 3m. We were also allowed strip foundations with compressible boards. It might be worth getting a proper ground condition report done to ascertain how good/bad it is. This involves digging two trial pits and pushing specist instruments into the ground and soil samples sent to a lab. You can save money by getting the percolation test done at the same time if thisvis needed to prove and size soakaways. Even more if you can provide a JCB and and/or water supply, although they can usually arrange these as well. A raft foundation might also be an option.

Brick and block are definitely not a thing of the past We have chosen solid over timber Frame on our last build and current one partly due to the difference in cost I have worked on both for many years and prefer solids to TF But if you want convenience TF or Sips is definitely that Don’t be pushed into piling We used deep strip and Clay board on our last build Clay ground and hundreds of 10 meter trees to three sides Gas boiler on our previous HP on our Current build Expecting it to be significantly more expensive to run than our gas boiler But no gas in the area So not an issue All the build shows that we visited are poor r also ons of the NEC show Excellent

Just wanted to tell about my long and hard fought planning battle to finally get approval for anyone else in a similar situation who's losing hope. I bought a plot of land in a development area of a town with FPP for a traditional detached house back in 2020. I then worked with an architect to create a new highly contemporary design that better suited my needs and preferences and submitted it to the LPA, optimistically expecting a decision in 8 weeks time. There were no objections from the local town council nor any technical objections. The plot isn't in a conservation area, AONB or in any other special zone which might cause planning issues. Myself and my planning consultant expected this to be a quick and simple application. My planning consultant had an initial call with the case officer who said they didn't see any issues. All seemed good so far. Then a month later, after chasing the CO again, they came back and said that they had decided that there was no way they could give us approval for the house as it was too out of character for the area and that there was nothing we could do, revise or prove to change their mind. We argued that it wasn't out of character for the area, and that the same case officer had actually themselves approved several applications for contemporary houses nearby and written in their reports that there was no overriding architectural style in the area. They told us to argue it at appeal. At this point, I contacted the head of the LPA who seemed confused why the CO was refusing to allow us to even submit any additional evidence to show that it wasn't out of character. The CO reluctantly relented and said we now could submit additional evidence. I went all out on this - I had drone surveys mapping the whole area showing the house would be completely screened from the road, additional consultants came in to conduct character reviews of the local area, numerous additional architectural drawings etc. Upon informing the CO that all additional evidence would be submitted the following week, they replied and said they'd changed their mind about allowing additional evidence and were going to just reject the app. I contacted the head of the LPA about this to complain a few days later, who replied saying that the CO had actually just quit their job, we would be assigned a new CO and they'd be happy to review any additional evidence. A friendly local councillor passed on information about why we were having so much difficulty with this app - a local married councillor duo, who had a reputation for 'shouting the loudest' to get their own way, were doing everything they could to get the LPA to reject my app. At the town planning committee when my app was discussed, they had said they wanted to prevent all contemporary houses from being built and were apparently outraged that the committee sided with me and voted to raise no objection. This was their revenge. The new CO was far more amenable - he wanted to work with us to tweak the design to something he felt he could then approve. We spent two months going back and forth with designs and changes until he finally said that he was satisfied and would write a report giving us approval. This was about 7 months after the application was originally verified. I was obviously very pleased with this outcome and patiently awaited their report. A month passed before we followed up with them to see how they were getting on. Imagine our surprise when we were informed that this CO had also quit two days ago and we'd now get a third CO. The third CO looked at the original plans and the redesigns and said he much preferred the original plans to the redesigned version and would be happy to approve it with some minor tweaks, which we happily obliged. He then began writing his report recommending approval, and we waited and hoped this one wouldn't quit too. A month passed and we received confirmation his report was ready and just needed to be signed off by their line manager. A few weeks later and we find out there's a problem - the line manager refuses to sign off on it and tells him to re-write it as a refusal, stating 'overlooking' as the reason. This particular line manager is known to be friendly with married councillor duo. We obviously push back very hard on this as we have 3d drone surveys showing that overlooking is not possible, and that there is substantial distance between neighbouring properties which are well above guidelines for new builds anyway. I once again get the head of LPA involved and the line manager agrees to at least to do a site visit with the CO. At the site, the line manager begrudgingly admits defeat and allows the recommendation for approval. It's a little over a year since the app was verified. The journey's not over yet though, as it turned out that a ward councillor had called in the app to committee when it was first submitted but had gone unnoticed due to the multiple CO changes. I felt reasonably confident going into the committee though - we had an officers recommendation for approval, there was no 5 year housing supply in the area so development was favoured, and I wrote a very strong speech putting forward my case. At the committee I gave my speech and then listened the councillors debate. To my horror, this was when I found out that councillors don't actually bother to review planning documents for applications they're voting on - multiple councillors said they couldn't support it because they didn't know what materials would be used (despite all materials been listed numerous times in the docs) and one even saying they couldn't support it based on architectural drawings as they wanted illustrations (but there were multiple CGIs submitted in the docs). In the end, 4 councillors voted to refuse the app (2 were the married couple duo who said nothing during the debate and the other said they 'didn't like it' as their reason) but that was enough to overturn the CO recommendation as so many others abstained. Not willing to give up after how much work had already gone into this, I had my planning consultant start work on the appeal. We submitted a 50 page rebuttal of the committees one reason for refusal (contemporary design would be out of character). The LPA barely even tried to justify the committee decision, they submitted a 3 paragraph argument, seemingly acknowledging that they were fighting a lost cause. 6 months later and just in time for Christmas, we received the Inspectors report that the appeal was allowed. Almost exactly two years to the date after the app was first verified. The two year battle cost me ~£30k and building costs have gone up ~£300k during that time (the GDV has gone up by more than this but it is still painful). It was worth it in the end though to finally be able to build the house I want to build. Just wanted to tell my story for anyone else who's in a similar struggle at the moment and advise you to just keep pushing forward.

If the house is correctly designed to have great insulation and air tightness it’s perfectly feasible to heat with a post-heater in the MVHR with a small top up when it’s very cold. Running that type of system would need high confidence in the insulation and air tightness of the building. Is there anything from the builder that shows heat loss calculations or air tightness test results? it can take a while (possibly days) for a passive type build to warm up and find its balance, but it sounds like you have been in for a while now?

Only because your git of a neighbour had his house taken off him by the receiver.

Definition of trust ( or stupidity ) or fake of course

Great post Ian and will benefit many self builders in the future It’s very easy as a self builder to think Why me Why am I being treated like this by planners and others Especially when you see a nearby application fly through planning without any fuss If you where to google the term self builder I’m sure your name would pop up somewhere More hardcore self builder than typical

Water cooling is always more effective then air cooling....

Didn’t know that was an option ! I’ll look into that .

Council avoid bco try to avoid neighbors (expletive deleted) off people passing who show interest , engage women of the night invite in

No issue, it's on soak test.

We have some interesting problems with mice- usually when the contractors move the straw stack near the house and they decide to move in here instead. I woke up to one making a hell of a racket the other night. Lay there for 2mins getting cross before deciding to switch the light on and do something about it. Turned out the bold b@gger was on my pillow! I moved fairly quickly at that point. Put a mouse trap with peanut butter down next to the bed and there was a loud snap a couple of mins later. Took the mouse outside to give to the feral cats who I'm fairly sure now consider me their butler... Proud moment was getting two with the same trap...