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Despite watching lots of Grand Designs, building a house wasn’t something I’d ever considered until about 18 months ago. Fast forward to today and we’ve bought a plot, instructed an architect, and I’ve traded my evening telly time for browsing the Buildhub forum. So how did we get here? My partner and I want to start a family but agreed that we wanted to move into something larger first. We drew up a list of what we wanted and started our search. After months of searching / viewing we began to realise that we were going to be spending a huge amount of money just to buy something that was ‘kind of’ what we wanted. Still, what else could we do? Then I stumbled across Danwood – the polish prefab house firm – and had my eyes opened to the world of self-building. I paused the depressing Rightmove search and started reading in earnest. We went to some self-build shows, read huge amounts online, and eventually decided to swap Rightmove for Plotfinder. Our hope was to build near where we live currently (to be near family / friends and have easy access to London for work) but had no luck finding anything suitable or affordable. Funnily enough, it was Rightmove that came to the rescue. One night my partner sent me a link to a bungalow. It was small, in a sorry state, and well over our plot budget… But it sat on a good-sized plot and was in a great location for us. We called the estate agent to arrange a viewing and were politely told to eff-off as they’d accepted an offer from a developer. Back to square one. 2 weeks later I got a phone call from the estate agent asking if we were still interested in a viewing. The developer’s financing fell through in the wake of the Kamikwasi ‘mini’ budget and the bungalow was back on the market. We went for a viewing that evening, put in an offer, and a few months later the bungalow was ours! We completed at the end of 2022 and have since appointed an architect but I’ll cover that, and other bits, in a separate post. Thanks for reading - I look forward to sharing our inevitable ups and downs as we move along.

The problem is as a first timer you don’t know what you don’t know until you need it. Yesterday, for example, I found out there’s a whole other set of drawings for the timber kit company to construct the panels. First time it was ever mentioned and it was lucky they mentioned it as there was an error that I spotted.

Howdens ginoa doors are about to go into the rooster sale from 20th March. I am about to buy doors and this might save me £20 a door, may help someone else

Slight amendment.

Ducting all in. I’ve somewhat overdone it but better to have it and not need it etc We have power in to the house and back to the garage plus a spare to garage as batteries etc are all in there. Data between the garage and house primarily for Starlink which will be mounted on the garage, power and control for the ASHP, power to the treatment plant and a spare out the east elevation in case we power the gate, power out the front and back of the house, power to the island, two water pipes for softened and raw, the duo insulated pipe for the ASHP. I also installed some extra ducting coming out of the garage for charging point, outside 13A, power for the borehole pump and power to the potting shed.

Not that I care to waste any of my valuable personal time responding to such a nonsense response, but what exactly do you consider "rude". I asked you two very simple questions, and, if you want help, maybe you should read between the lines and answer them so you can receive said help. Folk on here reply to help people for free, on a forum which is free to join, so, IF you wish to jump down, momentarily, off the highest horse I've seen for quite some time, I would be happy to answer you questions. For definition; A "moron" would install a system which was not properly designed and installed as fit for purpose, so if I was the kind of person to make any assumptions or be "rude" to you, my question in my first reply would have read "What MORON designed this system where they didn't define the parameters or install it fit for purpose?", and then, referring to someone as a moron would be fine and appropriate. 👍 For further clarity, I am NOT referring to you as the moron, yet, as I do not know if you were said moron or not. Once I have ascertained who the moron actually is, then I will engage, with all of my many years of dealing with morons, my retort. Usage of Moron The terms idiot, imbecile, moron, and their derivatives were formerly used as technical descriptors in medical, educational, and regulatory contexts. These uses were broadly rejected by the close of the 20th century and are now considered offensive. As we like to offer comprehensive replies here at Buildhub, please be aware that, rather embarrassingly, your attempt to insult me is actually about a century out of date. You may need to go to another forum to get some up to date material. OK, so lets assume you did come here fore free help, I will rephrase my questions to you as follows. Should have read; Please could you tell me if the already installed ductwork has been insulated? Are you aware that there is a huge difference between air con and cooling? There you go, and hopefully this makes up for me upsetting you so much by trying to help you, for free, in my spare time. Please also be aware, that If you can't get a reasonably speedy and satisfactory answer here, then please go and employ a system designer, who will take money from you in return for the answers you seek. Kind regards, Nick.

5k is a lot. Ours was £1300. Our architect fees (about the same as yours) included all the M&E stuff and the SAP report. Our drawings included the planning application drawings, warrant drawings, and construction pack. The construction pack shows all the build up and junction details.

Pre installation.pdfRadiator Scedule - address.pdfOctopus ASHP quote.docx First of all let me apologise, my computer tech skills are somewhat lacking. The full quotation is about 25 pages but I have tried to list only those with technical and financial information that might be of interest. My lack of computer skills means some pages are in word and some have been scanned. I hope you are able to view them, if you want more info just ask. In an earlier post I mentioned that I wanted to keep the existing OSO 210L direct electric heated UVC and Solar I Boost, which is only 9 months old and performs really well. Octopus say no, we need to supply and install a new cylinder. I also feel that some of the radiator upgrades will provide very little additional heat but add a sizeable chunk to the costs. I am minded at this stage to take the heating calculations to a local installer who might be prepared to supply/install an ASHP heating system without the DHW cylinder.

Just seen that the limit can be more than £30k and potentially more than £60k.... https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/75A

Undoubtedly the best solution where feasible.

Its also very important to conform to the rules or section 75 will fail to cover you. I believe the credit card must be in the name of the person placing the order (so not your partners card). It must also be a direct transaction with the company (so might be a problem if ordering a kit from a local representative if they don't work for the company directly). The card must also be used for a deposit on the kit not a seperate design fee or similar. If I've missed anything I'm sure someone will pick me up on it.

did an experament of pumping cold air through my mvhr ductwork on my last house , I spliced the flow pipes in the loft and pushed through cooled air from a nearby air con.. via a cardboard capture tent and ductwork to see if it would work it created a lot of condensation on the outside of ductwork, and wasnt all that effective. . , when i designed this new house we are in, decided that 3 dedicated air condition units in stratigic places was a far better and cheaper option than insulating all the ductwork for a sub optimal system.. As a bonus in winter if needed they can be used as heaters . you can buy you own split system air con systems and fit your self for a little under 500 pounds,, ive fitted many of these for family and freinds , from my experiance thats where i would put my money every time

I looked at homevap, and it's same with all evaporative cooling products for the UK, they don't work well in a high humidity climate, because the air isn't that from saturation already. I would do your research before spending

Just pay a small deposit with your credit card Which will cover for the full amount

We love where we live, but have always wanted to build so converting one of our barns seemed like the ideal compromise. Hindsight is amazing, I still feel like bulldozing it sometimes 🙂

It’s unfortunate that when you pay for expert advice you often don’t get it - and to find out about needing timber frame panel drawings far into the process is very disappointing. In my previous life I would have taken my clients step by step through the building process and would have tried to explain in simple terms how they get from a brief to a completed home. I would have felt that if a client did not understand what I was saying then I needed to explain the process in a different way or in simpler terms. I reiterate what I have said in the past - I am a BCO and RA and if I can help with anything I will.

Yep, read it all, cheers! lockquote widblockquote widglockquote widlockquote widget

Yes it is a frustrating process when you’ve never done it before. We (well I) rushed into ours a bit and so we were researching what to do as we were going through the planning process. I have been focused on cost increases so it drove me to get on with it. In different circumstances we might have bought the land then taken a year to really research and plan out exactly what we wanted. I agree with Jilly, conversions are harder to do. We lived in a barn conversion and while it was nice I can now see the compromises they made with it.

Welcome back. Yes, you don't know what you don't know... I think a conversion can be more difficult than a new build as there are so many compromises to negotiate.

I feel very sorry for those who feel that they have been ripped off and haven’t got value for money when appointing architects, architectural technicians and engineers. When I see the fees being charged and the level of frustration and mistrust I almost feel that there is an opening for a co-operative not-for-profit organisation that can help self-builders get their projects off the ground at a relatively low cost. I see that this forum is often a last resort for many self-builders who are trying to make sense of what they are going through in their self-build journey and in many cases the advice they receive can unfortunately often be too late.

500m away? Get it hooked up…. I’ve lived off grid on the isle of purbeck for 39yrs and believe me when I say, of all the services you should try and get hooked up, it’s the electric.

Duly noted. I shall stand naked on my foundation in the freezing cold admiring my very neat over complicated ducting

ChatGPT: Installing air conditioning onto a Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) ductwork system can be a bit complicated, and it's usually best to consult a professional HVAC technician or engineer for proper installation. However, here are some general steps that may be involved in putting air con onto an MVHR ductwork: Determine the appropriate size and type of air conditioning system needed for your space, taking into account factors such as room size, insulation, and desired temperature range. Assess the existing ductwork system to see if it's compatible with the air conditioning system you plan to install. If the ductwork is too small or poorly designed, it may need to be modified or replaced to ensure proper airflow and ventilation. Install the air conditioning unit near the MVHR unit, ideally on the supply air side of the ductwork system. This will allow the air to be cooled before it enters the living space. Connect the air conditioning unit to the ductwork system using appropriate connectors and fittings. Make sure the connections are sealed properly to prevent air leaks. Install any necessary controls and sensors, such as a thermostat or temperature sensor, to ensure proper operation and regulation of the air conditioning system. Test the system to ensure it's functioning properly and delivering the desired temperature and air flow. Adjust settings as needed to optimize performance and efficiency. Again, it's important to note that installing air conditioning onto an MVHR ductwork system can be complex and may require professional assistance. Improper installation or modification of the system could result in reduced efficiency, increased energy costs, and even safety hazards.

You can’t do air conditioning with MVHR due to flow volume, you can do basic warming and cooling of the airflow using a water duct battery but it’s going to add / remove 5-800w at most. You’ll also find that MVHR duct is only 30% of the size of standard AC duct so you won’t get significant airflow without a lot of noise. The second issue is that you have to ensure the whole system is cooling ready if you drop the air temp low enough you will end up with condensation external to the ductwork which will cause damp issues. Secondary ducting is needed to do AC correctly if you don’t want to use wall units or ceiling cassettes - you can then use a ducted battery but these need minimum 125mm duct so that needs a lot of planning.

Yikes, that escalated quick! OP, chill out... Geddit? (I'm joking) The locals speak the truth, if you want to cool properly stick to dedicated AC, MVHR is just to light and slow to make a meaningful difference. I looked into it before shitting myself into an extra £4k to install proper AC.

He’s one of the most helpful and knowledgeable people on here. I suggest you spend more time reading the forum to get a feel for the members and how and what they post.

Hi all. Thanks everyone for all your input. We got an indicative cost back from a local contractor at 974,000. Given that we are currently overseas, have a hard budget limit (v limited borrowing options until we move home...and will struggle to move home without building the house!) I don't think we will be going ahead with the build as planned... Maybe the costs are OTT but we just can't take the risk to push ahead without a degree of certainty. Taking stock and looking into other options...likely better form factor and slightly smaller. Will update when we have narrowed down our options! Thanks again

no they aren’t - warranty claims are down and NHBC aren’t paying out for a lot of issues that they used to. It’s an insurance policy and they will find every way not to pay. There is nothing in BS 13598 that states you cannot use the pipes above ground if adequately protected, nor in BS-EN 1329 or any of the others listed in Part H of the Building regulations as long as the pipe is manufactured within the standards.

Not had one argue the point with any of my jobs. The second you push back against a BCO they often just say "fine", unless it is a categoric blunder.

Done it plenty of times, just needs to be spotlessly clean and I rough it up with Emery cloth too. You don’t use glue for this, but instead use the proper ‘gap-filling cement’. Totally different beast.

Bog-standard Apeer composite door here, confirmed as being 0.94

Nordan. No glazing in the door.

Rationel quoted the front door for my house as 0.59 W/m2k too, but I'm not going with Rationel. The company I'm ordering from (Allan Bros) are supplying an Outline front door with the U-value of 0.72 W/m2k.

3 and 4 port buffers allow the heat emitters to run independently from the ASHP circuit. If well designed and correctly sized for ASHP requirements and system flow velocity, they allow the emitter circuit to continue to run at close to ASHP flow temp for as long as possible while the ASHP is off (due to it cycling when the heat demand is lower than the ASHP can continuously deliver). Poorly designed and sized 3P/4P buffers could induce mixing of flow and return water and lower the flow temp to the emitters. It's only through stratification in the 3P/4P Buffer that flow temp to the emitters will stay at close to the ASHP flow temp, while the ASHP is off. A 4P buffer allows for the design of flow and return ports in the buffer to be optimised for their specific function (flow or return) for minimal disruption of the stratification within the tank. A 3P buffer has 2 ports that always perform the same task (flow or return) so can be optimised as such, but 1 port that acts as both flow and return at different times, so can be optimised for neither. They will therefore tend to be a just a direct horizontal tapping in the side of the tank, which is OK for flow out of the tank but less good for flow into the tank, so more likely to cause disturbance to the stratification in the lower area of the tank. I have no idea if that means a 0.1% loss of efficiency over a 4P Buffer or a 5% loss of efficiency. It may well be that the lower flow velocity, when the pump is running, mitigates the lack of optimisation of the porting. 2P Buffers can be plumbed to effectively work just like a 4P Buffer, where they are plumbed in parallel to the emitter circuit. They do however have 2 ports that cannot be optimised for their function so may induce more turbulence within the tank, disturbing the stratification, leading to more mixing, but again this may be mitigated by lower flow velocities when the ASHP is running. A 2P Buffer can also be plumbed in series with the heat emitter in either the flow or return line but when the ASHP cycles off, then the emitter circuit is also off. With the 2P buffer plumbed in series the extra pump required for the other options may be able to be avoided, and with the 2P buffer in the return line, the buffer-to-ambient ΔT is lower than all the other options, so standing losses are reduced as much as possible. But, you don't get a store of water at ASHP flow temp to continue to circulate to the heat emitters when the ASHP is off. If you wish to run additional heating circuits, such as wet duct heater/cooler in your MVHR or fan coil heating/cooling units, which may have very low heat loads in a Passive-type house in the shoulder months, having a store of water at or near ASHP flow temp can be quite handy and mean the ASHP only runs for 30 mins every few hours. Which is the best option, who knows, but there's lots of opinions out there...

Don't forget the genny needs to be water cooled with it's "waste" cooling water heating DHW or the building, aka CHP.

Centre it. Our architect taught us to prioritise the feel and look room by room, rather than the building as a whole from the outside.yoy spend a lot, lot more time living in a space, than looking at it from the outside. We positioned skylights to be central within rooms, rather than uniform across the roof from the outside. Best approach as hardly noticeable from the outside.

Hello - welcome. I bet you are fizzing with anticipation: remember that. Hold on to it like was a cherished family member about to fall off a - summat or other. Because you'll need to hold on to that memory for (potentially) quite a while. Lets hope not though. The bit of your post that will have hooked more than one or two on this board is And, given that collectively we are more nosey than a herd of under-fed tomcats we need plans, site plans, M+E design, poo tank details, pv design, photos - anything ..... please😁 Pop your ideas into the relevant subsection of the board, that'll release any inhibitions the BH Commentariat may have had. Cos we like other people's problems more than our own. Helps us treat our own procrastination better when we try to solve others' problems.😏

Another fine day here. Very cold though and it’s not going to warm up until next week so has put the kibosh on the slab pour which has meant delaying the garage build and therefore the borehole plant installation by a week. However cracked on with planning and digging out for all the ductwork and prepping the site for hardcore coming in for the perimeter. Managed to pour the garage concrete foundation before the temperature plummeted.

Infill the web of the steel with rigid insulation and then affix timber over that. If you attach the wood to the steel you'll transfer a big cold bridge to the back of the plasterboard, undoing all your hard work. I would simply use 3x2 timbers to span horizontally between each vertical 2x2 ( the ones either side of each opening ) screwing sideways into the ends of the 3x2. Have one at the lowest point ( the head of the window where the plasterboard will go ) and another at ceiling height, but the one at the ceiling can also be noggin'd to affix to the 1st floor joists. That will fully secure the upper one(s) and then the lower one, which will have some movement, gets its rigidity from the plasterboard that form the head of the opening reveal ( head ). That will be insulated plasterboard which you would bond on to the underside of each lintel ( as you really do not want to have bare plasterboard affixed to the steel around the window reveals at all. Around each door / window opening will be where you have no scope for thick insulation, so perhaps look at bonding 20mm Compacfoam to the heads and reveals and then bonding plasterboard to that ( if you want to avoid having cold / damp / mould regrow in these areas ). The risk you have here is making nicer warmer walls on the main runs, but then having adversely cold sections where you need them the least, as around the windows / reveals will be naturally colder already. Fill any gaps between plasterboard and block / steel of the reveals with Illbruck 330 foam, which won't bridge damp and is airtight ( closed cell ) so is great at draft-proofing also. It would be a shame to go to all the effort and then still have these issues around each opening Plan ahead and do the job once, and well

The guys have taken full advantage of the good weather. Foundations dug, poured, and initial blockwork up. Will be finished tomorrow. Garage foundation will be dug out tomorrow and all the trenches for the ductwork. The cold weather might put the brakes on the slab pour until next week. We have a retaining wall to dig out. We don’t really need to do it as we can grade the ground but it’s not huge and we think it will look better. Plan is to build it in block then clad it to match the house.

I thought I’d update my introduction. Hard to believe my first post was in July 2021! Suffice to say we achieved planning and got our warrant in December. Frustrating process largely down to the timber kit company and their incompetence, inexperience and general shoddy service. That’s a whole other story. The electricity supply ended up being extremely cheap costing us only £416 plus my time to dig the trench (6m on my neighbour’s land and 20m on ours) and a small foundation for the kiosk. Far cry from the £26.5k initial estimate. The water supply was slightly more complicated but eventually the farmer managed to successfully find water. Took two different drilling companies and a very deep hole (147m). The first few treatment plant quotes were almost laughable at £24k. I then attended a webinar organised by the Scottish Self-Build team and came across Filpumps from Aberdeen and they quoted £9k so that’s who we’ve gone with. Plant gets installed in a month or so once the garage goes up. The sewage side of things proved to be pretty straightforward. Percolation test was fine and the Goldilocks spot happens to be 50m from the borehole and 10m from the water course plus. We decided to go for a Graf One2Clean 7PE system with remote blower. Great price from JD Pipes. It gets installed in a few weeks. The big challenge was trying to find a groundswork company. Emailed 7 companies and got three quotes. Two of them took months to get and were horrendous. The guy we went with was £20k cheaper! He’s also very good and has come highly recommended even from the local BCO. I’ve been working my way through all the other elements, prelims, roofing companies, plumbing, electrical, joinery, ASHP, MVHR, PV and garage supplier. I’m pretty much there with all of them. Got a decision to make on plumber and joiner. Everything else is in place. We’ve also got the kitchen designed and ordered, bathrooms picked, and flooring mostly decided. Groundswork has started. We’ve cleared the site, levelled it, formed the driveway and did the setting out today. Foundation digging starts tomorrow. We should finish the foundations by third week of March. Bit of a break for a few weeks then the kit arrives on the 17 April. Garage goes up end of March. We have a decision to make about the small but long retaining wall which we’ll do this week and we need to make the drive wider.

Use a builders flexi-tub bucket? Wedge that into the hole and tape, then push the fan into the bucket until snug. Cut the bottom completely flush / out of the bucket, of course!

Strictly speaking mine is referred to as hybrid. It has 100mm of wood fibre board over the rafters and then 200mm full fill insulation between the rafters. It means the entire loft space is inside the insulated air tight envelope so you don't have to worry about insulating mvhr ducts etc or ceiling penetrations.

2k/m2 with foundations is about average right now. Your QS is bonkers. https://www.fleminghomes.co.uk/self-build-resources/cost-calculator/ stick your info in there, you’re fine.

ditch timber frame and go traditional brick and block. Save you 20% straight away. £2k m2 bare minimum NOT including foundations, utiliities, sewer, drive etc etc

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Google 'delta T', and get a reality check on where the dew-point would be. I'm not sure what books you've been reading and researching from, but I'd avoid the fiction section from now on.

For a heatwave of a few days a year I cannot really see condensation being a major problem, plus once it leaves the chiller bit it is only going to get warmer, condensation on the outside but in the temperature and relative humidity it will be it will quickly dissappear. The bacteria et al build up takes time, wood gets wet but as it dries the bacteria dissappear, thus meaning the wood does not rot, the problem is wood that is consistently above 20 percent water, most wood is above 10 percent water at any time.

And you are one of the brownest noses. In what way does his reply justify your reply? If you wish to ban me and keep this as "your Club" feel free, but I am not here to press the flesh.