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I have worked for our local Council as a tree inspector and Japanese Knotweed adviser and treatment coordinator in the Housing Department also dealing with boundary issues but now nearing retirement. Claire and I started looking for land 4 years ago and picked up a corner plot in a quiet village near the Preseli hills, thankfully not in Pembrokeshire national Park. We have a budget of £250k for the build and 3 years along the road with planning permission taking 18 months but it's a difficult site to develop due to seasonal springs, high water table, split level and made-up ground. Wish us luck because we will need it. Going for a Hemp build with MVHR 4Kw air sourced heat pump, and underfloor heating. Solar and battery was planned but as other costs increase some of the 'would like' things are being crossed off the list. The log burner was crossed off yesterday after reading this forum. I hope I can contribute to the forum and share what knowledge I have as well as learn from your experiences.

Too busy mate. Just FINISHED a box section arch for the pub and a reversible sign. Paid in pints and crisps! 👍

Install 3x more than you think you need, may waste some energy in summer or looking another way give your local community some free green energy. But will have some to use in the winter. Lots of solar and ASHP, maybe an electric vehicle it not convinced yet.

I’d say go for the things that ultimately will save you money long term . Lots of insulation , pv , ASHP , ufh If funds permit ; battery and EV ( depending on your requirements ) Everyone loves toys 🧸 !

Good morning and a very warm welcome to THE self build forum, I originally wanted to build in straw bales but came round to brick and block and I am now glad I did. I too have a woodstove and would not be without one, I also have a 4kW ASHP and MVHR. Best of luck with this and ask away about things, remember there is no such thing as a stupid question, stupid is not asking (and we have all been there). 👍

This old house turned up for sale with a largish four acre plot at the back. Our "plan" was to knock it down and build a modern ICF passiv haus on the land, and also keep horses and pigs on the land. Well you know what they say, if you want to make God laugh then tell him you've got plans....

You think getting planning is the final hurdle, and then you start talking to building control, structural engineers and steel manufacturers! Thank goodness we didn't have to talk to builders as well, as we had made the bold decision to do it all ourselves. I am a plumber by trade with a weird niche sideline of repairing solar thermal systems so i have some site experience. Having worked on a lot of new build single plot sites and with a variety of builders, project managers and architects I assumed i would manage it all ok. As we had preemptively done the Nudura ICF course for our 'never to be new build', i decided to do the basement at least in ICF. I had considered doing the whole extension in ICF - see picture, but in the end stuck with just the basement. I would come to regret that decision later on.... Due to the slightly weird nature of the existing house with steep pitch roofs coming into the first floor rooms, the design needed a-lot of steel work. Also with the basement starting about 4m away from the back of the old house we need some fairly substantial foundations between the old house and the basement, as well as a couple of enormous steel posts to help hold up the extension walls. I had done a consulting call with The Green Building Store and discussed the options for making it all airtight and highly insulated. I decided on External Wall Insulation (EWI) over the whole building, and also filling the existing cavity with beads. As we were going to build the extension ourselves, and we weren't (yet) bricklayers, we decided on solid block-work walls for the new bit. They didn't have to be extra neat as it would all be covered by the EWI. The engineer suggested lay flat block-work, as it was stronger and would sit nicely on top of the basement ICF walls which have an 8" core. These were each 18kg 7N dense concrete blocks and i calculated we had to lay 2700 blocks. Like i said, i would come to regret that....

I've done it as well, but we weren't living in the house and we could get a micro digger in for bits. We also hire a little motorised dumper. We kept all the waste and crushed it down to hardcore. I also forced my family to help:

Yup @Nickfromwales, minimum standards.

The suppliers design with a too-fine element of bean-counting. I guarantee you that the floors / spans / deflection they allow when trying to win business is NOT what they'd specify for their own houses! Every job ( new build ) that I've worked in that had joists "to spec" @600mm were bouncy. One member on here had his done "to spec" and when he walked through the bedroom the fitted wardrobe doors moved / bumped into each other. Nope. Standard designs / calcs for these are carp, just like British Building Regs....."What's the crappiest thing we can churn out legally?"

The list is getting longer but as SWMBO seems to have no interest in projects here I have to find outlets for my talents elsewhere! 😉 That it serves beer and the conversation is better is just the icing on the 🍰.

And it’s not (expletive deleted)ing random ! . I’m trying to save a tiny part of the planet using : limited knowledge technological restrictions dno restrictions limited knowledge oh and limited knowledge I do better on pornhub as I have more knowledge in that field

I believe SE recognise the 2 batteries as one 20kW or should I say one 19.4kW battery and both batteries are charged as one. Unsure if they can be split with just one hybrid inverter but certainly could do with 2 inverters.

Are you talking about using 2 of the 3 phases? Used to be done in farms in the past. You get to play with higher voltages, but the same current, so more power, but still classed as low voltage. Midsummer have something about it. https://midsummerwholesale.co.uk/split-phase

I was initially going to do a block and beam first floor but decided to change for a number of reasons but mainly expense. The extra cost of suspended ceilings, PIR insulation, underfloor heating, screed and the B&B itself wasn't worth the extra cost for us. We liked the idea of UFH upstairs, particularly in the bathrooms but in a well insulated house the chances of actually using it is unlikely, unless you like your bedrooms at 22 degrees. We opted for electric UFH in bathrooms as a comfort. I wanted that solid feel of the B&B and so as a compromise I chose to use larger 300mm eco-joists and spaced them at 400mm centres. Using 22mm T&G flooring glued and screwed, the floor is rock solid. Use resilient bars and acoustic insulation to prevent sound transmission. Also, metal webbed joists are ideal for running services through. The beams can cause a thermal bridge so another reason we went for joists. We did a 'Tony Tray' around the joist ends within the blockwork. I house was piled foundation and required an additional 4 piles to support a B&B FF, another thing to consider. AD

Hi @Gill In my humble opinion the government needs tax money so the more popular EV vehicles the more taxation. Again in my humble opinion I would install as many panels as could sensibly be installed. Yor right not enough in the winter too much in the summer (unless you use for cooling...) PV, EV, ASHP and power storage for night use all work well for us.

Set me wondering how the taxation of EV charging, along shortly I am confident to replace fuel duty, will work if you do it via your PV as you won't be able to insert it after the meter on your EV charge point.

and you do that very well...

Yes boss.....

Yes I've seen 6.2kW today on a 5.5kW "max" - never for long, I assume it's a nominal max which it can go over for short bursts.

+1, I was the same with my builder and never regretted it, peace of mind is worth ££££

As a new person you will not be aware of the “thermal mass” debates here 🤯, no such thing (but we all know what you mean), just warning you in case…….

No sorry, thermalite Vs standard 7N blocks. Rockwool (other brands available) or EPS beads is practically the best solution here I would say. If they had wanted better performance then I would have widened the cavity. Given they're extending to a solid walled house going much better with insulation on a small extension won't make much difference due to all the thermal bridging interfacing with the old walls. They could put some insulated plasterboard on the internal walls including the "internal" wall that used to be the external one. All this pales into nothingness without a solid airtighess strategy mind you. Another option to materially improve things at this stage is decent triple glazing Vs double.

How many times must I have this conversation. Is it worth it ? No one notice we need to aim for zero carbon for sake of society and the planet ? ROI for me ( I bought pw and 4K pv array ) a good few years ago when they were less expensive. I estimate ( inc newer pv and se battery ) around 7 yrs . Batteries warranty is 10 yrs . Pv life span around 20 yrs . Please don’t mention “ inverter breaks down , optimiser fails etc etc “ . Yes of course it’s possible - just as much as boiler breaks down . As a LL I have modern boilers - not 1 year goes by without a repair on one . if I buy an 60k Tesla motor no one’s says a thing . If I then charge it off my PV everyone thinks it’s wonderful . That’s a very expensive battery !! - but with the additional benefit of wheels . Roi on that ? Is it worth 50k to go from A to B and save a few pence on charging ? That depends on the owners view . On size does not fit all . If it were possible I’d have another PW but DNO won’t allow it ( then I’d look at flux ) . Tempted by another SE battery though now that all the caveats are understood.

An electric bill ( heating inc and low mileage EV ) of zero a year makes it worth it 😎

Screwing a piece of plywood to act as guarding and then removing after receiving the Completion Certificate is not only immoral but potentially dangerous. The Building Regulations exist for your protection and weren’t pulled out of someone’s ar*e. Builders must think BCOs are as thick as champ!

Floors down first, every day of the week. Makes for a much nicer look to the cuts around the room, and also allows you to seal the floor tile to the wall around shower / bath / splash zones. Plywood, glued and screwed onto that floor will be easy, cheap and simple to do ( with minimal additional build-up / height at the threshold ), and defo screw the floorboards down tight first, as if you start with a loose floor, that's what you'll finish with ;). I've never, not once in 30 years, laid a cement board down when tiling a regular floor, like this one is. Way too overcomplicated AFAIC. For sound deadening, the floorboards, plywood, adhesive and tiles will get you where you need to be. If you're super fussy, pull up the floorboards and fill the voids with acoustic wool. Then when you re-lay the floor you can mark off services etc and screw the FB's back down with extra gusto! If going for an UTH mat / wire, defo use insulated tile backer boards ( Wedi / Marmox etc ) as the response time and wasted electricity would otherwise be a bit of a PITA ( but not the end of the world ). It's 1st floor at the end of the day, so the UTH would be strictly a comfort installation, but on a concrete GF room it would be almost obligatory these days.

I've used Bond It guns before. They did the trick. The ones I have now have larger nozzles so those attachments don't fit on it, which is a pain.

Tiles can feel cold under foot and for the £40-50 for a kit it can make it nicer. Get a level to the floor and see where the high spots are. Your floor needs to be perfect or the wall tiles will show up the difference. You start with the thinnest smear of adhesive under the highest board and level as you go.

I created a 10m x 4m veg patch with 2 rows of untreated oak sleepers (3m x 200 x 100), side on. Filled with earth that regularly gets rotovated, and no sign of movement after +5 years.

Being surprised at how expensive it is is the default emotion in the self builders world these days. I'm afraid you will become numb to it very quick. Carting away dug out ground is also expensive.

maintain 50mm air gap then fill with PIR and overboard with insulated plasterboard. You are going to lose a bit of head height but at least you wont freeze taking a bath!

no issue at all. trenches often have a couple inches of water in them when conc is poured for example. The problem is when face brickwork is not dry and it rains, struggle to ever get the staining out of the courses below.

"How harmful is dichloromethane? The substance is irritating to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. If swallowed the substance may cause vomiting and could result in aspiration pneumonitis. The substance may cause effects on the central nervous system, blood, liver, heart and lungs. Exposure could cause carbon monoxide poisoning." Thanks for the tip @SteamyTea, but the above has put me off..🧐 I'll just buy a new gun when it's fecked rather than me being fecked🤣

one of the few occasions ST is correct!

I used to do that but eventually the pin wouldn't close properly due to built up hardened foam where the knife blade wouldn't reach. Now when I'm done I screw the gun shut and clean the nozzle with acetone. Seems to be working to prevent build-up.

Welcome to THE forum, not that much of an echo chamber, for people like us - looks like a grand plan.

I insulated from founds to DPC with XPS and rockwall batts above.

Yeah - my idea with the FIR panels was precautionary to stop the system icing up at the very coldest points of winter, when they system is pulling in air and the attic temperature was seriously cold, so 4 hours for few days of the winter....

As long as it’s like for like I don’t think it’s notifiable. It’s not a change of purpose. Ventilation, and air admittance on the SVP will be the hot topics, and insulation on the external walls. If lighting / electrics etc is all new that’s going to be notifiable.

And why would anyone pay £6500 for a cylinder. Unless as @Dave Jones says. If you really have to go pre plumbed go on eBay and pick one up for £800. I have just done a 6kW ASHP install for £2500 (less the cylinder) as I didn't need one.

Unless there was so much rain that it purged the cement from the sand, it'll be fine. The mortar sets through a slow chemical reaction that takes place in the presence of water. Drying out before this process is complete is the main danger. Also freezing which makes the water expand, so wrecking the matrix - but you have neither of these concerns. Covering with a tarp won't have any adverse effect. One thing it can help with is to retain the heat given off by the exothermic reaction as it sets. Mortar can remain quite soft for a few days but actually achieves good compressive strength nonetheless. In fact, its load bearing abilities can appear within hours. It will depend greatly on the ratio of the mortar mix. What was yours? e.g. 5:1 sand/cement?

I you do need the 50mm ventilation gap. We’ve just done a cold roof like this and the builder was incredibly fussy to get the detailing right as you need to have a vent at the eaves and ridge to get air flow through each bay. You need a draft whistling through to remove any moisture laden air to stop it condensing. You could improve the insulation by putting a layer under the plasterboard, if you have enough head height.

A keen, enthusiastic, team who has put so much effort into a quote gets some brownie points there! If you can afford it, like them, and like their advice... I'd go with it!

I used full width oak sleepers on ours, I bedded the bottom ones on their sides then did the top laid flat like a T I doweled the top to the bottom along with screws from inside upward so they were hidden

I fully understand that the information was sent by the supplier and that the BCO is now asking for more information and has quoted what he needs from the Approved Document verbatim. He or she has done this because they are not able to reconcile what was sent with what is in the Approved Document - either they don’t understand the information sent or the information sent does not satisfy the requirement in the Approved Document. Remember the old saying KISS - keep it simple - stupid. An email confirmation should satisfy the most misunderstanding BCO.

Zero VAT is only on supply+install. If you purchase and diy install then you'll pay full VAT. (Same with ASHP.) Only trick is to get a friendly installer that lets you do a lot of the grunt work yourself and will give a discount for that.

I prefer 400mm centres because I hate the thought of flex however i tend to over engineer’s things, my floors were engineered at 600mm centres but installed at 400mm.

Osb is no good Use ply or cement board Thin coat is no good for Ditra Ardex 200 is bombproof Better with a PB plank for sound deadening If you use a cement board or insulated tile board No need for Ditra Jus use a flexi adhesive The bed should be the same thickness of the tile your putting down Good to go 😁

I'd go for at least 100mm rather than 75mm boards in the floor. There's almost no difference in the price. 150mm while you're at it if you can. You never regret putting in too much insulation.