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We just sold a leasehold flat near Manchester City Centre because it was a D rating. Owned it from new in 2004/5. Just didn't want the hassle of going to the freeholder to obtain consent to get the changes. Also what happens if the whole block is not done and mine does not get up to the requirement? The owner occupiers in there do not want to pay tens of thousands of pounds to get from D to a C. Stupid ill conceived idea. Luckily we got it through before the CGT changes came in. We would have preferred to keep the flat from an income viewpoint. We have two other properties which luckily already conform. A friend has traditional terraces in a Cheshire town and he says there is no cavity in some to insulate. The one's that have need that cavity for the building to breathe. He's sat on the fence about what to do. We have a renting crises and these stupid potential regulations are one reason why landlords are leaving the market by the masses. Tenants then complain that rents are up 20% and that every property up for rent has 20 to 40 people after it. Government needs to make it attractive to keep or buy rental properties rather than making landlords out to be problem otherwise the supply will dry up. A serious lack of new build homes over the last 20 to 30 years has got us to this situation.

100mm/150mm concrete would be your final layer. So set the top of this later at the current height of your floor slab and work down. As you'll be flooring directly on tjis, it needs to be properly mechanically floated and finished well to ensure a very smooth and level surface for tiling etc. Make sure the people doing this job know this. PIR is fine under concrete, with proper DPM etc in place. Wishing you the best, the mess will be colossal for a few days, but totally worth it.

Have been reading all about CDM and how it fits what I'm planning on doing, hope someone can offer a thought on this for my self-build. The relevant facts are as follows: - I am a domestic client building a self-build house for myself. - I have an architect who has designed the project, hence he is the "Principal Designer" under CDM. - What I plan on doing is using a main contractor to take the project out of the ground to a watertight stage and then I would pick up from there and manage the remainder of the project through a combination of work myself and bringing trades on as required (decorators, electricians, plumbers etc). - In this scenario I believe I can initially designate the role of "Principal Contractor" to the main contractor for delivering a watertight project and therefore I would have no legal duties under CDM beyond these initial appointments of Principal Designer and Principal Contractor. - Then when he hands the site back to me as a watertight shell I would then become a project manager and employ individual trades at different times when required. At that stage I would then need to comply with all the matters outlined in Part 4 of CDM 2015 (Welfare, first aid box, etc.). Am I sounding right on this? thanks, Sarah

Some proportion of the properties sold will get a more comprehensive retrofit - either by owner-occupiers or by landlords willing to accept a finer margin - so it's not zero-sum with regards to housing stock quality. As to your dilemma, you probably want to go down each of the listed assumptions in the EPC and see which ones you can document as being better than the assumption. https://files.bregroup.com/SAP/%23RdSAP Conventions 11_3_from 01 March 2022.pdf lists a whole bunch of things you might be able to work on, too. Wonder if any EPC assessors give you the full worksheet?

I did what you are describing Sarah. The H & S by the main contractor was very dubious, I took far greater care than they did. They did the more dangerous stuff before watertight like scaffolding, roofing and steels etc. The only one who wore a hard hat was a nice contractor brickie, the rest would not hear of it, and that really stressed me out at times. When it was my responsibility I logged it with HSE and made sure I went way and above the 'real' builder. I also did a First Aid Course, was there practically all the time and tried to make sure there was never just one lone worker.

Keep digging. Find the bottom of the concrete. I'm sure your structural engineer will want that to enable him to do his calculations.

Building Regulations : First thought - is this extending an existing detached garage? Does it take the floor area over 30m2? If no then the resulting building is still exempt (assuming built mainly from non-combustible material if within 1.0m of the boundary). If yes then it's not exempt and so will require regs. However if it is still less than 50m2 and stand alone, then the energy efficiency requirements don't apply so the choice of insulation is yours to make. Planning: If it's at the back (and no road behind) then max height of 4.0m for dual pitched roof with eaves no higher than 2.5m. Otherwise 3m (presumably for flat roof or single slope). However if it's within 2.0m of a boundary then height should not be more than 2.5m.

>>> Don’t be to quick to cross off a log burner Yeah, agree, one of my must haves. And I know that cellulose is popular here but I have some of the same concerns as @saveasteading

If I go for ASHP, then guess am more likely to leave heating on constant, rather than on/off - up/down. Depth wise to FFL we’d planned to be at circa 400mm, so could possibly do : concrete inc mesh & UFH pipes - 100 insulation 200mm mot - 100mm

I never liked being a landlord and thankfully not one shortly and the plus is a young couple who were renting are finally getting on the housing ladder 👍

Couldn’t agree more as a full time LL . Sad thing is that it’s a “ vote winner “ to demonise LL’s . Tories do it and Labour imply they’ll do it more . Many people want to rent not buy ( I’ve lived in over 5 rented properties ) . Where and how people work is somewhat different now . No job for life in the factory at the end of the street . Over regulate , over tax , over burden - so LL’s leave which then makes it worse . Of course the ‘public’ believe rent capping is the answer . But in Berlin and Paris ( from memory ) that in turn creates other issues .

It might be that property with a D rating had the latest available boiler fitted in 2020. The same boiler may have been fitted in 2021, but improvements in technology may have meant it was no longer considered the most efficient available. A don't know if energy ratings of boilers changed, but certainly electrical items did https://markselectrical.co.uk/connect/energy-rating-labels-have-changed.html

If you ever do come to Battersea, send me a DM, I’m around here 4 days a week… haven’t noticed any bouncy floors though…

Pretty sure I do, yeah. HP is miles away in the garden on 32mm mlcp. Might as well size it for maximum flow rate.

Interesting... glad I wasn't the only one to think of this idea. I've got a UVC, it was much cheaper and less complicated.

screed yes, concrete no. Different products. Screed everytime.

The guy who did our screed also works with a 10mm aggregate flowing concrete and he said it comes out pretty level. If his screed work is anything to go by (tiler said it was the best floor he'd ever worked on), I'm inclined to believe him. (Although, caveat, I haven't seen it for myself).

id cut it per the photo then clay to plastic collar and whatever bend you need, there will be some give in the collar as well so easy enough to get it where you want. then haunch it in place with lean mix.

the issue you will have concrete as a finished floor WILL NOT be flat and level no matter how much you try. Screed will. So by using concrete you are guaranteeing you will have to then level the floor after.

What I would be tempted to do is look for the telltale white gunk that's collected around a leak, and then go over it with something stronger. The gunk is just acrylic sealant, so for example filling a void with expanding foam and then putting sealant on top might be sturdier than just the sealant itself. You might also want to think about using something that can flex based on movement, given the spray is only happening at one temperature and it's not clear how well the acrylic sealant will flex with expansion and contraction. Following the radiator leak example, I wonder if they could put UV dye into it so the gunk can be seen more easily? :-)

I'm very late to this but we have an insulated concrete raft: up to 300 mm EPS, ~100 mm concrete slab, then ~70 mm polished concrete screed (no insulation between structural slab and screed). I work from home and almost never wear shoes inside, so I spend a lot of time walking around on it in socks. Yes, it feels hard underfoot, but to be honest I don't notice it. As for temperatures, I had dinner at a friend's place mid-winter many years ago. It was a refurb with building regs insulation levels throughout. Top level was engineered oak flooring. I don't know what flow temperature they were using, but I found it extremely uncomfortable underfoot. My feet were sweating and I found it extremely distracting. TBF, my wife didn't notice the temperature. Our floor temp slowly wobbles around 19.5-21.5 degrees during winter, based on a 25-28 degree (weather conpensation dependent) flow temp. It doesn't feel warm underfoot, but it's perfectly comfortable to walk around in socks.

If you look at the Met Offices' Central England Temperature data set (just happens to be the longest in the world), between 1900 and 2023, there has not been one full day when the temperature has been lower than -9°C. The distribution starts at -8.7°C, and that has 1 instance, or one full day. For temperatures below, for a full day, 0°C, there has been 1177 instances out of 44908. That is 2.62% of the days. Now if we look at the last 30 years 1993 up to 2023 then the lowest temperature is -7°C (1 full day), below 0°C is 175 days, or 1.59% of those days. Now non of us can actually live at the CET location, but it shows that we remember exceptionally cold weather because it is exceptional, not because it is common.

I was only pointing out the possibility if that’s the only place it could go restricted by the existing build of the house, a compromise worth paying maybe 🤷‍♂️.

Of course. Somebody will do this for you at a cost. It can be approximate or more exact, but you will not know for sure until you finish designing and get contractors to quote. Even then you may get +/- 20% variation on the same design. I just used gut feelings from experience in saying what the relative costs were. If you were a real or potential client at this early stage then I would spend 5 minutes getting a rough feel of the cost, or an hour on getting a budget idea, or a week working out a quotation. The latter would be a waste of effort while you have so many options going on. Presumably you have given your architect a budget. Ask them how they are targeting it.

Just a quick update on my build, and the rebar, which initially was at over 3KM. After chatting with Will at Poly steel, and the guy preparing the drawing for the certificate of design, there seemed to be large turning forces added to the walls, so the foundations (bedded on rock), were going to be huge to resist these forces. The discussions resulted in the ICF walls being designed to stand on tier own ,not taking into account the Roof structure? once the roof (fink trusses - and counter battens) were added these turning forces (Moments) were eliminated, and the result will be a more standard strip footing and a reduction of rebar by 50%. A lesson that even though the cost of the ICF calculation were part of the ICF purchase, the disconnect between the two engineers could have cost considerable £££.

Hi @Sophiae and welcome to the forum. Funnily enough I was reading old threads yesterday on this and no-screed. Here's a selection from 4-5 years ago. They do focus on the problems that can happen with no screed and I'd like to hear from forum members if the workmanship of the slab has improved in their experience since then?

Welcome I always learn more on buildhub. Good luck with your next project. M

And also important airtightness!

Unless your house is, or will be, extremely well insulated, I would be wary about expectations from ASHP. I have one and I am happy with it, but I wouldn’t put one in anything other that an extremely well insulated modern house. And certainly not one without oversized radiators, underfloor heating etc.

yep we've some like that and it looks grand.

Can you make it up with a couple of 15° and 30° single socket bends instead of that adjustable 135? They’re not the best things in the world, especially when so close to the surface, as the knuckles are huge.

A house is like a boat and a passive house is like a boat with no holes in it. I can never underestimate why people argue that a boat would be better with holes in the hull. You can still fit whatever engine you like.

Not really, going under the foundations would be harder... By the way, as you already dug for the extension, BC should have very good idea about ground conditions, so you test hole in the floor will not need to go too deep: just enough to asses existing floor buildup. Something like this: UFH pipes tied (with cable ties, easier than rebar wire) to the mesh that is sitting on 'chairs' (but other options of keeping the rebar elevated are possible)

AFAIK your sub-base has to be graded as there is a certain specification it has to adhere to, so I wouldn't have thought it would be as easy as relaying the rubble you've dug up, but it should be useful for non structural use cases (landscaping etc). FWIW, I used recycled MOT 1, which is essentially crushed concrete, but done in a way to ensure it complies with that specification. This is how I would lay a slab next time -

Not at all, you made a peculiar statement about passive houses being cold in extreme weather events and then expanded further on you feeling there is a need to balance passive house principles with how people live from day to day. I was actually just interested in why you'd have such an opinion. Trying to boil down your reply, it seems you want to be able to push up the heating in a house, at certain periods, above a typical ambient temp for reasons of comfort, but you feel "over-sizing" the heating system in a passive house, in order to do so, would lead to an inefficient heating system, but doing the same in a non-passive house wouldn't. Since the power required to heat the hot water if often higher than it takes to cover the space heating requirement in a passive house, even on the coldest of days, heating systems tend to be over-sized anyway. I believe the rest of the points you make are really related to the choices you make as a self-builder, rather than anything specific to a passive house. It's up to the self-builder to determine if those choices are good value for them.

What drill (powered end) are you using? If masonry bits are not lasting it’s usually due to excessive rotation speed causing heat

I doubt you'll have enough solar during the winter to provide space heating tbh. A2A A/C ( which will heat in winter and provide cooling in summer ) would be my choice. Very cheap to run, and only about £2k to buy for a reputable make, but you can get much cheaper.

I would be surprised if anyone would admit to supporting labour 😂

How many miles a day do they travel, 2?

We opted for oil in 2007. Hasn't been too bad choice so far despite recent hikes. If building again I'd go for much better insulation and an ASHP. The ASHP would have to be one that's well supported in the UK .

+1 to the above, I have an ASHP and very happy with it.

150mm of decent insulation is probably fine, there is a law of diminishing returns, where adding more insulation only makes a modest difference. If the loss is under about 10% then realistically that's about as good as it's reasonable to expect. Worth just doing a quick check to see how hot the floor is likely to run and how much heat will be lost. I wrote a simple spreadsheet to do this that may help: Floor heat loss and UFH calculator.xls To put our floor heat loss from the UFH into perspective, in very cold weather (as in -10°C outside), then that ~8% represents about 128 W, so about the same as us leaving most of the lights on in the house, which isn't a lot to pay for the convenience of not having radiators cluttering up the walls.

Oops ! Ranted off topic in my own thread 🙄🤣

I have used every method of my table apart from ICF, which I tried to make work on a few projects. But that was as a professional. The order changed according to dimensions, function, appearance. Perhaps too a prejudice against brick, or the layers thereof.....if I could, then bricks were out. As an amateur diy builder I think the order changes, esp according to skills. Few could do brickwork. There's no bricks left. When did you realise we were getting low? There's no bricks left.

Your monies all tied up in a "unique" hybrid battery system.

Did you ask if it was freepost? Just watch a few episodes of Grand Designs and you'll feel much happier. They all go six-figures over budget and take out mortgages in their grand-kids' names as that's how long it'll take to cover their ludicrous spending habits. And then watch them "boo-hoo" about it for 30 mins. My favourite was the cleaner who said smugly at the beginning "I don't have a budget". 30 mins later he's trying to work out where to borrow another £1/4m from. What a p*nis.

The offer will still stand 3000% APR, variable

F*****g peer pressure. If I’m £25 short to finish the house I know who to blame!!

My old mate didn't manage to pull the live wire out of his mouth. He was stripping it with his teeth to re-wire the electric mower. He had lent in through the kitchen window and switched the socket off. Double socket wrong side switched off !. Old re-wire type fuse didn't blow. I was told that his blood had turned black fron literally being boiled. They think it took him several minutes to die. He was 25. That was 1987. Still miss him.