Leaderboard

The whole charging structure changed on 1st April 2023 - you have to pay for extension assets (connection) but should not have to pay for reinforcement assets (cable and transformer upgrades). https://connections.nationalgrid.co.uk/significant-code-review/

Amazingly it all worked! The rotor was in perfect condition and the oil still clear and non viscous. Not bad for 15 years under water. Hopefully a new lease of life for a few more years

This is exactly what I did, inspired by your posts on the topic and the many others here at Buildhub. ASHP isn’t much harder to plumb than a water softener. The challenge is the heat loss calcs and overall design of the system. I spent many hours here absorbing the experiences of others when it come to designing my system.

That and 16kW. Based on the stories posted here and my own personal experience I would say don't, whatever you do, trust it. The thing about ASHPs is that the installers interest, when it comes to sizing, is almost diametrically opposed to the householder interest. For the installer oversizing increases price for little additional effort, justifies a buffer tank and almost guarantees no call outs due to 'its cold'. For the householder it increases cost unnecessarily and makes poor efficiency highly likely, with a large barrier to fixing it. Plumbers/heating 'engineers' are used to shoving a 28kW boiler into a 6-8kW house, jacking up the flow temperature so it doesn't condense, and letting trvs sort it all out. There is an efficiency penalty for this approach, but we are used to it. With an ashp you need to match the size to the demand more closely otherwise you risk a much larger efficiency penalty and having to add a buffer tank (which, unless correctly set up introduces a further penalty) unnecessarily. People who have been through this, or have spent time on this forum, now understand this. Sadly there is a proportion of people in the grant chasing (aka installation) industry who either don't, or can't be bothered. You really do need either to do your own heat loss calculations or have someone you trust do them. Sizing by wet finger wont do and you will come to regret it.

Hi all, Back with a small update on this and looking for some validation if you don't mind. I've just started off with my architect and have advised on which way i want to go with the wall (200mm, eps pumped in). He's fired back some questions/advice (he's a good man and making sure), i just wondered if you could pick your brains, I think i've got it covered but just want to be sure. Lintels - he's advised that he can't find off the shelf thermally decoupled lintels for a 200mm cavity. To me this is an easy one - we're using two separate standard lintels, EPS goes between as with the rest of the cavity - it doesn't get better than that does it? Secondly he's advised that a 150mm cavity with Celotex 140mm Cavity Wall 21 would be thermally better than EPS. I've advised that while that's true, the benefits of EPS outweighs the thermal characteristics, that being, more guarantee of a full-fill, not having to rely on builders trying to install it (probably poorly), such as leaving gaps and holes, going around wall ties etc. As well as (i'm assuming) it's a hell of a lot cheaper than PIR. To me it seems like a perfect solution of let the brickies brick, and let the insulators insulate. Everyone knows what their doing and can (hopefully) do it well. Thanks as always!

I read all that when designing our house. Then looked at calculations for inside surface temperature - triple glazed was something like 1 to 2 degrees below room temperature, while double was nearer 10. Passivhaus specify triple glazed not just because of heat loss, (in fact they are not really required for heat loss at all) but are required for the comfort criteria.

Copied straight from Health and Safety Regulations – Self Build Portal , which was linked from here Construction - CDM 2015 FAQ's - Self build (hse.gov.uk) "The self builder acts as their own project manager, employing individual trades at different times. In this instance, the self builder steps out of the DIY arena, because they are taking control of construction work. Where a self builder controls the way in which construction work is carried out by a person at work, they must comply with all the matters outlined in Part 4 of CDM 2015. This requirement is set out in Regulation 16 of CDM 2015, which effectively replaces Reg 26 in CDM 2007, this is not a new requirement. In this scenario the self builder will in effect become a contractor. In this case the HSE will expect self builders to demonstrate sufficient health and safety capability to meet the requirements of Part 4 of CDM 2015. Individual contractors will be expected to be able to advise the self builder on any specialist matters within their own work activities. The expectation on a self builder in this position will be on co-ordination and management , not on direct supervision of contractors on site. The self builder is entitled to expect contractors to plan, manage and monitor their own work in compliance with the CDM Regulations." Read some of this, Construction Publications, Free Leaflets - HSE - A printed off file of these is handy to have on site. And Covers what @saveasteading said Have you [someone on your behalf] submitted an F10 notification form?

Yes, in a nutshell. It was a bit of an over-generalisation tbh and the assumption would better be; at x temp the cylinder has the equivalent heat capacity of stored water @65oC (so at lower temps (~50oC) you need more volume).

Got my quote Veismann Vitocal 151-a which has an integrated indoor unit with 190l tank and all the other required gubbins including a 16l buffer, fully installed apart from the concrete pad. After the BUS of £7500 grant I’ll have just £1800 to pay so chuffed with that. clearly not all MCS cert plumbers are crooks

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/skinny-house-architecture

Not really, we use huge long hose pipes (200m) so happy with every drop of pressure.

My front garden retaining wall ('inherited' as quite new in 1987) was, I am sure, built as cheaply as it could be, inline with all other 'renovations on the house. I am convinced it is 225 brick only, and it retains between 1200 and 1800 over about 10+m. It has no weep holes, and it's fine. It shouldn't be, but it is, and if (as per my earlier Q) you wall is actually as strong as 112 brick and (??) 100-150 stone then it may fare as well as mine still is. I suspect mine will last till after I am dead, which is all I need. Is that stone laid dry, or can I see recessed mortar? That (given I cannot see a batter or 'lean-back') may be an important issue.

Just spoke with someone who seems to be prepared to accept that I know what I'm doing and talking about, and will trust my heat loss calcs (based on Jeremy's ss). Will report back on what transpires

You can sort of get the same result without actually directing the work... 😉 But I get your point. Regulation 16 is clear that "(3) A domestic client who controls the way in which any construction work is carried out by a person at work must comply with the requirements of this Part so far as they relate to matters within the client’s control." so Part 4 requirements will pretty much always be in scope, but only the stuff I can realistically be expected to control - I'm comfortable with that. At the end of the day, much of this is common sense - doing what is reasonably practicable is all you can realistically be expected to do. The most important thing for me will be contracting with organisations/people that understand *their* responsibilities with regard to CDM and H&S in general.

Did all the calcs and just couldn't justify Marmox as they adding nothing in real terms from the design I posted. The Thermolite blocks are in a dry space so thermally stable and twice the height of marmox. Ours came out at 0.09 U value. As I said our was a standard ground work contractors, doing most of it, but I did all the insulation and UFH, they can back concreted over the top. I then built the walls.

Similar build to ours, but we are 195m2 and 3 bed, 210L cylinder and a 6kW ASHP, although max heating load is 3kW. I would be your own heat loss calculations. May have seen big house made up the numbers, you can afford it quote. 16kW will likely be an expensive disaster due to gross oversizing. Do as @JohnMosays and make your own calculations (or pay someone independent to do them).

We didn't even put the duct in... and we're only a 100m from the end of the Virgin network and 50m from an BT pole. Virgin have said they won't extend and I can't see Openreach getting fibre in any time soon. A 4G/5G SIM in a 4G router seems to be OK for us, I guess we could switch to Starlink if prices come down but it will probably be a 5G router first, when they come down in price. Simon

Similar build to ours, but we are 195m2 and 3 bed, 210L cylinder and a 6kW ASHP, although max heating load is 3kW. I would be your own heat loss calculations. May have seen big house made up the numbers, you can afford it quote.

We couldn't find anyone up here so decided to do a modified version of some more traditional. We are on a sand hill so lots of belts and braces added. But a simplified version of this is doable with local labour for not much cost wise. Pretty much thermal bridge free. Not shown is a 70mm upstand I added to screed edge. Used 200mm of PIR insulation under a fibre reinforced concrete screed 100mm thick.

We get in excess 200Mbits download from Starlink. I’ve rarely seen it go below 150 and it’s been very reliable. We don’t have any fixed phone line to the house. I have a spare duct in case Openreach ever reach us but that’s unlikely.

Depends on circumstances and house layout, plus size of windows. We have one wall of glass 6m tall and 7m wide. Biggest heat loss of the whole house is that wall. Halving the heat loss was money well spent (1.4 compared to 0.7 U valve), plus at -7 I can quite happily sit right next to glass without discomfort.

Blimey, that's like a C1 my kids get at school, then it goes to C2 & detention, and then they get banned. How long have you been shut out for then?

And @Pocster should know 👀

If Greenraft claim that then it’s been in the last two years as they said they hadn’t done any up here when I spoke with them. Primarily because they struggled to find groundworkers. I’ll dig the U value out from my notes. The psi values were calculated as part of the energy performance pack but that was based on concrete blocks rather than insulated blocks and I never bothered having them updated. I used 300mm wide insulated trench blocks. What surprised me was how hard it was to source these in Scotland. I tried every manufacturer and they all said the same thing that there’s no demand for them. My wall build up is unusually wide for a timber kit. In the end I convinced a local Mannok dealer to bring me them from Ireland as part of their weekly delivery.

If it was part of the original house footprint. However, before you rush off and build there are other more significant restrictions on what constitutes permitted development - heights, depths and positions relative to the dwelling. The footprint one is probably the least restrictive as few owners build quite that much. Single storey extensions are not all PD. So, you need to look at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d77afc8e5274a27cdb2c9e9/190910_Tech_Guide_for_publishing.pdf that gives more detailed guidance.

The magic wording in planning is usually "new or intensified" although rather frustratingly, "intensified" isn't defined in law so is subject to some interpretation. So even if the access was "existing", its use would be very infrequent access for farm machinery. If then used to access a dwelling, I'm pretty sure the local Highways department would see that as intensification and would want to see adherence to their design standards and would at that point indicate whether they see it as a "drive" for direct frontage access or an "access road". I found my local Highways department to be reasonable about general advice, but unwilling to be drawn into definitive statements outside of formal pre-application advice, and even then, with no guarantee that their response to a planning application would be consistent. But having said that, I do think you'll need to bite the bullet and ask their advice.

Just rounding this out having finally managed to speak to the right people at Highland Council who confirmed what @ProDave and @Jenki said: A static caravan on site during a build is considered a temporary Permitted Development, and the van must be removed on completion of the build. However, the waste water management (installation of water treatment plant and soakaway/outflow pipe to water) comes under Building Control therefore requires either a separate warrant if doing in advance, or should be included in the main build warrant submission and will be subject to inspection.

Someone more knowledgeable will be along soon, but I believe it's based on a cost cap of £2,000 for fibre connection? So if it'll cost more than £2,000 to install, you can go for the next speed/connection down from that.

I've said it many times, but I am convinced there must be a better solution to ensure the safety of a uvc than the current one, particularly when used with an ashp which is incapable of boiling the water. The discharge pipework is a major hurdle for retrofit situations. If we dispense with it then fitting a uvc is a no brainer. If only the industry could be persuaded to think outside the box on this one! In an ashp system, if we dispense with the in-cylinder immersion, (use a Willis heater located elsewhere as a backup) then any number of safety features could be added to ensure water reaching the DHW heating coil never goes above say 75C. What's the actual residual risk if we do this? I know someone will quote the D1,D2, tundish... guidance (the actual mandatory regs don't mandate a solution, only a requirement that it is safe), but the problem is significant enough to justify rewriting the guidance if there is an alternative safe solution.

Can't help with the cost, but just bear in mind (if you aren't already aware) that "impermeable materials over 5m² need Planning Permission: If your driveway is larger than five square meters and you use impermeable materials like traditional concrete, you'll need planning permission."

I used Versatile Insurance, a brokers in Okehampton, for plot and then build insurance. Not sure if they're still operating as their website appears to be down, but might be worth a call. I found them to be helpful, competitive and, well, versatile.

I built a garden building for my wife's business, she uses it for 2-4 hours a day max all year round. I went waaaaaay simpler than your architect, and did it all within PD so no planning required. For floor I did 100mm reinforced raft over 100mm MOT, and then floated 100mm PIR over the top with floating subfloor on that. The walls sit directly on the concrete, with the PIR inside the perimeter. 2x4s infilled with 100mm PIR. Roof i did a hybrid design to save on headspace, which is fine from a condensation perspective given it's low occupancy. 2x7s with 100mm PIR pushed up to the top, leaving a 50mm service void, then a vapour barrier across the underside before PB. 18mm roof deck with EPDM. I got all the PIR from a b-grade insulation reseller to save some money - perfectly fine for a garden building. Take some of the money saved on the over specced bollocks and put it into an A2A heat pump. Then you'll be comfortable the entire year round. Cost us £1600 for a split multi-room AC install (our building is split into two rooms), best choice we made.

Only you can decide on this at the end of the day but let just propose you use these at the back where the existing slab is. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175719585849 It has x4 14mm fixing holes in the base. That dictates you'll use 12mm studs, (stainless of course). You reckon the slab is 3 to 4" deep. Look at the table, page 3 of the Rawlplug PDF as a rough guide for minimum substrate thickness, embedded depth etc. This one takes 10mm fixing bolts: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heavy-Galvanised-Concealed-Support-Bracket/dp/B08FQV9XYW? Tbh unless you pay a structural engineer to calculate all this it's best guess / a chance you take.

Holy smoking woodfiber Batman! That is one hell of an install. U Value about 0.1 on the wall. Top shelf products from all the premium players. Gutex, pro clima. For giggles I'm going to price it up without the cladding and plasterboard as you'll need them anyway. Solitex contega = £5.90/M2 120mm multitherm= £39.44 225mm thermoflex =£39.77. Studs £8/M2 Finsa board £12.51. 50mm Thermoflex £8.76 Tape £3/m2 Service cavity battens. £2 Total £119.38 plus vat and with zero waste. GULP. I do like this type of wall but it is unfortunately just so so dear. Amusingly every single product was available from this website. https://www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com/ I wonder how much homework your architect actually did and how much they copied from elsewhere.....

Agree with @JohnMo, if it’s going to be anywhere near what they have indicated, go offgrid. + you’re building passive anyway + you’re in a sunny part of country + no overhead wires + no energy bills + no power cuts approach it as an opportunity or a hurdle to overcome. Some build 100%off grid by choice. Don’t give up on the dream. It’s still doable. While you’re waiting the 4-6 weeks start speaking to solar & battery storage firms and those here who know more about the off grid stuff. So when the quote comes in you have choices.

Let's have a sense-check, eh? This type of 'luxury toy' is for sporadic use, a bit like my 5.5L V8 AMG. I don't get into that thinking...."ooh, if I take my time I'll get 23mpg", so the same applies to your luxury, pamper-station. Just accept that it costs X amount to 'enjoy' and so be it. Think of how much you will save vs spa membership etc, plus travel to & from, and then just make it comfortable and enjoyable and switch off. This is not a rehearsal, we're here once and then it's 'adios' (which is why I didn't focus on MPG), so unless you use this every day for hours and hours on end (which I don't think you can healthily do with such a toy) then just suck it up? I am typing this from my un-insulated man-shed / office, with 4kW of fan heaters wafting warm air around. They heated this space almost instantly, do the job wonderfully for next to feck all, and when I'm done I just switch them off until I need them next. Simple, effective, convenient, "job done".

Keep us posted.

At those price I would tell the grid to take a walk and do a full off grid. Do you have plenty of space for PV? And a generator for mid winter.g

I installed all mine myself then got spark to wire up. Had to pay a plumber £300 just for the G3 sign off for BC - was at my house all of 30mins checking it over. The beauty if pre plumbed is its a piece of cake...just dot to dot.

Even if you worked out the size and garage purchase you may end up devaluing your own house. kids next door in own house also means doubling up all household standing charges. would you still end washing and cleaning for them, leaving home should be a bit further away in my opinion.

Commonly interpreted as ' ... Thanks for asking us, we have far too much work on at the moment, but if you insist, here's a price which will just about pay for our daughter's wedding in Disneyland....'

The Manual for Streets shows how to draw and calculate visibility splays. Page 93 shows you how to draw visibility splay lines when the roads don't meet at 90 degrees. Looks like you need a combination of (b) and (c) to draw your lines https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7e0035ed915d74e6223743/pdfmanforstreets.pdf But there are probably other guidelines about safety when turning left out of the junction or right into it. Best to speak to your local Highways Department.

No mention of non 90’ drives. https://www.kent.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/13011/Making-it-Happen-G2-Design-standards-residential-and-industrial.pdf They only say visibility must be X meters, visibility IMO can be achieved with mirrors. If they refuse ask them to cite the regs that say so. If they do refuse can you not turn the last few meters to be 90’.

Looking at what they are holding back, blocks on the flat amd some drainage holes would of been better

On nods basis of £1500 to lay the tiles, which I think is too cheap, you then have all the concrete to dig out, re hardcore, re compact, new concrete, new steps formed. thats another £3000, then the tiles. It’s a £6000 job at the least. also what’s under that stone slab, I bet it’s a manhole, so that needs a new lid and re bedding.

Pay someone for a days work Your going to be looking at messy render for a long time

It sounds like a ploy to put lots of non Chinese production plants out of business. So this could be a relatively short over production, as capacity will reduce and the lower prices will increase demand. Keep an eye on the market and catch the sweet spot.

Why... I'm just trying to help keep the forum quality high? Op has repeatedly been creating posts with the title as their username despite others already asking them not to. I figured I'd help them learn how to use it properly with a quick screenshot?

About 40 to 50mm thick, weight no idea per m2