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I used 20mm granite chippings, on top of a weed control fabric, it was pretty good. Lasted a decade without any 'maintenance'. Neighbours used 12mm, it went green in the first winter.

As others have said, it is your pump that sets the flow and pressure. It is very hard to add a second, inline, pump. So your choice of pump and accumulator are the important things. My old 'holiday cottage' was on a borehole, but went via a header tank, then everything was either gravity fed or locally pumped (the farmer supplied the water from his large borehole, so he controlled the filtration, flow and pressure).

The best we can do is speculate. And thats about as useful to you as pub chat. Any posts about planning permission on this website are - at best - inexpert comment. May I suggest you research your LPA website for similar Planning Applications network among local estate agents using a mapping program, look at your area in detail and see if you can see similar housing development(s) If your area has a Local Plan, read it in detail. then get out and about and have a close look at housing developments in your area. See if there are other properties (no matter how old) that are in a similar physical position and when all that's done, consult a well regarded local planner and ask for advice. I suggest you work through the suggested list in order because by the time you talk to a planner, you will need to be able to talk about the locality in some detail. Put another way, it will be harder for that planner to fleece you by offering bad advice. Good luck! Ian

I used the BUS Grant and got a Veismann system installed for a total cost to me of £1800, the retail on the system alone would be in the region of £10k so I was well happy. The best advice I can give is to design your house so the ASHP is just the other side of the wall from the plant room. My installer said mine was the simplest install he’d done, hence the labour cost was low, and he only charged me cost on the system

We have started on our journey of Enerphit retrofit as we are in progress with purchasing a bungalow built in 1995 and extending/ changing rooms to meet our needs and desires. Our goal is to reach the EnerPHit standard with a retrofit plus utilise every single grant we can get and ideally get off the gas grid and bring an old house into the low energy world. Very early days but have been reading a lot already around the forum.

Hi All, As the title says, I'm a structural engineer. Must confess most of my background is in £ms projects, but will help where I can. As with most people I've dabbled in resi helping out friends, family and colleagues with their domestic stuff for a bit of cash on the side in my youth. I also designed my own double storey side extension and internal refurb in the past. I've also got friends who work for NHBC and BC. I'm afraid my own build ambitions are less Grand Designs and more just a small 1st floor extension. So I will be here with a few questions of my own. But you seem a friendly knowledgeable bunch and I will repay with some help along the way for others. Right, off to post a load of questions on other threads! Ads

Start with the basics, so you understand where the calcs come from. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/nature-environment/energy-buildings/content-section-2.4.1

I'm slowly renovating my house built in 1898, one room at a time. I'd like to think I'm knowledgeable in my trade as a heating engineer and I'm gradually progressing with learning how to carry out other aspects of house renovation. Hopefully I can get help in certain areas where Google doesn't cut it and will look to give as much info as poss in my area of expertise. Thanks!

in my last house I did my drive in 20 mm black basalt and will be using it here in the gap between the paving and the house. On my previous drive I put a very thin layer on to my MOT then whacked it in then topped up to a max of 40 mm deep. It was solid.

In previous lives (well, when I was working) I encountered no end of folk who knew their calculations were correct and relevant because they had a spreadsheet that calculated numbers to 3 decimal places, or the like. So I’m with you on that one. Often an informed guess beats the calculator.

Not sure that is really true for fan coils, they have been about very little changed for decades. But the context has moved, were really only ever used in commercial buildings, not homes. The thing that has changed is heat pumps are being installed, people realise they can cool as well as heat. The fan coil in a domestic setting is the thing starting to mature. But a long a long way go yet.

Just make sure it is correct on the application.

There is a "building" shown in the corner of the existing plot. Is that a garage for the existing house built right up to the road? If so that will be in your favour as the building line and visibility is already breached. Where will the existing house park? I expect both would have to share the same entrance as I doubt a new one would be allowed closer to the corner. Make an offer "subject to planning" and submit a planning in principle application. If that is rejected you can walk away with little cost. A suitably anonymised streetview screen grab might help.

That's not an issues. We will take the existing house's drive and dropped curb which is currently to the side of their house.

My borehole had no buffer tank at all so the pressure it made was perfect for showers etc. There was an accumulator (20 litre) on the line to prevent short cycling.

Hi - starting work on a long term ambition here - self-managing a greenfield passivhaus build (SIPS panels over an insulated raft, timber clad and standing seam roof), aiming for certified low energy (PHPP model says we can't meet Classic levels). Have done several house refits and improvements/extensions over the years but this is a in different league so hoping to be able to pick some collective wisdom from the forums here.

Jeremy was (he no longer posts here) a Buildhub 'living treasure'. See here: https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=18333 Like the design a lot If the architects are sniffy anout giving you the whole PHPP analysis ask for a printout of the section down to cell Q25 at the top of the 'Annual heating' tab. e.g. (this is ours which has an inadvisable amount of glass)

Potential issues are likely to be around over-development, negative visual impact, highway safety, parking. I'd draw a line following the front line of properties left of pic and try and plan within that, which probably means building closer to your neighbour, planners would probably baulk at anything intruding closer to the corner than that. Is there any negative planning history for the site or nearby? Are you in a conservation area? There's inevitably a fair bit of risk (and cost). What are your plans and particularly what's your plan B if you can't get permission? If you're going to live in one or the other, would you be happy falling back to a large extension or terraced property that wraps around that corner?

forget about the manhole your 'engineer' just like spending your cash. In a nutshell you need some m2 of storage or attenuation as they call it to hold the water back before it discharges. crates do this for a fraction of the cost. if you want to add a chamber for some reason crack on but not needed with crates.

Agree with the above. Something does not sound right. We’re in Wiltshire, not that far from East Somerset. We had one meeting with a PHPP consultant who was based in West Wiltshire (even closer to East Somerset…) He did not know his arse from his elbow and made some very very basic mistakes in his first iteration of the PHPP. We quickly moved on and completed the PHPP ourselves. I hope you’re not using that individual.

As someone wrestling with wall thickness vs room size I sympathise. I’ve been experimenting with Jeremy’s heat loss spreadsheet and actually insulation cost vs heating cost payback is much worse than I expected, specifically meaning that after a certain level extra insulation just doesn’t pay back sensibly….. But! I’ve a horrible feeling that if I design by spreadsheet I might get the optimum financial balance but will I get the most comfortable? I guess that might simply translate for the OP into a bit of central heating rebalancing.

I'm planning on using a Tapo system at some point in the future. I have their video doorbell at the moment which works really well, comes with a hub which takes an SD card to hold recordings, there is a subscription option but it just gives cloud storage (not needed if you have a large SD card) and rich notifications. Their external cameras double up as floodlights and 2 way audio/sirens which i think is pretty neat.

Thanks. The difference is being able to put a bed in the room or not and still get around it comfortably. Managed to still keep U-values to 0.18 and a 222mm build-up. Have checked it with my BC/NHBC buddies and they seem to think it's ok.... (we shall see what my local one says soon enough!). Just checking in with Kingspan i haven't ballsed it up. NB- Also seem to have noted you can't get hold of 90mm K112 boards. So 100m it is.

A look on the Vesternet web site might give some ideas. Maybe a Z Wave controller and set up to give perimeter breach warnings 'flash the lights' before the real bells go off.

Whilst the F&B colours are certainly interesting, I found their paint awful to use - it's so thin. Had to use three coats of estate emulsion "Stifkey Blue" to get the effect. Now we use a Johnstones paint centre to match the colour as close as possible and use their trade emulsion which is much nicer to use.

Hello Moved from a 5 x 3 to a 6 x 6 garage workshop. Fitting out, new kit and projects along the way Rich

Hi there I'm new here, me my wife and 2 daughters and our dog live in a 2 bed semi and we are slowly but surely making our bungalow bigger, being a city and guilds qualified carpenter and joiner I am able to do most of the house myself but with exceptions to electrics and plumbing. 2 years ago I built a 8m x 4m single story rear extension in the back of our bungalow which helped with the living space situation massively, now the wife is nagging for a loft conversion, ideally we need 2 beds and a bathroom upstairs to accommodate our growing family. We have a big loft and are very lucky to have a gable end which would make Any conversion bigger in space. I'm worried this is too big a undertaking for a self builder. I'd love to hear from and loft conversion self builders in a similar position and how you got on. Thanks John

It may workout cheaper to ask your TF company to do the internals for you (Turnkey) Than employ someone to simply coordinate trades for you

Forget 2x2s, you'll want 4x2s as per above (with noggins.)

The original company are coming tomorrow to do a heat loss assessment. They said it can take up to 4 hours. Will report back once I have it.

We have this one it is fine just get a couple of out riggers which I think the tall ones come with. Even at nearly 5m it is fairly stable and simple to put together.

I can't see that post being a significant issue for fire, it's heated perimeter related to it's section size is small. The other faces are protected by the blockwork either side and the cavity and external leaf. It's also well stabilised so if heated to a point of failure it'll be held in position. The beam is at far more risk from failure in a fire and will tend to pull the post away from the wall as it sags. I would have thought a strip of fire resistant board against the post itself and then a panel of board across it in the plane of the plasterboard would be plenty. If there's room for some aerogel as well it'll help the cold bridge effect.

Hi, I bought a cheap Victorian end terrace as my first house. It hadn't been touched since the 60s and I'm trying to renovate it while living in it at the same time. Many rooms are now back to brick/timber and I'm now trying to "build it back better". I've got a "clean room" with bed etc. that I've temporarily fitted with an exterior UPVC door that seals tight and now I'm starting at the top and working my way down, one room at a time.

A very slightly off white e.g. https://www.tikkurila.co.uk/colours/white-paint/paper-f497 but anything that's not pure brilliant white will be good. And if it fits your aesthetic, wood planking on the vertical walls. (from https://www.scandinaviantrading.co.uk/)

sandtoft rivius antique slate (interlocking clay). Best price I could get was £1.99+vat about 3 months ago

Do you need fire protection to the steelwork?

Scaffolding quotes can vary dramatically. It can depend on whether they have capacity and loads of poles in stock, or have to cross-hire more in. If one is quiet they might not even put much hire value on the poles. Do you mind rusty old stuff as long as it is legal? Make sure the scaffolding is as your contractor needs. sometimes too much is erected. other times they want the deck levels changed. the joiner might want a different arrangement to the roofer. return visits cost. Will there be any weekly hire charge? How certain is your time frame? If the scaffolder says there is a charge after, say, 12weeks, that is an easy wrangle to get 16. That said, I always under-cost scaffolding. It is a habit from the old days when towers were sufficient. Also I have noticed a move into less shouty-sweary workers. I would love to know what has changed.

My experience was any questions specifically to do with their work was free. Anything additional to the original work was charged at an hourly rate.

Huh?

Don't ask us, read the fee proposal, ours states: "This document is for the exclusive use of XXX and should not be used in whole or in part by any third parties without the express written permission of XXX" In other words, this fee is private, between you and I. I would need to really sit down with one of the 7k quotes and the 15k quote and understand to what stage are they designing, is there a site stage, have they allowed meetings, Teams and Site, what is included, what is excluded, does the 15k include EPC's, statutory application costs, with Mr 15K do variations and hold your hand, will Mr. 7K bill you another 10K in variations and fees? Does Mr 15K perhaps include M&E consultancy, other consultants?

1500 isnt going to pay for a mega cheap to build legoland box let alone anything out the ordinary. Bog standard rates are double that. Reality check time.

Have you told them your budget?......when we were first meeting with architects on site to decide who to go with we made our criteria clear......we wanted to be hands on throughout; we wanted them to work from our initial layout; and crucially we wanted to be able to buid in budget.......otherwise there is always the danger of falling for something you really shouldn't be trying to afford.... remember not all archiects " do money" and sometimes they draw stuff that can't sensibly be built

250mm cavity here in South West Ireland. Full fill with EPS beads, wet plastered both sides of the blocked. No issues with full fill. Infact it's the standard method for cavity walls here and believe me, we get our share of rain.

I’ve already talked to a range of surveyors and fairly knowledgable treatment companies. Unfortunately, being a charity, the trustees are now asking for a structural report signed off by “a suitably qualified expert”. They are worried about the extent and the costs. They’ve got stung with additional costs in the dim and distant past, so are in Arse covering mode.

@Havkey100 Not any obvious ones. Final comments were in March, the same as two other appellants that have posted here on BH and have their decisions already. So, from 3 the appeals I've been tracking, the timescale is (1) varying delay of ~3.5-5 months before the inspectorate decides to 'validate' ... then the appeal 'starts', (b) a fixed schedule of ~7 weeks for statements, comments etc, (c) a variable delay of ~5 months why they decide. However, I received 5 very similar curious and slightly baffling emails from the inspector yesterday. It appears that nearly a year later, and despite 'validation', he asked about a week ago the LPA to supply some policy documents that they have refered too in their statement of case. The inspector has asked for my comments. He didn't actually say why, but I assume this is because these docs are nominally 'new evidence'. Would I be allowed to supply new documents at this late stage or would I be penalised for failing to provide them? I'll leave you to judge. The LPA also blatently ignored the Procedural Guide doc which lists a couple of things the LPA 'must' do ... and that the LPA simply ignored. When I queried this, the inspector said the equivalent of 'oh well, we can't make them'. So, the good news is that there is some action, the bad news that it's not certain how far they have actually got.