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Do you actually want to build design two. you might like the concept on paper, but I would avoid that roof design 100%, water needs to get of the building, don’t trap it on top and hope it makes it out of some small outlets. I like option one apart from the glass gable, that is pointless, you have large windows on two elevations already, what’s the glass gable for. design one is a more straightforward build, easier to find good contractors. obviously my personal opinion. one would fit in better locally, easier to build, no sleepless nights worrying about a swimming pool on your roof.

Not at all. The planning guidance should be clear and it should be obvious whether traditional or boxy is preferred. That is what your consultant is for. Applying twice suggests you don't have confidence in your proposal. Planners are clerical people and go by the guidelines. Vegetation is spelt wrongly...... Distracting....check for similar mistakes.

The last bit of soil pipe and inspection chambers that are close to the house are completed. The ICF is delivered and by the end of the week we have the start of door and window openings. The insulation is extruded polystyrene XPS 100mm each side of the concrete cavity. U value of 0.14 The windows have rebar in them before 50mm insulation closures are added. At the weekend we had a yellow wind warning for the South West, our home weather station recorded top gusts of 40mph. I’m pleased to say the R-wall ICF survived with no problems. Total man days of labour week 4 is 22 man days split between Groundworks and ICF builders. The build is going on very close to our workshop entrance which makes the delivery of vehicles and test drives limited. This week we took delivery of a previous customers Jensen CV-8 which now has a new owner who has sent it to us for further works over winter.

A pitched roof is far less likely to cause issues than flat. Natural slate will be cheaper and less defect prone than zinc. Timber cladding often looks cruddy in a few years and flammable cladding is best avoided. The glazing is excessive. It will cause overheating in the sun, higher heat losses in winter, extra capital expense, unpleasant reverberation and glare.

I like it a lot. Bricklayers cannot drop mortar down the gap (making a dampness bridge at the bottom) , or their empty cans or fag packets. Plus they can't leave gaps anywhere it is awkward for them. I've specified it many times and observed it in use. It has been good on site and in life. Do make sure you have the right waterproof product obviously, as they can look similar, or a bricky might get the wrong stuff.

That is to kill any dimpling effect on the coating. you don't see it from 1m away. Some continental manufacturers don't have (or need) the grain. You also, in theory need to coat the cut ends but, with good galvanising and proper cutting it isn't a big thing.

Not sure that would be the best solution, the floor takes an age to heat up then an age to cool down. So chasing your tail to get the right temp for sleeping. Upstairs if going A2W no need for A2A, just use a fan coil connected to A2W HP. Then you have heat and cool in a single unit. Yep If you keep oil, consider a thermal store, to provide DHW and a buffer for the oil boiler to give a decent run time, especially if you have zoned heating. Pul the CH water direct from buffer. This would be rubbish with a heat pump. You will also need to be careful with the oil boiler short cycling, with lots of zones Good UFH doesn't equal a warm or hot floor, poorly installed does. Well insulated, you are flowing mid to high 20s, maybe low 30s on a very cold day. Would agree. I would step back Decision 1 - keep or dump oil. Once made every thing else starts to fall in to place. Just jump one side or the other, don't keep jumping. UFH downstairs - not the best solution, simple low temp radiator, with a manual TRV to manage room temp. Good for Oil or HP Same upstairs if oil and A2A. Or fan coils for A2W. Thermal store for Oil, HP UVC for A2W HP.

The architect didn't specify a green roof, and I too would rather spend the money on rain water harvesting.

I would much rather spend that money on a rainwater harvester, IF you need fancy measures at all. Who suggested it? Planners do think it's good but they aren't the experts.

That’s a huge amount of south facing glass on both designs. Before you submit to planning do your Part O building regulations calculations. What does the back look like? Is there cross ventilation? If not you’re going to need lots of mitigation built in. No point submitting either if they have to be changed at BRegs stage requiring a minor/major planning amendment submitted because of overheating resulting in time delay and more costs (speaking from experience here). We found planners don’t like uncertainty, so the clearer you can be with intentions the better - so ‘timber or render’ might result in a condition to discharge to LPA with exact detail. Specifying materials used in supporting statement seems to help. I can’t see what the flat roof material specified. Green roofs sound fab but make sure you investigate costs - several hundred £s per m2 on top of the GRP/rubber. But if you like the flat roof design I’d say go with it - the stress and effort of building a house that you didn’t actually want is just not worth it!

No they are not removal men, i would want empty rooms, and even carpet pulled back.

It's got to be your call....... In an ideal world we all find a plot in a location we want to live AND can build the house of " our dreams " whatever that means to us at the time In reality, unless money/location has no limits, we may have to compromise on something. We have a project in our "dream" location (i.e. the one that will suit us going forward, leaving our "dream" location where we built 30 odd years ago), but in both cases some compromise was necessary. If the external look of the property is one of your key drivers, you've got to go for that? If it's the location..... As an aside we're in the same LPA as Alan, we may well have lucked out, but our pre app was spot on.....application granted in full.

I wouldn't use superfoil at all, let alone multiple layers. The figures are theoretical. It has to be loose. You show mineral insulation somehow placed around it. I might use it on a garden shed, but more likely would use bubblewrap. You are better off with filling the whole void with pir or mineral wool.

In your shoes, I would send both applications in. Take one or both to appeal depending on the result. That’s assuming you have time and money on your side. Appeals are running at a year atm, so factor that in. Of course, you won’t get an answer up front, that’s what the decision process is for. Nearest best thing is your architect’s and/or planning consultant’s judgement. My experience of pre-apps (only two) is that they’re a complete waste of time and can be actively misleading, which is worse than not doing them in the first place. That may be case officer or LPA dependant. How good is your LPA? - look up the stats. Yes, like a tombola, there’s a lot of luck involved and most of the LPA’s judgements are simple opinion cloaked in planning jargon - it’s not a rational process at all. Engage your councillor too.

Hi, yeah my wife found it on your Instagram earlier when I told her about it. Thanks

They do both mine are Alu clad here https://www.nordica-uk.com/asp-pages/aluminium-clad-windows/outward-opening-aluminium-clad-windows.asp

In either case you will be living with your new neighbours, so ideally you want to take them with you......our experience is as others have suggested (we bought a bungalow on a very narrow plot ...its' pair one side, 2 storey house the other side....we wanted to demolish and build 2 storey house using footprint). Before we bought people in bungalow said they would object/ people in house said " no problem". In end all neighbours objected (including those opposite), although those in the bungalows pair only objected on basis of how work would be done. None of the objections had any relevance in terms of planning policy. Permission was granted in full. Job of work now to take new neighbours with us, including listening to their worries and undertaking party wall awards in a non combatative way (however we feel!)...so which house do you prefer?

Plus 1 Your Architecht is working for you Not the other way round All options may sail through planning You never know

Thanks very much. It's a limewash paint - shame they didn't cover it more in the episode really. From - you apply it by painting in 'clouds' and it forms a textured look. Tutorial here: - https://www.instagram.com/p/C8jGL1mKxlI/

Well I say go for what you want from day one and make your arguments, this is based on my fight for planning which went to appeal and I got exactly what I wanted in the end. If you compromise now you will always wonder if you could have had option 1. Yes it’s a lottery/game.

I made a post called ‘Interrelated Concept Confusion’ when I was at your stage. You are doing the right thing making sure you are completely up to speed on the pros and cons (and be aware of the head explosion it will cause via sleepless nights) so you can stand your ground with your builder on the compromises/decisions you have made, and check back here when they throw up objections. Take your time.

Just watching it now, I really like a lot of your paint finishes, how was that achieved with the not a flat colour look? Lovely house. You have done a great job.

I bought the Guide PC 210. https://eleshop.eu/knowledgebase/UTi260B_vs_PC210/ https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/guide-pc210-review/ markb1980 at EEV forum really seems to know his stuff. He wrote a book. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Infrared-thermography-beginners-Mark-B/dp/B0B5KXF41Q/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3IUDP7CJKUFGP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tyFhuO8wrYjwmuUycnw68w.sH0VNpTfuos04SuArsEtQJN4EmF2ISFEBM9W03XLmjE&dib_tag=se&keywords=B0B5KXF41Q&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1728078389&sprefix=b0b5kxf41q%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-1 Best thing about the Thermal Camera is looking at the body heat reflection from the windows.

I like these screws from Swiftfix. These are the same screws @Chanmenie used. https://www.swiftfix.co.uk/7-4-x-180mm-TX40-Blue-Power-Timber-to-Masonry-Screws-Box-of-100-p141442218 https://www.swiftfix.co.uk/7-4-x-200mm-TX40-Blue-Power-Timber-to-Masonry-Screws-Box-of-100-p141878417 Strong, have good corrosion resistant coating. I think these are the ones I used to fit the battens for my cladding, but would have to check. I alternated my fixings between the web and the concrete. Also did a few holes with the spiral fasteners. Rawlplug 80mm SPIRAL FIXING FOR EPS. https://shop.rawlplug.co.uk/facade-insulation-fixings/facade-insulation-accessories/iso-plug-plastic-screw-in-fixings/r-iso-plug-insulation-fixings/spiral-fixing-for-eps-80mm-box-of-40-r--iso--plug--80 So for example a 2 metre batten, with 400mm spacing would have 3 concrete screws, 3 in the web, or 3 spiral if not on a web point. Batten spacing would be 400mm, but for where boards joined, I would double batten.

No need to worry about urban popularity. Once painted, most people wouldn't easily see the difference, if the plastering is done well. You won't get the glass-smooth finish of gypsum, but lime can still be finished smooth. Clay-based paint is a more durable alternative to lime-based, proving a good quality matt surface, and I'll be using it here on my current project in very urban France, alongside the linseed oil paint on the windows. So no need to worry about urban popularity. I'd be much more concerned about the structural stability of the wall. Stick to the way it's been done for centuries, rather than looking for questionable high-tech solutions.

If that is ALL the insulation you are fitting on a (assumed) un insulated floor, then the electric UFH will be very ineffective and very expensive to heat as a huge proportion of the electricity used will just be heating the under floor space. Most people consider a minimum of 100mm thick PIR type insulation to be required. And in any event electric UFH is probably the most expensive way to heat a room, and no means to repair a fault in the heating mat if one occurs.

Thank you so much. We did mention how helpful the forums and social media have been, but didn't make the cut. I think we'll do some sort of Q&A on here or 'Ask me anything' as there's so much that get's missed during a 47 minute highlight reel of a 18th month build.

Thanks for the kind words. Materials always seem to be divisive. Cor-ten, for example. We've had people call it 'scrap metal', and others love it. At the end of the day we've built it with materials that bring us joy, and don't worry too much about what others think. After all, we're the ones who have to look at it every day! That's the best advice we could give.

Which I find incredible. Your choice of materials has been excellent. Not cheap mind, but has upped the standard I want for my build.

how come people can build a mansion from nothing in a year of graft yet i spend every sodding day for 3 years on my 3 bedroom semi and still havent got a ceiling...

I think there is another loophole, only general purpose sockets have to comply with minimum and maximum heights and being accessible. So if you have a desire to have a socket outside those limits, it is okay for a special purpose. That is what allows high up sockets for a wall mounted tv for instance. If your BC gets awkward stick a label on it to say "tv only" for example.

Just watched it. I’m completely puzzled as to why planning decided it should short of replicate a building that wasn’t there and, by the looks of it, hadn’t been there for very many years. You obviously satisfied that seemingly weird request and produced a beautiful house. Quiet frankly I wish my wife hadn’t watched that Grand Designs! I’ve been fending off numerous questions tonight regarding how you did it so quickly, so well, and so under budget. Thanks!

The only member of my household that gets a bath EVERY night lol.

Please, don't get started on V8's - it could see the extension binned and another bolide on the drive, although that may include marital disharmony as well

spoke too soon. Almost 2 years to the day "Mr.Dig" appeared this morning and were to install another massive pole in the exact same spot that they did before and subsequently had to remove. I went out and insisted it wasnt installed there and they said they would move it as far away as they could. Its maybe 8 feet further along but still right outside my house. Complaint gone into CityFibre just exactly like what i did 2 years ago...