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Haven’t we all !!!!! It made me even more angry and intent on fighting them when my LPA rejected my application. Revenge was sweet when I won on appeal. You dont have to be confident with the council just prove them wrong 👍

@Susie That looks very interesting! Thanks, I'll have a (free!) go. PS been enjoying your blog, and the Part O spreadsheet satisfied the BCO.

we got luck there - no trees anywhere near us!

I do . The only issue is if it can’t pair with the chime the device can hang . So if you can get the chime ( mains powered - not poe ) you could in theory set the volume to low and it would work .

@Pocster do you have a Poe reolink video door bell? Looking for options for an external gate camera/ door bell - I could run an external cat5/6 cable and link to Poe switch and then back to NVR just want to know reliability as it will be outside stuck to a post❄️💨💦🌞.

I paid half that for 20 weeks 200m2 two years at the height of the price hike But was also quoted similar to you from the company that did our previous build They had grown from a dozen employees to over fifty I found a guy that had only been going 18 months Shop around

too fat or something like that

You board through them cut a 30 mil square on any that land on the boards Seal up with acoustic seal Don’t forget to tape and seal the joints before installling the second ceiling I do this regularly on apartment’s etc Its probably in Gypsum’s white book It will show the hangers with a bolt washer and rubber You don’t need to do this Nailed or screwed is fine

Yes to the electrician doing data cabling, unless you are going all out with a bespoke home automation solution.

Summer bypass also takes into account the outdoor air temp. The settings on ours let you set the exterior temp above which the summer bypass will operate (if the indoor air temp is higher than the outdoor temp). Ignoring summer bypass, MVHR tries to maintain any temperature difference that exists between the inside and the outside. If you have the heating on in winter, or the cooling on in summer, such that you've pushed your house temperature up or down in a direction that makes it more comfortable than the outside temperature, then you want the MVHR operating in its normal (non-bypass) mode. It will stop your hard-won heat/coolth from being lost to the outside through ventilation. In summer, when the temperature outside drops below your house's internal temperature (in the evening, say), but is still above a threshold temp, the summer bypass kicks in. Instead of operating to maintain the temperature difference, the MVHR ejects warm air from the house and draws in cooler air from outside. Nothing special happens. Assuming it's cooler inside than outside because of the operation of the UFH, then the MVHR will try to maintain that temperature difference. Some people turn down the ventilation rate when it's very cold or hot outside. That reduces energy losses due to the large temperature difference between the inside and outside. It also reduces how much moisture is taken out of the air in winter. Overventilation when it's very cold can result in very low humidity inside.

Below is a photo of it finished. I have a dig later to see if I have a photo of the EDPM detail, Illbruck have a good range of tapes.

I’ve had my MVHR running constantly for around 5 years and it still looks like the day I bought it inside, not even a speck of mould. I wash the heat exchanger out once a year (if I remember)

I assume you are overthinking stuff. Never seen any signs of mould been running for about 3 years. Keep unit on, change or cleaning every six months, open up every year have look clean up. That's it. Airflow rates should be way to high for mould to form. What cube are you talking about?

Sort of, but looks more like a car radiator that a house radiator.

2 way audio only through reolink app . Not something I’m too concerned about tbh - usually too slow to be usable . My issue with the chime is I need it quite far from the doorbell so we can hear it - hence the range issue . So now the chime is as near as possible to the doorbell and yep I get HA to stop any music , make an announcement on Alexa when doorbell pushed . Under test at the moment…

Not disagreeing - just adding full contextual details. There are several mechanisms at play for both fancoils and UFH (cooling). Fan coils are way better if you have them, that is a given. But if you don't have them, cannot justify the costs or you are retrofitting a HP and cannot justify moving away from UFH. When UFH is in cooling mode, it does make a warm house feel cooler, even if actual air temp is quite high. But also allows cools the house down quickly (compared to not having cooling) when the sun goes away.

You should get a structural design certificate from one company for the whole property including everything from the foundation to the roof top. If the glazing company (and any other company) is providing structural design calculations, the company issuing the structural design certificate should review, comment and approve as appropriate. This should be standard working on the structural drawings and/or notes. Your architecture tech, is misguided.

Just had a look, I'm still running 0.13 looks like 0.14 had a full overhaul so yes worth me going through the upgrade process. (0.15 is in beta now too I see..) https://github.com/blakeblackshear/frigate/discussions/11136 tldr Frigate evolving from a simple stateless video object recognition -> MQTT bridge, into a fully grown NVR to take on the incumbents. Nice.

A lifetime mortgage is for us wrinklies. No monthly repayments, interest charges roll up and it’s only repaid when the property is sold on death of the last surviving mortgagee (or them going into care). A fab way of funding growing old disgracefully if one doesn’t care how much of a financial legacy one leaves behind.

I see 9 members of Leeds planning department have been bailed with an ongoing investigation into bribery. Oh what a surprise.... not.

Brilliant, thanks a lot. Makes perfect sense doing both sides or the moisture will just be pushed to the other side of the wall. I've got a decent 300mm Masonry blade for my reciprocating saw which should make short work of the cuts. I have tonnes of old slate and reclaimed brick thank you. One of my permanent eBay searches which I act on every time there's a bargain. Will keep this post updated on progress.

You don’t need sand blinding on beam n block. Why would you. you also need to get away from the thoughts of you have a cold house that you heat up quickly. forget that, you have a warm house that is warm all day, you don’t let it cool down and then blast it with heat to get it warm. make it comfortable and keep it like that. if you can’t get your head around that, or you think the house won’t work like that then put in radiators if you want a sudden burst of heat into the room. a 75mm screed acts like a big heat emitter, it releases heat nice and steady, you can’t ask it to suddenly chuck loads of heat into the room.

Yes, apologies it was as you say. Sorry if original title was misleading, I got an email telling me they were minded to refuse and after several back and forth (very professional and polite) they approved it, me not being a veteral at this thought that was it,refused!. I didn't have to change anything I think it was more allying their concerns. But mightily relieved.

you would be correct in your assumption! He pays £1200 but gets £200 back from revenue - cost £1000 You give him £1200 £200 profit to him.

It's a great technology. Keep us posted on how it looks. I wouldn't rule it out doing it to our house in 20 years time if I think we've lost some airtightness.

This is my preference, however, as @JohnMo says, you don't want grease in the the MVHR. So it's worth knowing that there is a European 'Grease Filtering Effectiveness' classification that requires hoods to be rated from G (<=45% effective as removing grease) to A (>95% effective). Manufacturers tend to keep quiet about it, but it's usually buried in the specs. Bosch, Neff, Miel & Berbel all have B rated models (>85% effective), but Ikea has the only A rated that I've come across so far.

I fitted 300sqm of Tata (Same as Catnic) Colorcoat Urban on our new build, roof with 7 velux and wall with window and door. All doable with simple tools. In 2018 was about £30sqm. You have the skills.

That price seems totally wrong (very high) to me. What is access like, and is this including a scaffold system? It should be done in a day, such a small area. add another for the flashings being finished off neatly. probably 3 persons, simply as a team setup and for handling the long sheets. If you cur this type of cladding it has to be with a snipping motion. It drags the galvanising over the steel cut. This can be steel snips (they come in left hand , right hand and straight) and nibbler (a motorise punch that nibbles a cut by means of punching a stream of crescent moons (or toenails), Never use cutting discs or reciprocating saws as they wreck the material and it will rust.

Thank you for your replies. Just to make sure as perhaps I haven't been clear enough, I will be paying all the work with invoices by bank transfer. The issue above is only regarding the materials for which he has provided receipts and asked me to pay cash. Am I correct in assuming the builder will claim the VAT back on those invoices for the materials he bought?The business is VAT registered. He has accounts with some of these suppliers, some other he has paid by credit card. If his cost for the material is actually the Net price, as he is reclaiming VAT, but he is asking me to pay the gross with VAT even if I pay cash, then it seems to me he is recovering VAT twice, once from HMRC and once from me. Thank you.

Psi-values are required as part of the SAP calculation input. The accredited construction details can no longer be used so option is to use default psi-values (which makes BR compliance very tough) or calculated psi-values (or mixture of both). There is lots of published data on masonry and timber frame psi-values - see trade associations, building product manufacturers. For non-standard construction such as SIP, insulated formwork, light steel frame etc bespoke calculations may be only option, they are complex and time consuming hence costly!

Ah I've actually taken the time to read properly now. Ensure that the chimney is free from any built in timbers and is sound before the liner is inserted. A house near me burnt down when a stove liner ignited an old timber built through the chimney. It was never an issue with an open fire for centuries but the very high temperatures of the stove exhaust via the liner caused it to ignite.

And they wonder why planners have a bad name. How do "formalised space" and "unneighbourly" map to the requirements of planning law? Similarly, I don't see how "engineering works" have anything to do with the need for a planning application. You built a small(?) retaining wall (planning not needed), replaced the paving over a slightly larger area (no planning needed), and didn't raise the level (no planning needed). I agree that it all sounds like complete nonsense, and I'm sorry you're having to deal with it. Depending on your appetite for stress, I'd be tempted to write back and tell them that you look forward to them initiating enforcement action based on the actual planning laws of which you're alleged to be in breach.

I’m actually getting very close to my air test. Early January, hopefully. The solution I used is no longer sold into the UK market, it is from Germany. We wanted a very quiet cooker extractor as we have an open plan kitchen. We went with the Berbel extractor and the Wall Box accessory, which connects to the extractor and opens the vent automatically using a motor. Spec says >40PA for the wall box opening. https://www.berbel.uk/extractor-hoods/accessories/exhaust-accessories/wall-box/ When I looked more recently, I saw there was another product now on the UK market. https://luxairhoods.com/Cooker-Hood-Ducting-150mm/cooker-hoods-outside-vents-grilles-external/Airtight-Ducting-System-Kits?srsltid=AfmBOor176UUNI2MTtZdpI9A2SZBl2x7Bir3KZKSyicPgC3GHIE6BwXW The other area that is worth exploring is butterfly valves in the duct. https://quiet-vent.com/products/dampers/quiet-vent-motorised-circular-damper/ I assume that MVHR professionals will be familiar with other options. The Passive House Institute guideline I linked earlier covers the design requirements for extracting to the outside. This is the only PHI approved product on their database. https://naber.com/media/52/7b/ce/1688370360/NABER-Compair-Bixo-Broschuere_EN.pdf Like a lot of house design choices this forum in very pro recirculating hoods and there is nothing wrong with that approach, but a bit like asking for recommendations for oil fired boilers, I would guess must members wouldn’t be leaping to give advice.

Do you really want the glazed gable. they look pretty on paper, but unless that is a very deep room you won’t be able to stand back far enough to appreciate it. I have lots of glass and could definitely get rid of 20% of it and not notice the difference.

For those who extract to the outside, it would be helpful if you detail how you make the external vent airtight when not in use. And tell us if you did your airtightness tests with this taped over or also tested with it in its 'closed' position to confirm how airtight it is. A couple of options have been mentioned in threads but not all in one place, and it'd be helpful to group the options together.

The use of language in reports is interesting. As quite a few of you know, I spent way to much time at university and hated writing assignments. As I had to write a lot, usually I would say one thing, in one sentence. When read in isolation, the sentence should make sense. I also tried to use words of 3 syllables or less. I take the American Museum view by assuming my audience was is a 12 year old, until I started my PhD, then I raised it to 14 years old. Occasionally I accused of being condescending, but that is the readers problem, not mine. I believe that a 14 year old should be able to read, understand and benefit from others knowledge. Many years ago, I did a Chartered Institute of Marketing course. I was told to use more marketing focused language. I think what they meant was to be dishonest by changing the meaning of words. Facts mean nothing in marketing. I often get asked for advice (usually thermodynamics), but what is really wanted is a simple answer. I am sorry, the answers are not usually simple. Try explaining entropy, and why it increases with disorder. Took me 5 years of higher education, then 15 years of practical examples, and I have still only scratched the surface of it. As Richard Feynman said when asked to describe what he won his Noble Prize for, "If I could explain it in 3 minutes, it would not be worth a Nobel"

This is a well warn discussion on BuildHub, you could call it a hardy perennial. Nothing wrong with recirculating hood, but you can extract to the outside as long as the vent has an air tight seal. There is a balance issue when doing this, but might not be significant enough to cause problems. If using a recirculating hood, you can put a filter on the nearest extract plenum. Again some installs have filters on all extract plenums. As with any thread on BuildHub, it is a lottery whether you will get a good community response and a plurality of views. Here is a link to a recent previous discussion on this topic. Also here is the passive house guide on the topic: https://passiv.de/downloads/05_extractor_hoods_guideline.pdf * Edit: I notice that the topics are in two different parts of the forum, part of the joy of BuildHub is the complexity of forum structure, some topics have multiple potential homes, easy to miss.

purists be damned, I just extract for the short period that the wok is a-smokin.

Proper curtain walling will be 2 to 3 times the price of everyday glazing supported inside a frame. Then allow for the framing. If you look af the section sizes, the reason is clear.

In my own house I have a mix of products. The windows and pass doors are Origin.. Its high end stuff and expensive... they have performed well to date. SE wise and in terms of large areas of glass.. its a mine field. Very few of the glazing suppliers will give you the data I need as an SE to design an adequate system. My arse.. the glazing system needs to be integrated with the structural design. If not the guarentee is void. The glazing system is a big ticket item and thus you need to get an SE involved early (pay your SE a little more.. it will be money well spent) so they can guide you on the selection of the glazing system and how you fix that to the structure so the horizontal and downwards vertical deflection of the stucture is compatible with the glazing system. Armed with this information from the SE will help you select the right glazing supplier. Express Bifolds are a mass market outfit.. there is one up the road from me and they don't give away too much and that often leads to trouble later on in the build.

Last thing you want, is loads of grease clogging your vent ducts. Put the MVHR on the opposite side of the room. We did Indian at the weekend, recycling hood, with carbon filter (not even certain it got switched on for long). MVHR extract about 4m from hob did a fine job of containing nearly all smells. Not sure you need 3, 4 or 5.

Option 3, treble MVHR extract vents over stinky bit? Option 4, cook stinky stuff in utility room, (trendily renamed ‘spice kitchen’) and open the window…. I'm building in option 5, cook stinky stuff in spice kitchen (see above) and have a closable inlet and extract just for that room.

What does your structural engineer say on the subject? Sorry would not leave this to price or that looks pretty. Involve a structural engineer, he will take account of load conditions on the house from wind etc, glazing company more likely to assume you have structural engineer input and they are just selling you a product.

Help ma boab ( Scottish expression for surprise / aghast)! This needs investigating properly. Agree. Send them your marked up photo as I think this will grab their attention. Also send a photo unmarked. See what the NHBC and the manufacturer say first.. let them do some leg work before you get an independant SE involved.. which may not be required... but you may want a second opinion anyway.. will be cheeper for you if the donkey work is done by those who build it and underwrote it. Question is.. that's the bit you can see.. what about the rest that you can't see! Sorry to say it but..

Despite having fought planners a few times (and won) I have no evidence of corruption but I would call them generally inept, full of self importance and blinkered in their approach. I am sure they are also underfunded which can’t help.

For me we have UFH in bedrooms and as soon as you add carpet it becomes rubbish. I would use fan coils in bedrooms, you get responsive heating and good cooling in the summer. You would just run the same flow temp as the UFH and the fan coil control would do the rest. You can also use the bathrooms. Seems expensive at first. Here is a selection (many different makes available) https://coolenergyshop.com/collections/radiators-fan-coils Ditch the UFH in bedrooms. One of the issues with wet rooms and UFH is the proportion of floor space taken by baths and showers and fitted furniture, so is never the most effective, unless you go really tight pipe spacings. So in bathrooms add wet UFH if you want, but you need to add a heated towel rail also, you can these so they operate on water and have an immersion inside to boost output when needed. You could look at IR panel heating in bathrooms? Or fan coils again

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I'm just starting on my D&A statement and read this bit in particular with interest. That opening part of your D&A statement is interesting, and I have some questions about it, if you don't mind @Tony K? It refers to Paragraph 49 of the NPPF, in particular the second part of that paragraph which says 'Relevant policies for the supply of housing should not be considered up-to-date if the local planning authority cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites.' You then say "The Strategic Housing Market Assessment (June 2016) identifies a shortfall in Epsom and Ewell of 418 units per annum. The effect of this is that the proposal subject of this planning application must be assessed against the second part of NPPF paragraph 14, i.e. the proposal must be approved unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of providing a new house." My question, having skim-read (ha!) the SHMA that you refer to, is this: It looks to me that the 418 figure is the total annual need for new dwellings identified in 2016, which I think is not the same thing as the LPA demonstrating whether there is a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites ?? There is no date on your D&A statement but I presume it was written not long before your post in 2022. This leaves a gap of several years since the need / shortfall was identified, during which time the LPA might have starting approving more sites and hence reduced or eliminated any shortfall. I was thinking about adding something similar to my D&A statement, but presume I'd need to ask the LPA (via a FOI request maybe?) to confirm / demonstrate the future five-year supply of deliverable housing sites for the area, and then compare that figure to the identified need, and only if there is a shortfall then, the second part of NPPG Para 49 would apply?? Or have I misunderstood? P.S. I'm only just starting on this so I will probably have more questions! I hope you don't mind! Thanks so much for sharing your D&A statement - it is fantastic! 🌟👍

I’d be surprised you get a reliable signal 20m apart based on my experience!

I remember my build was refused on many reasons ; but one being … “ the build would create a volume in the the void of the lane which is out of character “ wtf ! I think it’s called desperate BS

Get @ToughButterCup to do it, he can get to 4, then he has to expose some toes. Thankfully down here, we all have webbed fingers and toes, makes counting a quantum problem.