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It’s a cellar … if this is an older house then it was built to be cold and damp. If you want to stop water getting in then it’s a big outside drain as above, otherwise you can only manage the water once it’s inside, drainage channel, sump, pump etc.

Went and bought a small bar to pry the nails out, it was easier than I expected. Instead of cutting down the existing wood I found a few spare bits and screwed them in, then decided to try and smash the hanger sufficently flat. It ain't pretty but it should work. Bearing in mind how much every tiny change from our joiners has cost, I'm very happy with myself

HMRC have lost a number of cases at tribunal when they decided that a property was complete using a spurious assessment of when that was likely to be. In some cases it defied all logic and they even contradicted themselves several times. Certainly the legislation appears to point towards the completion certificate as the key document that defines completion and the legislation has some provision that allows for people to apply for the reclaim if they wish before the completion certificate is ready, but no one should be forced to apply for the reclaim early if they choose not to. Clearly it makes no sense to push the boundaries and challenge HMRC to a dual so it also makes sense to leave some key work to complete after the property is occupied and without which the completion certificate can’t be issued. I believe that @jack took this approach by leaving some key work to his balconies to the end and had a record of fairly regular purchases leading up to completion to evidence work still to be done / still being done. So my advice (caveat emptor) would be to ensure that you clearly document work still to be completed post habitation, ensure a steady stream of purchases are entered into the reclaim form up until the completion certificate is issued, take lots of photos with clear dates, and look out for tribunal cases that appear to be turning the tide in HMRC’s favour. Currently the flow has been towards the tribunals siding with self builders. The other thing to note is that if a case goes to tribunal whatever HMRC have written on the claim form or tell you either verbally or in writing has no bearing once the case hits the tribunal. They are only there to uphold the law which is always based on the legislation. They may heavily criticise HMRC and have done in many cases but it will not change the outcome.

So are you building an extension, then demolishing the existing bungalow, and building a new structure and connecting it to the extension? I doubt HMRC will see that as a new build and you won't be able to claim VAT back. I'd leave everything as it is until you get planning and do a proper demolition and rebuild so there is no doubt.

Hello We are about to start a self build project to build our new home on the Isle of Islay. It is a bit daunting but we have the opportunity to fulfil our dream of living and working on the island. A lot of work to do and hopefully a lot of experience and knowledge to tap into. Ian

20% hydrogen can be run into standard boilers without any changes. Green hydrogen at 20% blended gives about a 7% reduction in CO2 due to the lower calorific value of Hydrogen. The Gas industry is lobbying the government hard to get Hydrogen as an option for heating homes, without it the gas network asset they own has no value. Blended grey Hydrogen is being pushed as a stepping stone to, blended blue hydrogen (made from gas but with CCUS), and on to 100% green hydrogen (produced from electrolysis using renewables). The lobbyists are pushing hard for a door to be left open for Hydrogen "ready" boilers. A recent unofficial press briefing is suggesting they've got their way. My view is this is a disaster for Net Zero by 2050 if they have. Blue hydrogen is being mis-sold and over-promised by the gas industry. The process releases more climate change gasses than burning natural gas directly, when you include the fugitive methane released. Heating your home with green Hydrogen would require 6 times more renewable energy than heating it with a HP. We will struggle to build the amount of renewables required to achieve Net Zero by 2050, without needing 6 times more of them for the heat in buildings part of the equation. (Unless the Unobtainium catalyst is discovered mentioned by @SteamyTea) Green Hydrogen is definitely needed, to replace the 70,000,000 tonnes of grey hydrogen current produced plus de-carbonising the industries that are hard to electrify. Unless there is a breakthrough in green hydrogen research that significantly reduces that amount of energy it takes to produce it, its going to struggle to replace the existing uses for hydrogen, let a lone find new uses. If a door is left open for hydrogen ready boilers, in the hope of a research breakthrough, there's going to be a very low take up of ASHPs in the existing housing stock, and ASHPs are the only current clean technology that can get close to the the day-to-day running costs of a gas boiler.

When we had gas meter installed (June this year) the Scottish Gas installer spoke about a transition to mixed gas and our medium pressure gas main, which is due replacement, would be lined to cope with the mixed gas. So likely to have a transition period across the country. Reading between the lines "gas" boilers may be banned, but a "mixed gas" may not. To run on mixed gas may just be a burner change and some bits.

A gas boiler could be converted to run on just about any fuel. Hydrogen has some specific challenges that need to be overcome first: Production in a zero carbon and energy efficient manner. This is not easy as there will be many calls on power being generated, and until some catalyst made from unobtanium comes along, it is more efficient to just store thermal energy in bricks and water, like 7 million homes already do. Transmission. Natural gas is a large molecule that is fairly inert, so is easy to pump, pipe and store. Hydrogen, at 101.3 kPa has a 0.01188 MJ.l-1, Natural Gas, at the same pressure, has 0.0364 MJ.litre-1. So you have to pump more litres as the existing gas system cannot be run at a greater pressure than it already is. Hydrogen Embrittlement. Because hydrogen is a tiny molecule/atom that is reactive, it wants to attach to other molecules/atoms. This can significantly change a material's properties. So reliability could be a problem (though I am told gas boilers are pretty unreliable anyway, usually the control systems). Cost. Even the cheapest hydrogen is expensive, and then the CO2 has to be captured and processed and put into long term storage (some real prices in this show https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0010qb7 ) It sounds a great idea, couple of wires into a bucket of water, tap of the gas from one electrode and put it into the gas grid. If it was that easy, we would have done it decades ago. Not as if we have just discovered hydrogen, been about since the second second of the universe's creation, well the middle bit was, the outer bit took 370,000 more years to combine with it.

That article reads like "we doubled the efficiency of our land rover by replacinging the engine! Oh Btw we also rebuilt the chassis in carbon fibre and redeisgned the body for aerodynamics in a wind tunnel, but never mind that" Successfully insulating a grade 2 listed building sounds the main story really. It needs to mention what the savings in oil heating that made on it's own. The change to ASHP is a side note to that.

Last time I wanted this, B and Q did it without a cutting charge. That size would go on the bus.

Thanks for the link to the vid @DragsterDriver - I actually watched this series when installing, but did not get to this part. Hopefully it can be set after install. Edit: all you have to do is lift the window fully in top hung mode and the springs engage. No need to adjust from factory spring setting if a roof has a high-ish pitch - ours is 48 degrees. Will try later. Great videos by the way for anyone doing a self install. The videos linked from QR codes on the installation manuals are no where near as comprehensive. P.S. I found it interesting that in the videos, they fit a very small and light window - quite different with a large 3g Velux. It took four of us to lift and fit the sashes.

Thank you so much. @newhome. A bunch of reading coming up methinks. Dave - you are also a star, son. Right - @pocster, - wake up. Read @ProDave's post above

You ain't going to like this...... shovel, spade, hole. Or digga ? French drain round the edge of your garage and anything else you can do to lower the water table. Wait for rain. Think of England, Harry and Saint George.

12th post in this thread Sometimes google does a better job of searching than the forums own search feature.

Off out to mix some concrete and get rid of all this anger that's bubbling around.

Welcome ? Yer pushin' on an open door there Jimmie ... This site, and the effort and generosity of many has ; saved us a lot of money, boosted our morale, made me smile , informed many conversations I have had with others, but most of all - walked with us. There's a palpable sense of community. That community is made all the stronger by appropriate levels of sharing of your own stuff . Losing my trousers was just about appropriate sharing - almost not, though. From another Ian, welcome.

And thats a bull's eye son. Go to the top of the class. This is what happened to me: Lovely lady from Council visits and calls it habitable (occupancy). She tells the VAT Monster. After an absence of 18months (refuse to come round) BCO pops round " - *kin' *ell Ian, you need this this and that, get it done pronto " Ian: so it's not habitable then? No, not in this state. Get this that and the other done. (Two suicide doors and other bits - fire OK) But until I get my VAT refund back I can't afford it .... VAT monster asks - DESPITE THE ASKED FOR RELEVANT, ACCURATE EVIDENCE ALREADY SUBMITTED - what did you do between occupancy and the VAT refund application? Every single dated invoice is there for the Monster to read. In other words lining themselves up to deny the VAT reclaimed between occupancy and VAT refund application Put a Notice on your property denying access to one and all without written permission from you. Put time lapse cameras up and make sure you maintain them.( @Jeremy Harris has a blog post / cautionary tale / normal post about it somewhere. And follow @ProDave's advice.

@pocster, here be DRAGONS. I respect @newhome's opinion: she's highly ikely to be right. But likely isn't certainty. What are you going to do when a Council Offical turns up on site - sniffs around and says that in his / her opinion you have a HABITABLE dwelling? (see @joe90's post earlier) Thats one of the keys now - not COMPLETION or Entry Into The Valuation List. It's that undeclared shift of focus from one to other that @newhome flags up in her excellent post here. (in the first few lines) The HMRC form VAT431NB only mentions Completion or entry into The Valuation List. It does not mention declaring the building status as HABITABLE as a key date in HMRC's decision-making process. Here's the workflow that happened in my case. Just a list of facts - no emotion. (I can already hear @ProDave wincing, sucking his teeth and playing bagpipes upside down - no kilt) Lockdown 1 has just finished : muggins is digging his foul drains by hand . Very nice lady from Wyre Valuation Office, clipboard, walks on site (Oh how i wish I'd taken @Jeremy Harris advice - the HERAS and notice argghhhh) We had an intial conversation about when / if I'd moved in : spare you the details We agreed - substantiated by a follow up email - that I'd tell her when we were 'in' Target date was january 2021 ish. Difficult to estimate because of COVID and DIY Max. Second visit of nice lady late 2020: we agree a move in date of December 1st 2020. Loads still to do on house. I question her closely on the criteria applied for her decision, and accept her judgement. Week after April 21st 2021, nice lady writes to me with a copy of the Entry into Valuation List (from the Valuation Office) , that document is dated 21st April 2021. That is the date mentioned in the HMRC Guidance (pages 6 and 7) as the date when the clock startes ticking in terms of submitting the reclaim form. July 2021 I submit my VAT claim This week, the HMRC write to me asking me to list the jobs I have done since December 2020. @Temp agrees with my suspicion: they are lining themselves up to disallow the VAT reclaimed between 1st December 2020 and July 2021 (submission date for the form) The issue I would like to draw to everyone's attention is that the form VAT431NB does not mention the date at which a house is accepted as being inhabited (called occupancy) as a new key date used by HMRC . Occupancy is an additional key indicator they now use . My objection is that they do not tell you that on the form. That's the dragon referred to above. They don't tell ya. Had it not been for @newhome's alertness and depth of study, we'd all still be in the dark. Now for a bit of emotion. The level of laziness and lack of customer focus on the part of an organsiation the size of HMRC is simply inexcusable. That kind of behaviour engenders - justifies almost - mendacity on the part of customers. Hence @ProDave's post (I think) '... never admit you're occupying the house you've built' until after completion. And why he's even now playing the bagpipes upside down somewhere in Bonnie Scotland. Can't take a joke? Don't start a self build eh? Honest. Just don't start.

Isn't there and adjustable spring to counterbalance top-hung opening?

In Scotland you are not supposed to occupy a house until you have completion or a temporary habitation certificate. A Temporary habitation is provided by building control on request. For that they had to do and inspection, and made is do a few things that they deemed not ready. We also had to provide the electrical certificate, gas safe certificate and unvented cylinder G3 signoff.

I can imagine an unfortunate time gap opening up between the two schemes for new builds though unfortunately. I have spoken to installers that loath the MCS/RHI scheme and say how much it jacks up the cost. There's the danger the new scheme will just be the same nightmare. One installer has said he's considered abandoning doing ASHP installations because of the MCS.

+1 to going wider on the front door. We went for 1200mm wide door and it makes all the difference.

Welcome. There is an easy answer 1 and 3/4 hours. The better answer is to understand what it all means. I shall start with the ASHP power, the 5 kW (that is lower case k for 1000, and upper case W for watt, watt is lower case, unless at the start of the sentence or referring to James Watt). Now a watt [W] is a joule per second. A joule, J, is the SI unit for energy and is named after James Prescott Joule. Any SI unit that is in capitals like W or J, is a derived unit. A joule is derived from the kilogram (kg), the metre (m) and time (s). The kilogram is the odd one out in the SI system as it is the base unit, even though it is made from 1000 grams. So 1 J = 1 kg.m2.s-2 So all that is really saying is that you are moving energy with respect to time. 5 kW = 5000 J.s-1. This may seem a bit pointless, until you get to the bit about specific heat capacity of materials. Which is coming now. All materials have the capacity to store energy, so if you heat up a stone in the sun, it has absorbed some solar energy and increased in temperature. Always remember that temperature not energy. You can look up what the different amounts of energy that are needed to raise a material by 1 K or 1°C (note that it is an upper case K as it is named after a person William Thomson, better known as Lord Kelvin). It is generally better to use the kelvin scale, even though the scales match, once the offset is taken into account, 0°C is 273 K, well close enough). Now liquid water is a strange material in that it has a high density compared to its solid and gaseous states, 1000 kg.m-3 (at 277 K, 4°C). This works out nicely, and close enough for all intents and purposes at 1 kg per litre. The energy needed to increase water 1 kg, by 1 K is 4.18 kJ. This is usually written as 4.18 kJ.kg-1.K-1 or 4.18 J/kg.K. Now you have 200 litres of water at mains temperature (we shall call that 283 K or 10°C) and you want to raise it up 38 K, to 321 K So now it is just a matter of doing the arithmetic. Energy (kJ) needed = 4.18 [kJ.kg-1.K-1] x 200 [kg] x (321 [K] - 283 [K) Energy (kJ) needed = 4.18 [kJ.kg-1.K-1] x 200 [kg] x38 [K] Energy (kJ) needed = 31,768 All those letters, except the kJ cancel out to leave just the energy figure. So that is the energy required, assuming perfect energy transfer and no losses. Now remember that the power of your ASHP is 5 kW, which is 5 kJ.s-1. If you divide the energy needed, 31,768 kJ by the energy input, 5 kJ.s-1, you get left with the number of seconds. So Times (s) = 31,768 [kJ] / 5 [kJ.s-1] Time (s) = 6,353.6 Now we know that there are 60 seconds in a minute, and 60 minute in an hour. Time (minute) = 6,353.6 / 60 Time (minute) = 105.89 Now as that is below 120 minutes, or two hours, if we take away 60 minutes, the remainder is the minute part of the second hour. 105.89 - 60 = 45.89 Call it 46 minutes. Now add on the 1 hour. 1 hour 46 minutes. You will find that people often talk about their water cylinder storing some number of kWh (be careful with this one, it is as typed, not Kw/h, KW per Hour, or kill wot our). All a kWh is, is a constant amount of power, the kW part, multiplied by the time it is delivered, or consumed. That is why it is kWh, 1000 [k] x power [kW] x time [hour]. Now there are 3,600 seconds in an hour (60 minutes x 60 seconds). If we divide the kilo joules needed by 3,600 seconds, we get the kWh needed. kWh = 31,768 [kJ] / 3,600 kWh = 8.82 If you divide 8.82 [kWh] by 5 [kW] you get 1.76 hours. Which is 105.89 minutes. In reality, there are losses, and the closer the sink temperature (the water in the cylinder) and the source temperature (the water from the ASHP) get to each other, the less energy is transferred, so it will actually take longer, but that is another lecture in thermodynamics. (as usual, I may have made an error somewhere, and I am sure others will pull me up on it)

I'll have a look for pictures. Cellulose was blown in through 100mm holes in the PB, which is a down-side as they all need to be but back in. Yep, wiring through the webs of the I-Joists and down the lengths of then. Very easy for penetrating the outside (airtight) sheathing and gasketting all the holes to seal.. Edited to add: Here's the only image I have of cabling into the insulated area...not much good. But some more general ones of the frame

Regardless of the heating system, heat losses and maximum heat demand will be the same. You can't fool nature. The reason that the government is pushing heat pumps is that they are the only practical way to supply thermal energy to home in a low CO2 emissions manner. This is because we are cleaning up our electricity generation. This is expensive, hugely expensive, but in the last decade we have reduced that sector emissions 5 fold. There is an alternative to use resistance heating, like we did between the 1960's and the late 1980's. This would mean we would have to add a lot more generation capacity. This is possibly cheaper, in the short term, than retrofitting heating systems. But there is a land issue. The UK does not like having wind turbines and solar farms on its land. We have convinced ourselves that only the best farming land will be used for this, will kill every bird within a mile of a turbine and the glare from a solar farm will give every child cataracts. It is all bollocks of course, but perception is more important than fact. So it is basically down to us to upgrade our homes. If your roof is suitable for PV, add it. It is cheap to self install and could probably do 70% of your DHW needs (with some diverter trickery) Airtightness and insulation really need to be considered together. External wall insulation is usually the most cost effective and will (should) improve airtightness. It is like putting a windproof winter jacket on. There will always be areas that air can bypass this that may have to be address after the installation. This may well be hard to get at area i.e. between loft space and the rooms below. These can possibly be addressed when fitting PV as scaffolding will be on site. Ideally you would convert your roof void to a warm roof system, then mechanically ventilate your house. This is expensive. So go down a layer and make the interface between room ceilings and loft space airtight, then ventilate the rest of the house. Some internal insulation may be useful. The ground floor is a large area, that is usually connected to the ground, which is cold. Insulating the floor will help a lot. This is not always easy as door and ceiling heights are important, as is the first step on the staircase. Digging up the existing floor, adding in 200mm of insulation, screen and UFH pipework is not really a viable option. But 20mm of insulation will help. Now back to ventilation. You have probably read that systems with heat recovery are not effective unless the ACH are below 3. I have never calculated this, but it intuitively make sense. So get the airtightness sorted out. It is more important than having a wall U-Value of 0.1 W.m-2.K-1. Fitting MVHR is a bit disruptive as it usually requires boxing in some pipework between floors. This does depend on the house layout. Through the wall systems are available, but they are not as efficient as proper systems, but are cheaper. Ditch any thoughts of a log burner. All these do is add CO2 to the atmosphere (what we are trying to avoid), put holes in your walls and roof (what we are trying to avoid), fill the house and street with particulates (there is new WHO guidance on this), cost a lot to run and smell. Fitting an ASHP is probably the easiest option if you have room for radiators (really convectors), but plinth heater can help in tight spaces. All these are, are fan heaters, with the heat coming from hot water, rather than an electrical element. I have no idea how noisy they are in a domestic setting, only experienced them in offices, where I never noticed them. The main thing is to not be tricked into thinking that there is some wonder technology that will sort it all out, cost less to install, have zero running costs and the government will pay for it all, and reduce your income tax to 10p. So if you hear the terms Far Infra Red, Reflective, Nano, Eco, Sustainable, Multifoil, Easy, or other such nonsense, laugh at them and walk away. Yes

Well I liked that house in a ruin. I think everyone on here is being a bit harsh, what the two of them achieved through their own hard graft and plucky determination was a massive credit to them. Self builder is a broad church. You have those who 'self build' and sub contract the entire job and at the other end of the spectrum there are those like @pocster, @epsilonGreedy (to name two I know of) and others on here who are balls deep in literally doing it themselves. I'm towards that end of the scale so to see what they achieved I for one am impressed and was happy for them. I thought the roof terrace will be great when finished. Good effort?

I think that timing is optimistic. To do it properly will take longer.

The materials for inscreed Ufh tend to be cheaper than overlay - worth factoring that into your decision

metal ones on top, try and position it so the tile cuts work at the top. bottom is the stickable flashing so have more leeway. I ran a length of 450mm damp under the top and bottom flashing to belt and braces.

I agree, it does look considerably better than the GD house. Greencoat has less thermal shift than zinc, athough it is a thinner material than the optimal type of zinc on facades. Zinc roofing material is usually thinner gauge than what's often used on facades, but only fractionally.

Your's is a world away from the canning on Grand Designs.

Fair enough. I'm probably skewed by the extortionate price per square foot of property where I live. It's so high that whether or not a place has UFH is largely irrelevant. I have mortgaged myself to the hilt for the next 36 years to buy a damp, old, leaky wreck of a place that needs everything doing.