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  1. The timber frame arrived this week from the factory. There was a large crane onsite all day yesterday. Got decent weather, no wind and only a bit wet in the morning. The lads have the walls fully up, 1st floor done and a ridge beam in place. They are starting cutting the roof today as that is built in situ. Really surprising walking around the rooms after looking at drawings for years! The window openings are a LOT bigger than I ever thought though, huge would be the description! Had a lodger arrive already - neighbours cat performing 1st inspection! Thanks to everyone on BuildHub for their support, advice and inspiration from their own experiences to help me get this project off the ground after SO long!!
    7 points
  2. My initial plans were to have rainwater harvesting, build hub taught me no.. so with that scrapped I needed an alternative, soakaways are difficult due to bed rock levels. In addition to this we have lots of run off on the croft, and the track to the house floods. We have already installed a pond for the ducks and this has a large berm to the back and sides so that the runoff is held back and slowly soaks away, but this winter has proved it overflows regularly, that's around 3000L extra. So the plan was to install an overflow pipe from this pond to a new larger pond. The larger pond also acting as rainwater run off capture. The larger pond will have 2 levels, a pond and then an extra layer to act as a overflow that can evaporate and or be pumped to the rubble drain in drier times. I got a big carried away with the backhoe and ended up with around 10M x 8M and over a meter deep. The overflow capacity will be around 30k - 35k L. We had to peck out some of the rock to get depth, and at the front used "as dug" rock from the quarry to form a rough and rugged stone wall, quite in keeping in Caithness. Time will heal the scars and soften the edges with planting. Due to the two levels we came up with the idea of hiding the liner under some camo net, that we intend to plant up in time. Not sure how this will stand the test of time. From the house the rainwater enters a rock filter, an idea loosely based on a post from @ToughButterCup- thanks. From the rock filter we have created a little stream that the rainwater will flow down and into the pond. In addition to this we have a pump that will take the water via a home made skimmer from the pond and filter the water from the pond through the rock filter and stream constantly. This also has a diverter to pump the water past the house and into the field to reduce the overflow capacity in drier times. This is the rock filter, and some of the pipework yet to be buried. Getting to this stage ticked a box for building control as we now handle our run off. We got our completion certificate on the house this week, yeah. There are some things to finish, the second bedroom needs decorating and trim work. And a few small jobs here and there, but in general the house is decorated, and fully functioning. We started the build in earnest around May 23 I think, so quite pleased with the effort and timescale we achieved. It's was built by me and Mandy with the odd person helping with concrete pours. 3 months in summer were busy with the cabin rentals that saw Mandy spend 3-4 hrs a day turning them around for the endless NC500 travellers.šŸ˜ We're embarking on the VAT reclaim soon. To summarise the build: 89sqm True bungalow Floor 0.094U (300mm EPs 120mm concrete) Walls 0.139U ICF with 50mm EWI and 25mm PIR IWI Cold roof 0.1U 25MM PIR 400MM mineral wool. UPVC triple glazed windows and composite doors MVHR, 4kW PV in roof, 5kW ASHP, UFH. EPC A103, Airtightness 0.83 ACH.
    6 points
  3. All the reading of posts on here at the design stage and the hard work implementing the experience of others on your own self build can be summed up / justified with just 1 image. Even when building on a very tight budget. This is my energy usage @ The Windy Roost since we got here. Upto January 24 we were in the static, we were never really warm used Air to Air heatpump for heating, hot water and cooking was LPG. We also had around 4 summer months of our cabins being used, again electricity for heating and cooking, DHW is LPG. The blue line makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. That's our electricity for the self build, a whole house fully electric and blissfully warm with ample DHW. (With some limited cabin usage). To all self builders going through this, it's worth the effortšŸ‘.
    6 points
  4. Works no problem, I even have 300mm pipe spacing, 100mm concrete and again no issue. But they are a bit of a learning curve. Few things I found through experimenting, you need to be aware of. Changing floor temperature and house is quite a long process (many hours), so a normal thermostat is just rubbish and you get big under and over swings. You really need to use a 0.1 Deg hysterisis thermostat. You cannot use room compensation as the algorithms cannot cope with the long reaction times. Don't bother trying to do temperature setbacks, they generally don't work the way you expect. You cannot switch the heating on at work and hope to have a warm house when you get home (unless you do when you arrive at work). There is zero point zoning, run as a single zone. Two options of how to operate, charge the floor and use like a storage heater, or continuously feed the floor at a low temperature. I have done both and they work equally well. 5 degs difference in flow temp is the difference in the two methods. I am on E7 with ASHP, battery and charge the floor at 33 degs (overnight), for between 7 and 12 hrs depending on outside temp, automated with a timer thermostat. Generally it takes another 12 to 18 hrs to cool enough for the heating to come back on again. The wife was quite shocked the other week when it was near freezing outside (6pm) and I told the heating actually went off at about 10am and was not coming back on until after midnight. You can't do that with 50mm screed.
    6 points
  5. Apart from the ā€œpicture from the moundā€ timelapse blog entry, thereā€™s not been much of an update since mid September 2022. So, get your preferred hot drink (maybe a SteamyTea), and settle back for the next instalment. Where were we? SWMBO was still in recovery from her foot infection - you remember? The one that might have killed her? The second floor ICF had been installed, and the concrete poured. Iā€™m still going to spare you any pictures of the foot, but here is a concrete pump truck instead. So, next on the list - a roof please. But before that, the final steel beams had to be installed [FX - thumbs twiddling in the foreground and whistling can be heard as we wait for the steelworker once again], but it wasnā€™t too long a wait, and by mid October 2022 we had the beams installed. In late October and early November I set to work with the ground worker to do some backfilling, and of course on the days I chose to have the digger onsite, Cornwall delivered some of its traditional autumnal weather so any attempt to properly compact anything was nigh on futile. In the meantime, more joists, endless sheets of T&G OSB, vapour barrier, 160mm deep sheets of PIR insulation, and some of the biggest screws are readied for ordering. The joists arrived in and in early December I had my supervisor and client (SWMBO) back on site šŸ™‚, and she has graduated to being a mountain goat. She now refers to the site as her "happy place", even though we have a strong suspicion that the infection was started by a visit to a local beach. By mid April, with help from some now local family members, weā€™d installed the roof joists, and in mid May we were ready to start boardinā€™, vapour barrierinā€™, and insulatinā€™. The GRP was installed in mid July 2022 (by others). Iā€™d also been readying the Great West Wall (GWW) to have the triple glazed sliding doors and windows installed (by others), and this took place in mid August, just in time for my significant birthday. There were some fitting errors, but I have to take my hat off to the installation company, they have been back to rectify their work, and have supported me with making the suppliers change some of the sliding door fittings as they were just not correct despite their protestations. In October, we had the mains electric and meter moved from their temporary location to inside the house. Over the ensuing autumn and winter months, weā€™ve been installing some of the final internal partition walls, running water pipes, installing more insulation around the GWW windows, and recently started on the ventilation ducting following some core drilling being undertaken (Tip: always ask for a hole to be drilled that is about 10mm bigger than you need - expanding foam is your friend. I donate my scar tissue to you all šŸ˜‚) In December, I got made redundant. No worries, this may actually be a blessing in disguise. Next up on the list: Finish ventilation system Finish insulating the GWW Finish backfilling Electrics Floors Walls ASHP and HWC Kitchen Bathrooms The remaining plumbing Outer wall coverings But, in the meantime, we have the small matter of our daughterā€™s wedding. DOES SHE NOT KNOW WEā€™RE TRYING TO BUILD A HOUSE!? (Time to end: 2 years šŸ™‚ )
    6 points
  6. This week the roof was cut in. Can see the spaces for the Velux rooflights and get a different picture of the inside - the vaulted ceilings in the rear living area in particular. The builder recommended a ceiling in the upstairs bedrooms at around the 3 meter / 9 foot mark which is high enough even if you're bouncing on the bed! Still leave a bit of space for storage so may leave a small hatch and floor this area after setting it up. It's a warm roof so this is all conditioned space. Next week they'll add OSB and Solitex WA, then baton and counter baton and that's them finished! The roofer is due in after Easter to install the tiles and the Velux will go in sometime then also. There is also an AEV for venting the soil pipe to install. There's a ventilated ridge, and other details that will be interesting to see installed. Should stop ice dams forming! Big decision point is around the rear picture window - it's to be metal clad. There is the option of adding additional insulation on the outside and then stud work for the ventilation behind the steel cladding or just insulate internally only. Also the roof of this feature needs to be worked out. Some drain to the back of the house but that needs a gutter. Most drain towards the house which I didn't realise and the water channels to either side. This junction has to be perfect or it ensures rain ingress. There's a good local team recommended by the builder so I've left word and hope they'll get in touch next week so they can build out the 7 degree backward slope needed for the roof of this area. There is a lot of metal posts in the house which worry me but I had a few hours onsite today to take my time and see if it's something to worry about or not. The contact area with the foundation or wall are very small so there may be cold spots but I feel for a first attempt, the detailing is sufficient. I just didn't realize how decisions about moving walls etc impacted structural changes until I saw them onsite. Decisions made years ago haunting me a bit, but I can live it! It's still a wonderful house. The next two will be better!! The air tightness will be a challenge but I got some samples of Tapes, Gutex and Phonotherm I plan to use by driving to the company I'm buying them off and seeing their warehouse up front. I hope to entice one of their technical guys onsite for an hour to get their advice on a few things. I expect a detailed post at a future date to address this. Lots to think about. I plan on using Moy Metac in the timber frame wall - 220mm worth. The frames are mostly at 600mm centers. I'd calculated I'd need 43 rolls off the plans but now looking like 53 when I did a quic calc onsite. They do a roll that is exactly 220mm deep and 1200mm wide so plan to cut in 1/2 and it should press fit in the space nicely. I could do this before the windows and doors arrive, just need to find a good price! And hope it isn't swiped! Windows to be measured either next week or 2 weeks later due to builders holidays. Delivery 9-10 weeks after that. Bricklayer, still chasing quotes! Hope to get that done Late April / Early May. Waiting on council to approve brick style as the plain red in the estate isn't to my taste, I've gone for a blend of brown, red and beige. As a project there's a LOT to think about, decisions to be made and money to be managed! Spending is SO easy, tracking it and keeping in budget not so much!!
    4 points
  7. Many thanks to those whoā€™ve contributed to this thread. Iā€™ve just replaced the bearings in my Vent Axia Kinetic MHVR following the directions above. Unit is 6 years old and had become more noisy with some louder squeaking which sounded like a bearing being tortured. I encountered two issues: when disconnecting the motor cover the circuit board was left on the motor - there are a number of pins connecting it to the motor holding it in place, though was fairly easy to lift off and carefully put to one side. The second was that the bearings were a different size than those above! Iā€™ve shown the motor number and bearing measurements from my unit, so a bit of a setback though quick enough to come from Bearing King - I ordered some high efficiency SKF bearings, more expensive though still only Ā£24 for four. Enclosed are some photos of the process - including one of the poor old bearing that had clearly failed (one of the motors was much less free spinning than the other). While I had the unit off the wall, we took the opportunity to clean the vent pipes using a pull tape and home made microfibre ā€œsweepā€ - photo included for those interested.
    4 points
  8. I think it has dramatically improved productivity. EG getting the same job done with less time and less people. Take an average DIY project. We get inspiration from something like Pinterest or Instagram Vs trekking to a library to borrow a specific book. Then we research how it's done on youtube and Buildhub. Avoiding many of the pitfalls of doing it the wrong way and wasting loads of time through trial and error or asking our 1 mate who has tried it before. The I draw it up on my laptop in SketchUp, make a Google sheets doc for the quantities. Try calculating by hand the amount of OSB to sheath an awkward roof VS just clicking on the surfaces in 3d model and you'll soon see how much time it saves. We order materials from Screwfix and the merchants on our phones, pay with cards and they magically appear the follow day. No need to take time off out day job. Before we'd have needed to drive into town, go to the bank, withdraw cash, visit the BM, load it all into a trailer and haul it home. Then look at all the amazing things that weren't available to my grandfather at an affordable price that massively speed up building and often enable a job to be done safely by one person. Here's a few I use that springs to mind. 1. Cordless electric tools. Take on a 9*3 a few times with a hand saw and then tell me technology hasn't improved things. 2. Cable ties 3. My mobile phone. I use it for everything. From all the above bits up to "walkie talkie"ing my wife to flick a remote switch or valve while I investigate the other end. 4. Laser levels. 5. Modern adhesives, tapes and expanding foams. 6. Cheap safety equipment like gloves, disposable overalls, dust masks, goggles and hearing protection keep guys out of the sick bed and in work every day of the week. 7. Cherry pickers Vs ladders 8. Cement mixers. 9. Volumetric concrete lorrys. 10. Conputer designed roof trusses. 11. Cranes, including those wonderful truck mounted remote control ones. 12. eBay gumtree etc allow me to afford stuff like ASHPs at a cheap price. 13. Led Headtorches
    4 points
  9. Having now lived several years in a near passive house with it's low heating bills and constant comfortable internal temperature, my view of old houses like this has changed considerably. To properly upgrade it will cost a LOT of money. You either upgrade it, or pour lots of money into it every year in heating. I firmly believe that the market value of old inefficient properties like this should be much lower than a well performing house, to reflect either the high heating bills or the work needed to upgrade it. I am not saying don't buy it, but buy it with your eyes open, and I hope you are not the one owning it when the market finally wakes up and people realise poor performing houses really are worth less.
    4 points
  10. Kitchen and utility room finished. I need to fit the overflow for the utility room as it wasnā€™t in the pack and fit some black laminate tape to the top and bottom of the cookers as the light grey carcass stands out like a sore thumb. The sink drawer unit has been a pia but I managed to get the kitchen manufacturer to make me two short drawers and I cut out the back of the top drawer to get it to go past the sink. Feels a bit bodgy but it works and looks fine. Iā€™ve made a bit of an arse of the Quooker plumbing insofar that the flex bit doesnā€™t really work as the weight is fouling the other hoses. Iā€™m not entirely sure I can fix it to be much better. A job for another day. Main thing is we have hot and cold water in the house now.
    4 points
  11. My DIY H or C manifold under test using my DIY tester at 2.5 bar
    4 points
  12. By way of 2016-17 prices, our village plot was worth about Ā£150-200K, bought-ins about Ā£350K, labour and profession fees save by our contribution maybe another Ā£120K giving an effective total of Ā£650K which was about what roughly comparable houses were selling for in a village setting at the time. OK, splitting the plot off probably lost us only about Ā£50K off the selling price of our old farmhouse. We have no CiL then and saved on stamp duties so probably saved ourselves maybe Ā£250K on buying a "comparable" previously built house in the area. Except of course that you could buy a passive-class house and certainly not the exact spec that we wanted nor to the build standard that we actually achieved. There were some major cost elements imposed by the LPA, e.g. local stone exterior skin, and natural slate roof, that added to our bought-ins. At today's prices we would probably be looking at Ā£750-800K to do a custom build to this spec. Can I suggest that it might be worth looking at an MBC twinwall TF build as an alternative to ICF at least for the main living space? Their warm slab and TF design patterns have been well tuned to a passive-class standard over more than a decade's refinement. I agree that if you've run your own building company, then you and whoever else in your family that worked in it will have lots of relevant experience, and you will have many areas of expertise in-house that you can either use directly or to enable a decent level of quality control. One thing that many here evangelise is achieving a passive class build as this has major running cost savings, as well a far more comfortable living environment. We are in our early 70s now, so we appreciate this as we age. We keep our entire house at 21-23 Ā°C (the first floor bedrooms are a couple of degrees cooler than the ground floor) 24 Ɨ 7, and really miss this when we visit our children and other relatives. I personally would recommend that you or one of your close family really gets their head around the implications of building to passive class: where the heat goes and (through solar gain) where it comes in. Relevant contributions of: slab losses, external walls, roof, fenestration, air exchanges. Get a good feel for the impact of U values and how these reflect unit costs and performance; air-tightness and air exchange losses, and so on. You will need to make various trade-offs to optimise costs vs achievement off your overall spec, and you or someone you really trust has to make these decisions. Achieving this class of house requires an attention to detail both in design and in construction. It is not unusual for two houses with the same nominal as-designed spec to vary in as-built performance by a factor of 2. An example "close to home" is that my daughter's living room is impossible to heat economically: the large panel of bifold doors leading onto the garden have a poor U-value and leak terribly; areas of wall and ceiling insulation are missing. You haven't mentioned your age, but I infer that you are getting close to retirement and therefore this will be your property "to retire into", so living comfort will be important. You've mentioned a gym and workshop but what you have mentioned in bridging space to the exterior: a conservation or atrium. I am not talking about the 5 Ɨ 4m bolt on the side of an existing property, but in your case you have lots of area to include a decent spacious environment that to could properly integrate into the building fabric, and that could connect you to the garden. OK, not needed in the summer where you are planning to build, but this could extend you comfortable "outside-ish" space for another 3-4 months of the year. BTW, even Nick (@SteamyTea) would admit to being a tad irascible at times; yes, he is also very particular about units, dimensions etc., because the implications of kW vs kWh, etc. are a lot more than a little "h". He is also well respected for his contributions here by the forum regulars. šŸ™‚
    4 points
  13. Hire a Spit nail gun. Will make clipping / mechanical fixings a doddle. No more drill / plug / screw etc.
    4 points
  14. But the principles apply. Play with them. Avoid their gimmicks for the last 1/2% improvement, and other fads. A lot of people on here have aimed for 'close to passivhaus' standard, in their own terms. In my opinion. Low and slow ashp, with the units positioned for aesthetics. No windmills. Consider future solar panels, by putting a cable duct in. But mostly, quality design detailing and construction, which trump everything else and are hard to achieve, so read other people's issues on BH for what to look for.
    4 points
  15. Around 11 months ago, we started from a stripped site, the treatment plant was in and running the cabins / static so drainage just required connecting up. we had to wait for the warrant to be amended (change to the certificate of deign) this held us back ma month or so until the BCO just said "get on with it, we can sort that later"- top guy!! If we had waited for the amended certificate of design we would still be building, it took him 5 months to get it to us. I've documented most of the build in blogs on here, partly to have a refence to remember the process, partly as pay back to Buildhub for the inspiration and pointers in the planning / design stage. I'm so glad I spent hours looking at and reading others blogs that we made the switch to ICF. I'm convinced there is no way I would have achieved the efficiency I have for the money spent. Budget was always tight, so some decisions have been made due to Hobson's choice, leading to triple glazed UPVC windows and composite doors. The front door, south facing GRP Composite with low threshold and a slim glass panel leaks with 40mph winds, this leaks through the gazing cassette, and the low threshold. as I know we wont use this door much, we went for a slam lock, another mistake, it blows a gale through. To be fair the company are re making, I'm just not sure if there re-making the panel or the full door, I did ask, if they were remaking the full door to change to standard handle and lock, so it can be adjusted to minimise the drafts. we will see what happens, a full door replacement will mean taking off the reveals in side so a complete PITA, but worth it for no drafts. We had the airtightness test carried out, and they used the front door for the blower door to mitigate any issues with that door. I had put caps in the MVHR. so he just cracked on, the back door is not perfect again due to the low threshold. He didn't seal the blower door to the frame, not sure what the procedure is but seemed a little frustrating. We achieved 0.88 Air permeability, which I'm very happy with, budget wise we didn't spend hundreds on airtightness tape, just designed good solutions, and the doors leak a bit . Our As built EPC came back at A103 , with a possibility of A128.. the report say A105 if we install Thermal Solar EST saving of Ā£40 pa , and A128 with a wind turbine EST saving of Ā£1100 pa, so pretty much the best we could hit. To finish we need to sort out some paths outside, ramp, and the rain water pond, but other than the second bedroom need decorating the house is done. Next week we will hopefully get building control around to see what he 'needs' to get a completion cert. I'm hoping for some flexibility on the ramp and pond, . We need the VAT refund to pay for this stuff. We are working our way through the invoices, but we built for less the 90K and we still need the VAT refund. I've enjoyed it all, and we both agree we have a home. Good luck to all of you with your current builds.
    4 points
  16. I'm not an electrician or anything so I can't comment other than to say that with option two you need two additional junction boxes so more places for things to go wrong. Easier if the cabling comes off the sockets so you can access it more easily to check for problems in future.
    4 points
  17. Yes get your shower tray in and protected
    3 points
  18. I worked on a PH project last year (south of England) where the clients decided against any heating and it's been on an ongoing effort to retrofit it ever since. They also based the decision on talking to other people that live in Passivhauses and claim they only turn on the heating twice a year. Be very wary of those sort of claims: the people making them are often highly invested (financially and emotionally) to push the performance of their building. Also just because one PH building does not need active heating it means nothing for the next. ASHP is a bit of a red herring. The question is, do you need heating, and if so where and how much, and then ASHP is one possible solution to that. What is the max heating load and annual heating demand in your PHPP model? This is key. The project I mentioned before had a heating load of 3kW. This can be provided by a plugin 3kW heater - but then they baulked at having 3kW heater on 24/7 through the cold parts of winter (Ā£25 per day). Mains gas or a heat pump are the options to reduce that cost.
    3 points
  19. Where they are not installed correctly for a passive house. Bollocks. Because people here have proved they work if designed properly šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø(I know mine did).
    3 points
  20. Yup. Cheaper than shoplifting. ASHP is a no brainer if you can, otherwise (as itā€™s an attic essentially) then A2A air con for heat and cool. Average CoP north of 3. Air conditioning in an office in a loft in the summer will be heavenly, and I doubt it would be otherwise survivable. Windows wide open / drafts / noise etc isnā€™t always practical in an office, unless itā€™s in the middle of nowhere and deadly quiet? Iā€™d sack the UFH off and go A2A.
    3 points
  21. I have always held the view an electric boiler is a solution looking for something to solve. If you are going to heat the house with electric resistance heating, just fit individual panel heaters, controlable room by room. An electric boiler just adds complications and cost to achieve the same aim (if you are lucky) of heating the house by direct electric resistance heating.
    3 points
  22. Depends where you are and your climate (you price in ā‚¬ as the only clue to your location) Under floor heating from an Air Source Heat Pump will be the cheapest "electric" heating. Roughly 1/3 the cost of direct electric heating. And it can heat your hot water as well.
    3 points
  23. It's the "system" built up around the BUS grant that forces a cartel to charge as they please. Perhaps the journalists would do better if they looked at an installation in detail, costed the equipment supplied, noted how many people and how long it took then ask "so how can you be charging Ā£4K for 2 man days work"? (for example)
    3 points
  24. cheapest is definably solar, heat pump and an eddi diverter. As for capital cost, buy a 5k kitchen instead of a 25k kitchen. Same reasoning.
    3 points
  25. If it's a summer house with sofa beds which are very occasionally used, who'd know? who'd care?
    3 points
  26. I wouldnā€™t do that as it could cause you different problems. Figure out how to fix the problems you have. Itā€™s all doable with a bit of thought, care, and the right products.
    3 points
  27. Plan for ZERO holes in the membrane. I did this by. 1. Running a service cavity below the membrane, making everything go in here. 2. Put plywood where ever you need to penetrate and tape the membrane to that. Use the ONE WIRE for ONE HOLE mantra. I even drilled the holes and labelled them for the electrician. 3. That left a very simple set of instructions for the electrician. Don't ever make a hole in the membrane, only in the ply. ONE WIRE per ONE HOLE If there's any accidental holes just tell me. There will be no bollockings, no scolding, no problem. Just tell me and I'll fix it.
    3 points
  28. Right, so I was able to test to 6 bar using the pump I had. I now have two sealed manifolds ready. I guess the next test will be when I connect them up to the mains in a few months time. Thank you to everyone for your input. PS, I am a convert to the liquid sealant which worked first time on the joint I was having problems with. (High-Tech 35 S 77 PTFE Sealant for Gas and Liquid WRA compliant from my local (non-chain) plumbers merchant)
    3 points
  29. Welcome, I am probably one of the few people with a similar sized house on the forum. I think this is quite a general discussion and if you want advice on anything specific such as ICF then it is probably best to create a specific post referencing that. This kind of intro post is likely to become quite rambling. To some extent you are really building three houses which makes things more manageable, but I would not underestimate the costs and time require to maintain such a large building. I would maybe try and decide this within the family before going ahead. There is always something breaking, not working as expected, needing replaced etc. it takes up a lot of time and money. Think of the maintenance on 10 standard three bed houses. How will it be owned, costs apportioned etc. My house is around 1000sq metres including the integral garage. It cost around Ā£2m to build 8-6 years ago. We just finished a smaller house for my parents last year and it cost around twice as much per square metre. I would be quite concerned that your budget is low and already seems tight. In my experience I got constant questions from the architect and builder over the course of construction. The questions always went along the lines of we can do A that costs X or B that costs 2X. 9/10 B was the right decision. It would get very stressful if the budget was tight.
    3 points
  30. Should be 2 layers of 15mm pink fireline board with staggered joints. Mounted on resiliant bars for reduced noise. Was there any insulation in there that came down with the ceiling that might not have been replaced?
    3 points
  31. About a quarter of me has some sympathy for the domestic heating industry. For decades they have been able to get away with just shoving in a 28kW boiler to serve a typical 8kW load, leave it set to the defaults, put trvs on unbalanced oversized radiators, and it all works as far as the customer is concerned. Granted it doesn't condense as it should, and the thermal gradients (in both time and space) are higher than they need to be, so its both less efficient and less comfortable than it could be, but energy was cheap and the customer is used to thermal gradients so doesn't care as long as they are warm. Better still they can sell lots of 'intelligent' upgrades which purport to save money but probably save much less than would be saved by setting the system up optimally. Then two things happen. Energy prices rocket and there is a push to switch to a new technology which means you actually need to think about the sizing, radiator balancing and sundry other variables, and worst of all the customer now cares about and is conscious of the efficiency. Its a massive shift, perhaps it's not entirely surprising that the industry has struggled. OK that's the quarter of me that has sympathy. The remaining three quarters says that the industry should, by now, have recognised this and managed the situation properly and more fairly and openly to the customer. On fairness many appear to have done so, but it also appears that others have not.
    3 points
  32. I can highly recommend https://themetalroofcompany.co.uk/ They tend not to sell direct, but will put you in touch with a local installer. I bought all mine from them but actually did the installation myself in the end due to the compexities of the install. However, they did put me in touch with a local one man band who priced the main roof without any penetrations and simply verge details at about Ā£65/sqm with me supplying the scaffolding and doing some manual labour - this was at the height of Covid. However, once I decided wanted single welted verge detail to follow the curve of my roof and didn't want long flat panels along our deep eaves (due to total roof thickness), I ended up on my own. Your price will be higher due to the complexities of detailing around your roof penetrations, hips and valleys, as they can impact the whole layout of your trays and their machined widths. So what might appear to be a simple roof might not be that simple for standing seam installation. I've attached examples from the Federation of Traditional Metal Roofing Contractors guide below. This is part of my roof which was over 140sqm of steel in the end.
    3 points
  33. 3 points
  34. There is no easy way to command the ASHP to start up heating DHW when there is surplus PV, and in any case on a partly cloudy day PV production can go up and down in quantity very rapidly as clouds come and go. Yes the immersion is a COP of 1, but the energy it is using if "free" and not using it, it gets exported and wasted (at best paid at a low export rate if you are able) so better to use it than lose it. The PV diverter responds very quickly to peaks and troughs in the PV generation
    3 points
  35. I entered this thanks to a poke from @MikeSharp01. What @NailBiter is going through now is a journey that we started back in later 2013, with us moving into our new build in Dec 2017, a 3-storey passive-class (almost) house were we live on floors 0+1 and my son has bedsit style area in the warm loft on 2. This is about a quarter of what NB is planning. We've been living in the place for over 6 years, and we are still amazed at how well it has all turned out in terms of performance as built against design expectation, and also in terms of its extreme durability and ease of maintenance. We build on a split plot by selling the other Ā½ with its 17-19C stone farmhouse. We saved a lot of money by doing a lot of the design, procurement and internal trades ourselves. So the entire process was extremely profitable My rule was only to take on tradework where our standard of build / finish would be at least as good as we could get from local tradesmen, and since we kept a very tight control on compliance and quality, the overall build standard is consistently high. Overall we put in over 3 person-years of equivalent effort. This was a big percentage (effort and therefore saving) of a 230m2 build, though it took us years to recover from putting in this effort and the general strain/stress. Our sort of input just wouldn't dent a 1,200 m2 build. You are going to have to rely on buying in at a realistic commercial rate a far larger percentage of trades and professional services. Also guessing your extended family size, I suspect you have an expectation of a lifestyle, per-person use and general quality of finish that is also on a different level from what most members here aim for. I make this comment with no criticism intended, but more of a level-set from my experience and costs at 2015-2017 prices: my instinct is that you are at least 100% out on your budget expectations. I would strongly suggest that you have the entire project plan and scope independently reviewed and costed by an experienced quantity surveyor: your overall project scope needs to be realistically matched to your finances, as there is not point in running out of cash with a half built project. I have a few technical comments, but I will defer them to later posts.
    3 points
  36. 3 points
  37. @phykell thanks for recommending my Permitted Development videos. In a previous life I did some planning consultancy, submitting appeals on dubious planning decisions. Nowadays I lurk on BuildHub when not progressing my own selfbuild
    3 points
  38. Me. Please don't do that. Erector. If I was going to fall off, I would have died years ago. Me to HSE: I want to use fall nets. HSE: They are a continental idea and we don't allow them. The erectors must shuffle along and hook themselves* to the structure. Now? At least the rules are clear, albeit costly. * that's a slow (15 mins?) way to die of blood blockage, hanging in a harness, unless there is a mewp to get you down.
    3 points
  39. I would take a blend of both. There are a lot of very well versed individuals on this forum, and I for one have zero ā€˜credentialsā€™ to relate to building a certified passivhaus. However, I recently engaged with a PH certified architect, 25 years of PH design experience, and I got my design in at 88% efficient vs his 87%. He asked me a lot of questions, I gave very robust and reasonable replies, he conceded and the client then changed the MVHR design (well, the entire MEP design) and supplier on my say-so (and agreed to accept theyā€™d lost Ā£1k on the 1st design deposit). A PH certified home builder now builds differently, after 30 years of PH experience, after meeting me and hearing how I have approached creating homes that consider M&E etc and how weā€™ve integrated things on other clients previous builds. In terms of qualifications, I have a clean driver license, thatā€™s it. But I do have bucketloads of tenacity, a passion for what I do, and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Most of the stuff Iā€™ve learned has come from exchanges here, with invaluable input, argument, reason, and real-life data (thereā€™s a HUGE amount of it here if you want to spend some time digging). One PH certified architect overlooked insulation in the foundations (šŸ˜®), also didnā€™t have any clue about MVHR or space heating. Credentials coming out of every orifice, none that they understood or practiced well afaic. šŸ’© Iā€™d rethink your confidence in ā€˜all that glittersā€™, as only a select few turn out to be goldā€¦ but I certainly do hope you have some of the best at hand. Youā€™ll need it, as thereā€™s a LOT to correlate and execute correctly at yours.
    3 points
  40. Iā€™ve wet dashed ours with K Dash Ive several pumps that spray the dash but my wife wanted it more random Like I used to do 30 years back in the Lake District White cement Silver sand 3-1-1 The silicone renders keep there colour better
    3 points
  41. i understand this but one thing i've learnt (and there have been many!) during my journey is that not all 'accredited' professionals are created equal. nothing beats getting the opinions of others (even if they are complete strangers on the internet) as they generally do not have any sort of vested interest in the questions you're asking or solutions you're trying to find. and then you can compare the answers and make an informed decision. Also there are many ways to skin a cat. and just because someone says one way is best doesn't mean there isn't another way that is equally as good. just my 2 cents.
    3 points
  42. I am curious. You've had plans drawn up, commissioned a builder and started work. Why did you conclude that it wouldn't need PP? I am assuming that you have read the "Permitted development rights for householders, Technical Guidance" before starting the development (I see that @joe90 has already given you the link.) As far as I can see, the PD limit for an infill extension is 8m not 10m. You've also got the side elevation within 300mm of the curtilage and added two fenestration openings directly overlooking the neighbour. IMO, stop and start talking to the planners.
    3 points
  43. My house (EPC A rated) has done nearly 60 years so far. Stick built. Rgds Damon
    3 points
  44. Finished the Kore Passive Raft Foundation this week. Just in time as it's currently sleeting it down out there! Cold enough to make a pour more difficult. they set in a 70mm rebate for the lift & slide door and also cut out the kore to let the concrete out to the edge (up to shuttering) for a steel post to carry the blockwork over the two corner windows. We'll insulate around that later. the Kore went in really fast, then rebar, ductwork for the kitchen island and getting it finished before more cold weather kicked in. It rained just after lunchtime which slowed down the curing. But really pleased with progress and we're ready for the timber frame next!
    3 points
  45. We are right on the border between Dorset and Devon so possibly even closer to you. If I'm not a divorcee living in a box I'll invite you round when done. This house is being built for 3 generations of both my partners family and my family (5 people, extra on the way) and includes an Annexe, a Flat and what we call the Winter Garden which links the two buildings (building A: house, building B: flat and annexe). Large yes but I believe excusably so (the architect politely disagrees). The workshop, courtyard and the garage are about 200 m2 of that too. The combined building is a rectangle that is 42m long, 10m wide and it gets thinner as it goes up. The basement is 500m2. We have planning and we have gentlemen on site forming the access route. Geotech drilling round 2 is currently ongoing fingers crossed for a good result. Planning required a ratcheting approach that took 3 permission across as many years. I didn't want to leave too much to chance and didn't want a refusal. Why not build something smaller and extend: 1. CIL costs would apply to any extension but not the initial build. This is a not insignificant saving of something like Ā£200,000 for the whole build. 2. The site is beautiful and I want to get it landscaped before completely the entire building beyond first fix (we don't need all the space yet). 3. With inflation nothing is getting cheaper, we had a windfall and we don't want money losing value in the bank. 4. Due to the layout of the building (flat, annexe, winter garden, house, 1st floor house south, 1st floor house north) it is easy to take on piecemeal. 5. My family ran a small building company but this is far beyond our capabilities. Once we are water tight we are back inside our comfort zone. 6. VAT exemptions provide further savings. The goal is to try and get substructure and superstructure finished externally inside of about Ā£1 million to 1.5 million. After that I will be starting to run out of money so need to prioritise carefully and not give up my day job! I really don't mind if I'm still plodding on this project in 10 years time as long as my (extended) family are happy and comfortable.
    3 points
  46. Final two photo's 8053 is the steel, sorry it was getting dark when I rembered to take this. Layer of A393 mesh in bottom and top with a further layer of A393 min 1.0 m wide around the upper perimeter (we just used the 1.4m offcuts from the main mesh). A couple of embedded beams using 16mm bars where the main load bearing walls are. 8059 is the finished raft with a muddy surface due to the state of the ground whilst the rain water drainage was being done. I'll power wash it off before the frame arrives.
    3 points
  47. im doing this, Cotswold stone cut down to form a stone slip.
    3 points
  48. Woodcrete ICF, used exterior quality tile cement and real stone slips direct to the ICF. Photos were taken a couple of years apart.
    3 points
  49. Got the Reliance valves yesterday, and found something not in the description - the indicator can be flipped over for hot outlets šŸ˜€. Obviously not on the same manifold. Picture for reference only šŸ˜‰
    3 points
  50. As I've said several times, as have others, the pullout isn't a problem but the rotation and aluminium hardness might be. I'm not saying it again and will drop out of the conversation.
    3 points
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