Roger440

Proving, as is often the case, that FENSA is just bollocks. Just a license to use squirty foam. I did consider becoming FENSA registered, so i could do my own windoes, properly, but they appear to have made it more difficult.

This isnt necessarily true. As i found out when selling a house. Accepting different councils may do different things, Buckinghamshire do NOT record or log ANY work done under an approved contractor scheme. Nor do the keep or log certificates issued by private building control. When asked by the buyers solicitor to provide evidence of the cert for my garage, and FENSA for doors and windows, i, naturally, like everyone else, thought i could get these from the council. Well you cant. After a long conversation, they conceeded that they just bin them. They subsequently confirmed in writing they dont log or record such things. They only record stuff signed off by council BCo's. Took some extracting though! I had to purchase indemnity insurance to satisfy the purchaser. Found the damned things a couple of years later! So if you dont keep them yourself, its very much possible to say you cant find them. How will anyone prove different?

Unless your walls are made of sponge, moisture wont rise 3m. Around about 1m is normal. Id suggest you have some issue from above as well as below. Im going to guess no DPC given the age. And gypsum plastrer inside, and cement render outside?

Im all for challenging stuff. Which is why i asked what you did instead. Once my house is sufficently air tight, then i will need to do something. However MVHR is certainly not my preferred option. Its complicated, difficult to retrofit, and needs maintenance. And costs power to run. And makes noise. Some time ago someone posted "passive stack ventilation" for example. I liked that as it simple. Is it effective? No idea.

Thats the thing. Its entirely random. No way of knowing how diligent, helpful or difficult they will be. Just that less likely to be helpful post regs change. As has been posted elsewhere. I refuse to have trickle vents, and so am expecting conflict there if i went with BC.

So what do you do instead of MVHR?

Ive not concluded engaging a BC is a good idea, so havn't decided.Not keen on council people "coming round" generally. Traditionally private = lax. Not sure that still the same, lots have ceased trading under the new regs as it seems they may be subject to at least a small degree of oversight. I used private when i built a garage at my first house. The council BCO wanted 3m trench foundations for a lightweight steel building, which meant cutting the tree roots and thus destabilising them. He said that didnt matter, only compliance did. Moron. I got a private one and did a raft instead.

Well thats one way i suppose. But im not sure that is an excuse, should enforcement take place. It does appear to be a gaping hole in the system though. Where the cert is issued by the installer such as a FENSA installer, if i dont keep the record, then there is no record.

Agreed, im not going to make it worse, but i will, probably make it better. By some small amount. Infiltration will remain significant after said installation. However, from your posting, i dont see how i demonstrate that the infiltration is adequate to meet the requirements. So, as always we return to "some subjectiveness". Maybe the BCO will look around and say, yes, obviously, ventilation isnt any issue here, because a cursory examination tells you that. Or he may ask me to demonstrate it, in which case a world of pain and expense descends on me. Which i may not be able to do myself.

Normally my preferred option. Just that under the new regs its up to 10 years for retospective enforcement, punishable by fines or jail time. Its also easy to prove as google streetview will do that for them. Previously, there was, to all intents, no enforcement. I shall probably not involve them. Its adds nothing but cost and complication to the job.

Im inclined to agree with Mike and jfb. Id not go NHL5 as its got mud in the wall. NHL5 is nearly as impermeable as what you are taking off. You could of course get some or the original motar out and get it analysed.

Likewise. However, its the obvious solution to minmising intrusive work in a house thats being lived in, as well as reducing costs. Logic suggests this will be quite common. However, more of a concern is the controls. Why, why, why does it need to be dependant on the internet to work. Just no. Id predict this level of of electronic complexity is going to bite Octupus in the backside. Hard. They didnt even get past the first day of operation without having to replace the white controller box thing.

Good stuff. Keeping the internet away from systems in the house is key for me. Have you ever posted a schematic or similar of your complete set up? Id love to get my head round it, as you seem to have all the sensible things i consider important, without needless crap.

Thanks for the info, most useful. The trickle vent thing is where i suspect ill get tripped up. Im not sure they are going to accept the draughts and lack of air tightness elsewhere in the house as suitable ventilation? Longer term as i sort the rest of the house out, i will then need to consider ventilation, but thats years away. Once you involve them, its rather difficult to uninvolve them. If they insist on trickle vents, then i have to have them. And thats not happening. Much to ponder.

Theres lots of good ideas in this tread, and a handful of crazy ones. Everyone is welcome to discuss these forever, which is all very nice. But their relationship to the real world is tenous at best. Im not actally sure i see much benefit in discussing what are in many cases, fantasy, however well intentioned, from a practical perspective. The real world exists as it is. I find it more useful to consider the real world, rather the the world as you might wish it to be.. As your post is a direct pop at me, maybe ill step out, despite actually suggesting real world practical solutions. Never mind.

Well, i could. But, and i dont really know, as im replacing the windows, will i not need to do some sort of assesment as its a thermal element? I also dont want to get tangled up in nonsense about trickle vents. Im not having any. I really dont want to get involved in paying for reports just to give to the inspector. Nor do i have a a clear idea what the duty holder roles entail.

Thanks They triple is 40mm and U 0.70. Punching some examples in seems quite sensible.

Dont mention the ferries! And definitely dont mention port issues. Sadly proves my point yet again.

I couldnt find the depth. Thanks. They seem to be well thought of. Expensive as you observe. I think i need to stick to UPVC for this. Cant have timber as ill spend my life maintaining them here.

Thanks. Will give them a tinkle. I probably need to fit them myself, as i need to do remedial work to the reveal as i want to move them further inward. Means no FENSA cert, but will gloss over that, even with the threat of 2 years jail time under the new regs!

Proving my point once again.

I get all that, i know more about it than i want to. But it is a demonstration of a government run project. And its a small trifling one compared to what Ed has planned. And you think it can go any other way than badly? A bilion or so here and there isnt much to get worked up about on projects like this. But its going to be more than 100 billion over budget. You can do a lot with 100 billion. Its just not sustainable.

Exactly what i was going to say! But i think anyone could have guessed that.

Can you refer me to some succesful government infrastructure projects? Say, in the last 10 years. I can think of one. HS2. What an utter shambles. Assuming its ever finished, its going to be at least five times over budget, and wont deliver half what was planned. And never mind the sheer cost of building it to a bigger gauge for bigger trains. Which now wont be built, because the trains will now have to use the exsisting infrastructure, so will be conventional size. With HS2 it goes on, and on, and on. I do agree with you, that the core services of the nation should be government run, but the damage is done, and is, without a huge long term program of building back up the institutions, impossible to recover

You do keep avoiding the thorny issue of how, whatever you do, is funded? An easy first step is to unpeg renewable costs. Simple. Could be done tommorow. But it wont be, nor next week, or next year, or during my lifetime probably. Making mad money is way more important than worrying about climate change. As i keep saying, no one in authority is serious. Self enrichment comes first. Regardless of anything else, electricity needs to come down, not putting up gas.