riboid

Hi Ferdinand, We have an MVHR system in place, so that takes care of the cooling, but to to be honest, with the 9.5m expanse of glazing we have up the top storey, the MVHR is incapable of cooling it that much. We have still to install curtains/blinds on the windows/doors upstairs too but that will enable us to control what level of solar gain entry upstairs. We will see how the house performs over the next couple of years and if need be, then I will erect a shade over the upstairs windows/doors but we are hoping that the blinds/curtains will suffice. It is all good learning on how your house actually performs and what you have to do to maximise its potential and increase comfortability. Thanks for replying.

Hi Mike, Thank you for the reply. Yes, it is imposing at the back to be honest and thank you for the warm welcome. In terms of planning, it was very protracted and also a lot of the planners and the building control people said 'we have never really experienced a building of this sort". Now, I am sure they have, but maybe not them personally, so not only was the building an education for ourselves but them too. Even the building warrant inspector was in awe when he visited (grey haired experienced man) as he hadn't saw ICF's prior to this. Orientation wise, the house is south facing, but with a few degrees going west and yes, as you are thinking now, the solar gain potential upstairs (upstairs is living room area, which is open plan 10m x 12m with a plant room, pantry, store room and toilet) is massive, so the cooling is a constant (we have mvhr) topic of discussion. We have went from a hipped roof to a more or less flat roof with a small run off on it. I have the solar panels on there now in the large buckets which are ballasted/weighed down with 100kg of sand in bags (heaven for the pigeons until I install chicken wire). Thanks again, Mike.

Hi all, Just to introduce myself. We are just about to finalise our renovation/extension project in the West End of Glasgow. Detached bungalow which we have pushed out the back 6m and also added another storey to it. The last two years, to be quite frank, have been pretty hellish, not only in terms of financial outlay (budgets - lol, aye ok) but, personal energy investment. I don't think we really realised how big an undertaking it was until one day, standing with my brother in law and we had no roof and it was just basically a shell. My brother in law looked around and went "fk me" and then it kind of hit me, square in the face or what we have taken on! We would have been quicker and cheaper, flattening the house and doing a fresh build but we weren't allowed to do that (a story for another day). Anyway, external wall insulation has just been completed and we are about to to start the roughcasting externally. Because we look at the building everyday we don't kind of realise how impressive it is and its totally out of context with the neighbours single storey 85m2 detached bungalows(we have 18 objection letters from the neighbours and even neighbours as far as 1.5 miles away, councillors, mp's the lot) as ours rises 6.2m at the back (the neighbour calls the wall facing him The Berlin Wall!). I work in the insulation industry but to be honest, I have learned so much more about insulation, insulation u values, lambda values - the works. We have made mistakes yes but fixed them. At the end of the day, we have built a house in which we are only temporary custodians but this house will stand proudly (Berlin Wall-esque) for a long long time and with excellent insulation and air tightness values, solar panel power generation and we are really proud of what we have achieved. Incidentally - never again!