Dreadnaught

A new idea. In the the latest House-Planning-Help podcast (HPH280), John Bootland (the boss of the Passive House Trust) mentions putting a little radiator near the front door to give a feeling or warmth as you enter. Interesting idea; never heard it mentioned before. Here is the clip (24:35): https://overcast.fm/+NC20Ux5Q/24:35 And the podcast: https://www.houseplanninghelp.com/hph280-a-beginners-guide-to-the-passivhaus-standard-with-jon-bootland/

Welcome to BuildHub, Matt. Airtight on the outside. Interesting approach. Touchwood Homes does that. But most systems have the airtight layer on the inside. I am currently using a timber-frame designer in Herefordshire, who has been excellent so far, and mine is I-beams. I will ask him if he is open for new business for you. (By the way, I am also using a specialist architect in Welshpool, so not far from you. She specialises in timber frame too.)

Oh I am an amateur, but I would think you can greatly simplify that. Here's a first idea. With a bit more thought, and close reading of the Part H constraints, I think you could simplify it further. I got mine down from 8 ICs, as originally proposed by my drains engineer, to 2x 450mm ones and 1x 300mm one. Obviously, check the above against Part H, especially for the distances allowed between ICs and whether it is permitted to have two soil stacks on a single drain as I have tentatively suggested. And for falls.

I am hoping to start work on site in May, about two-months later than my original plan. Things may well slip further and I am fine if they do. Currently, the timber frame is being designed, by a specialist frame-designer based in Herefordshire that was recommended by (and contracted via) my chosen local timber-frame company. And the frame designer has just sent me the line-and-point loads (see below), so I have in turn just sent those on to my foundations designer in Ireland so that the insulated concrete-raft foundation can be designed in parallel with the frame. (To save on VAT, I also contracted the foundation designer via my frame company.) In parallel, with this, I am in the midst of arranging a fibre-optic data connection to my plot. I already have electricity connected. The fibre connection comes from a local fibre ISP who have been pleasingly helpful. The connection requires a new overhead wire from the end of the access road about 40-metres to the gable of my neighbours house and thence down to the ground and on to my plot. My neighbour is being most obliging, partly because he also gets a connection and can drop VirginMedia, who has been unreliable for him. To my astonishment, the whole installation will be free as I, it seems, am eligible for a voucher from the government that covers the cost. The voucher does not cover the VAT but the company kindly agreed to absorb that cost themselves (!) when I mentioned zero-rating. I am getting closer to choosing a groundworks team and finalising the details of the groundworks. I am pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable for what is supposed to be a "no-dig" build but it will all be done with expert tree-specialist oversight. I need clay heave protection which will be 220mm thick so digging down about 375mm was needed if my final floor level was not going to be high in the air. For my screw piles, I will probably go for a supply-only deal for the ground screws themselves and have the groundworkers install them with a mini digger (in my presence). I am told that installation is simple. For the installation of the insulated concrete raft, I still have not identified who will be the installer. I am tempted to speak to all the local concrete pourers to see if I can find someone who has experience of insulated rafts. The raft design is going to slightly unusual. Because the insulation is not load bearing and because I have a ridge height restriction and want tall ceilings, the insulation will be thinner PIR rather than the usual EPS. To my distress, the local water company has insisted I make a water connection all the way 40-metres back down in the access road to the 5" water main there rather than 2" main directly in front of my plot, citing "the impact of another service". Oh well at least the water pressure will be good! I need now to apply for my drains connection. I had been waiting on the tree matters to be resolved as it has an impact on the trench routes. For the protected trees around may plot, I have just finalised the Arboricultural Method Statement (AMS) with my tree advisers. This unlocks the chance for me discharge my nine planning conditions, all in one go. It took a surprising amount of time to work out how this is to be done, requiring a counterintuitive use of the planning portal to create a new planning application (!). I have paid deposits for my windows and front door (IdealCombi) and my roof lights (Roof Maker, their passive-house-certified product). Bauder, my chosen warm-roof and green/sedum-roof supplier, has been very helpful with advice on matters such as waterproofing when the rooflights are too close to the edge, and on standard roof-edge details for my architect. As soon as the frame-design is ready, I will be tendering among the local Bauder-approved installers. I have identified my brick-slips cladding I will use (Eurobrick P-Clad) and worked with my architect so the corners and window openings are properly proportioned for the brick counts. I have just booked myself on a slips training-day for 2nd April in Bristol. On my to-do list are signing up for building control, warranty company (reluctant purchase) and buying site insurance. I also need to arrange some bespoke aluminium copings and profiles. The intention is that the frame will go up, the roof will go on, and the windows and rooflights will go in, in quick succession followed in short order by brick-slips cladding. With all of these done and installed, I will have a weathertight shell ready for first fix to start, perhaps around mid-summer time. Hopefully. (I am already dreaming about @nod-style metal framing!) I have been continuing to visit other Buildhubbers, with visits to two people installing Fermacell, and one Buildhubber all the way at the end of second fix. As always, I learn so much from these visits and am gratified by everyone's immense generosity. They are truly inspirational. And thanks to everyone at BuildHub for all the advice I havre received (and will undoubtedly receive in the future). The journey is just beginning. Comments, observations, guidance, suggestions welcome, as always ?

I think it is possible to locate the flow control away from the diffuser, presumably near the manifold, by using duct butterfly valves. This could be a solution. I wonder if anyone has used duct valves for attenuation rather than diffusers.

I see they have veins within but it looks like they are a form non-return valve. I wonder how a linear diffuser could be selectively attenuated for the balancing an MVHR system, either supply or extract.

I think they are termed "linear diffusers". I like them too. Here's an example: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/monodraught/downloads/literature/linear slot diffusers.pdf

Off topic but I tend to agree. I am yet to detect a correlation between cost and quality on anything I have done so far in my build. In fact, I might be detecting a hint of the converse.

Really sorry to hear about this. Hope you find a solution. My assumption is that once Warmcel becomes wet it will slump, meaning that you are going to have to remove it and re-pump no matter what, at least for the voids where water has entered. I would call Rich Hibbert at PYC, the UK importer (Technical Manager, always very helpful, T: 01938 500 797) and check my assumption is right. If it is, then you could consider starting to remove it now, which would give you a much clearer view of the leak. I appreciate that doing that in 7m section will require some sort of scaffold.

An interesting video of the retrofit of a compact MVHR in a flat:

Interesting. (b) any part of a building that is used solely to enable the building or any service or fitting in the building to be inspected, repaired or maintained" Would that excision apply to: A plant room? A utility room or laundry?

Tesla UK currently shows delivery in May for new orders of the Model 3. It recall that it was not long ago that same-week delivery was possible.

Thanks! Appreciated. That does make sense even if it is not the answer I would have preferred.

Should the cost of installing a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) fibre-broadband connection to a new dwelling be zero-rated for VAT? I ask as I have just going into battle with Cambridge Fibre asking for it to be zero-rated. Reading VAT Notice 708, I think the answer is yes as it falls under "any other service closely connected to the construction of the building". What does everyone think? (The installation will be a 40m cable between three telegraph poles plus a small bit of excavation for a conduit.) (Mine is a zero-rated eligible new build in Cambridge, England).

OK I see. I was also thinking of floor sockets (adjacent to a sofa located in the middle of the living room). I assume they are allowed.

How is "adequate provision" interpreted for sockets within that height range? As I read it, not all sockets have to be in that zone, just an adequate number. But what does that mean? Does that in practice mean all of them?

Good suggestion. Fascinating read: https://cleantechnica.com/2019/02/25/the-osborne-effect-on-the-auto-industry/

Wow, good find. That's under 2 miles from my plot (!)

Of Teslas, I have heard some say that the seats are particularly comfy. @Jeremy Harris do you find yourself ensconced particularly comfortably in yours?

I am applying for my sewer connection in the "InFlow" online service of Anglian Water. It asks the following question… how should I answer it please? Should I reply "yes" or "no"? And what figure should I enter in the box? I assume I am not eligible for any "Zonal charges" to be waived as I am not taking any particular steps to save water. But am I right? (I tried looking-up the answer myself but could not make sense of what I found.) (Its a normal 2 / 3 bedroom bungalow with a bath/shower room and an en-suite show room).

@Roundtuit, reduced amounts of dust inside?

@Weebles has a spectacular one in her double-height entrance hall.

Thanks @JOE187. Yes, 46ms ping is pretty good.( Sub 30ms would very good). (Interesting typeface for the feedback rating section.)

@JOE187, what's the latency like on 3 mobile broadband using that 4G router?

My hunch is that insulation in and of itself is quite transparent to the radio signals used for telecoms. I suspect that its foil-coated membranes (such as some aluminium-coated reflective breather membranes) and other metal frame parts of the build that can create a form of Faraday cage. For this reason, and keen to have reception indoors, I have chosen a non-metallised breather membrane and am avoiding using a steel-lattice-support structure for my brick slips (which was prohibitively expensive anyhow).