Dreadnaught

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).

If the foundations are not in, underground to the front?

This sounds to me like the archetype example for why professional-indemnity insurance exists. A professional mistake that leads to a major problematic consequences, and who's rectification is beyond the means of said professional.

Peter, I assume you DIY-d it. Did you have any difficulty getting the mortar to look nice (it looks good in the photo)? By the way, I missed that system: I will look it up. I evaluated EuroBrick P-Clad, Corium, Forterra’s Wonderwall, and Ibstock Kevington’s Fastwall.

@Visti, I can't remember, did MBC use Egger Protect T&G for your first-floor floor as they usually do? Would that be a sufficient finish? https://www.egger.com/shop/en_GB/building/product-detail/PROTECT

Do you really think so:

This podcast might be worth a listen. If memory serves, I recall that Ruth Butler (an architect) described the contracting arrangements she used for her build, which I thought were rather good. https://www.houseplanninghelp.com/hph177-redeveloping-a-brown-field-site-for-a-contemporary-home-with-ruth-butler/

I plan to use brick slips for my build, but in my case I can use stock extruded slips, not cut bricks to match any existing building. I will be using Eurobrick's P-Clad system. Like you I am using it to remove the need for a skilled (and expensive) bricklayer in my build. Eurobrick offer a cutting service for your own stock bricks. But I wonder if, in your case you could not find a way for the extension to stand proud and separate of the existing structure, perhaps with a glazed link, enabling you to use a complimentary brick slip but not one made by cutting existing bricks, and so reduce the cost. Isn't there also a trend in architecture for a new extension to be visibly distinct from the original building.

Intriguing design. Will it be a bungalow? What type of roof (flat or pitched)? Have you considered roof windows?

I am a fan of flexibility, having options, and for simplicity. When I build my new house I plan to include the wiring and pipes for both an ASHP and gas boiler. To go with the ASHP, I will also include UFH piping in my reinforced concrete raft foundation. Installing all the options at the time of the build costs peanuts. But how about adding one more cheap option: from a capital cost perspective, the cheapest of all. When I pour my my raft foundation, why don't I also include some electrical heating wire too embedded deep within the concrete? From checking on eBay, the cost of loose heating wire seems to be about £150 for 2kW. £150 really is peanuts! And it beats even a Willis heater for simplicity. Wet UFH after all needs a manifold, a pump, regulators, etc. While I would still have all the other options available later, I could use the wire heating for the first couple of years while I learn how my new house responds. What does everyone think? Bad idea?

There is a body of evidence that being colder prior to retiring to bed promotes sleep.

I don't know if this will be much help, but I have just ordered my rooflights for my forthcoming build and here are the cross-sections and installation instructions for them. I might give you some insight and thoughts about your own rooflight problems: https://roof-maker.co.uk/rooflights/flat-rooflights/fixed-flat-rooflights/

I wonder why did you want a stiffer roof, will you be regularly walking on it?

UFH guidance gives a Tog limit for the carpet insulative power. I have seen the figure 2.5 Tog used regularly in this regard. (It should be Tog total of both the carpet and its underlay.)

Fabric-first approach: I would go for 100mm of insulation. In my opinion, it is as much about internal comfort as anything to do with energy loss. The higher level of insulation will provide a marginal improvement in the uniformity and stability of the temperature within your home. And the marginally warmer walls will marginally improve the infra-red emittance, so giving a feeling of warmth. As @Ed Davies mentioned recently in another post, your feeling of warmth comes approximately half from the air temperature but half from the invisible heat-glow from the surfaces around you (I have simplified quite a lot but you get the point). That is why I would go for 100mm insulation. If you have ever been inside a full passive house, that feeling of comfort comes from a combination of: (i) the stability and uniformity of the internal climate (which for example extinguishes drafts); and (ii) the invisible heat-glow from the walls. Just my opinions.

A few observations from a layman: - Would a single downpipe be sufficient for a roof, especially your large roof section; or prone to a single blockage causing flooding? - Do you actually need the parapet to surround all of the roofs? For parts that may not be visible to you, you could leave out the parapet and instead have run-off directly from the roof into a gutter. I will have this on two full sides of my flat roof: a greatly reduced risk of a drain pipe blockage being acutely problematic. - [Minor] Doesn't coping have a drip feature on both edges? As to your Warm roof, to me that looks like a hybrid roof with (PIR) insulation above the structural joists (a warm roof) but also between the joists (a cold roof). If it were me I would be wanting a dew-point analysis (WUFI analysis) on that to insure against interstitial condensation, as you do not have any form of ventilation for the lower layer of insulation. And this is relevant for the section of you highlight in red. In that area, in the depths of winter, that part of the insulation between the joists immediately beneath the red section will be colder, with the concomitant risk of interstitial condensation forming particularly there. That would concern me. Edited to add: no service void for your ceiling?

@Home Farm, well said! Hope it goes well for you. Everyone needs to start somewhere. I wonder, will you be making videos or passing on tips? I'd be keen to learn as you learn.

I wonder what a noise assessment for an ASHP looks like?

Sorry to resurrect a three-year-old thread. @swisscheese I wonder how did you resolve this issue with the LPA (presumably Cambridge City Council)? Did you DIY install your ASHP in the end, despite your neighbour? This is relevant for me because I might have an ASHP for my build in Cambridge.

Don't forget the UFH tubing can also be used for cooling as well as heating. Give how cheap it is to include it, perhaps that could a motivation to install it even if heating is not anticipated?