Dreadnaught

For a fixed window (external, non-opening), is there any reason in principle why one could not skip having a window frame altogether and mount a triple-glazed "sealed unit" directly in to the aperture created in an exterior timber wall, perhaps with only a minimal bracket for fixing purposes? It strikes me that frames are expensive, complicated, (sometimes greatly) reduce glazing area, and are designed mostly to enable windows to open. And frames also have comparatively poor U-values (even for Passivhaus windows) than the glass they contain. Problems I can imagine: Sealing and ensuring water runs off properly. Coping with differential heat expansion (bang goes the window on a hot day!). Access to swap the sealed unit if necessary. Undoubtedly, there must be something fundamental that I am missing. Please enlighten me.

Ah @AnonymousBosch, so I take it that its a Gaulhofer window (which confounded @craig)? Off topic I know, but could ask about the frame/glass ratio there? Are those standard frame widths or are they a special request by you? The reason I ask is because I will have four windows which are currently planned to be within 685mm apertures. But if the glass pane would end up being as narrow as the one in your photo I will be tempted to widen the aperture.

Could the same be advised for rooflights I wonder? And maybe even windows too while we're at it?

@vivienz, spotted on Amazon … https://www.amazon.co.uk/Palram-NANCY-1500-GREY-CANOPY/dp/B07KZVV54F/ref=asc_df_B07KZSMJP2/

@vivienz, regarding water creeping-in under your front door, does your front door have a bottom drip detail (a.k.a. a weatherboard, rain deflector, or rain deflector)? Could you post a photo of the bottom section of your front door? I recall that @mvincentd had an issue with such a detail. This door has one as an example:

@Ktelobb, yes, exactly the same with my plot. And with mine, the council had adopted a new Local Plan in the intervening period which meant my new plans had some hurdles to jump (I ended up with a green roof as a result). It implied that the old approved design would not have been approved under the new Local Plan.

Hi @Ktelobb, I feel for you. I don't know if it will be the case with your local council, but with mine (Cambridge) validation is done a by a separate team (Application Support) before the applications passes in to the hands of the planning officer proper. And, yes, the 8-week clock started at validation. (And in the end mine took more than five times the limit.)

Fortunately there is no CIL in Cambridge (nor thankfully, did I have S106 mention in my planning permission). Always good to re-iterate that pitfall. Thanks @Temp.

Once its in @Visti, I'm looking forward to hearing your real-life impressions of the acoustic performance of such a build-up. It looks thorough.

Welcome to the forum! What types of drainage calculations? SUDS discharge rates? Falls and IC positions for drain runs? Something else? The reason I ask is that I have some helpful advice if it relates in any way to a flat roof, which it probably doesn't.

You may

@vivienz, in the unlikely event that your impeccable taste would accept something like this, this is what I had been considering before. Its possible to buy the various chromed metal parts from AliExpresss and have the toughened glass made here. Unobtrusive, probably quite cheap, probably easier to mount.

Following this with interest. Building regs mean I might need a canopy too and nothing has been specified so far.

@Moonshine, I am no expert, but how would any moisture in the timber frame exit, on one side is a VCL and on the other PIR, both vapour impermeable? Rule-of-thumb I learnt was to have increasing vapour permeability of materials from the inside to the outside (or to the ventilation void in your case).

Yes, at my plot, I went around taking photos of the pipes-in-the-sky on all the neighbouring buildings. I am hoping to avoid an SVP on my build too, just AAVs. Fingers crossed that BC will agree.

Thanks @vivienz. You don't fancy a day out in Cambridge do you… plant identifying? ?

Thanks all. Makes sense. Want to have floor sockets under the sofas for table lamps. That will need a conduit as you all describe. But what about a former in the concrete for the actual socket in the floor?

Thanks @Jeremy Harris. The other end seems to come up in your double-stud wall. Am I right? Why was that?

Oh, is that image in preparation for the pour of a screed?

Thanks all. I am going to re-read all this advice and have a think. I am now wondering whether instead of me just attacking the veg with a pair of secateurs, instead to combine the vegetation clearance with a scrape, all done by a man with a (small) digger. If there is to be a scrape then there is also the question of levels. I am starting to think deeply about levels. The plot is far from uniform because of the old greenhouse foundations. And raft will be thick so I will be wanting to push the no-digging requirement a bit if I can so that my final-floor-level does not end up being too high in the sky. (The foundations will be thick as I need a 225mm heave protection as well as I want a concrete raft, which will be 300mm EPS and the 200 mm raft. Some 775mm in all). I need to think this through. If I have a digger man on site for a vegetation scrape as you all suggest then could I just as well ask him to flatten the site to me chosen ODN datum too, all in one go. All while ensuring my tree officer and arboriculturalist are happy too. Hmm, time to put on my thinking cap.

Its a good idea but I am rather worried about the preserved trees might then keel over. The local tree officer would then kill me.

What does it mean to site scrape? How deep should I go? Could that fall under the heading "normal gardening" or will the local tree officer be after me with a pitch fork? As mentioned, I shouldn't dig across the hole plot because of tree roots. I have a soil survey report. It is made ground for about a metre. Clay of various types beneath.

Another thing I forgot to mention is tree-root protection. About half my plot is a tree root-protection area (fortunately mostly not where the new dwelling sit) so I should not really be digging down. I think the guidance is that normal gardening is OK but anything more dramatic is frowned upon.

Another great question. Site is 17m x 17m. Plenty of time available. Can be on site all day every day if needed. No other job to get in the way. Cash-wise, willing to spend any amount but keen to use my own DIY ability if I can. Squash playing 50-year old, can wield a spade (I think). Elsewhere on the plot? Until mulched? Or taken to the tip?

@Cpd good question. Yes. My new dwelling will cover about half the plot, on screw-pile foundations, with heave protection and an insulated reinforced concrete raft foundation above. Also hidden amongst the greenery are the foundations for an old defunct Victorian greenhouse (bricks and slabs), etc., just visible in the photo. Was wondering how to clear that. But that's for another post I think. Vegetation first.