Dreadnaught

I agree with @Mr Punter and @Temp. There are specialised matched base-station/extender pairs that transmit the signal between a base station and its extender on a different frequency from the usual WiFi frequencies, which gets around the problem of an extender halving a network's bandwidth. But in my opinion these solutions are far inferior to Temp's suggestions. And besides, such solutions require both the base station and extender to be made by the same manufacturer and are expensive. Furthermore, most generic cheap extenders do not actually facilitate roaming. There is no "handoff", even if the extender is set to mimic the original network's name (SSID). A device will hold on to the original router's signal for far too long. You may be standing next to your new extender but your device will still hold its connection to the distant router located all the way across the house until its dwindling signal is finally lost, which is long after the speed of transmission has dropped to useless levels. An unsatisfactory experience.

That looks well done. How did you construct the cupboards? And pre-cut system? I am looking for storage ideas for the two bathrooms in my forthcoming build.

Clever idea. More here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK3s_qJ-BW0

I like the idea of an extra loop for duct cooling/heating. I think it gives the flexibility for duct cooling but also heating too. As @jack said: "If I were doing it again, I'd stick with UFH driven by an ASHP, but add a loop to allow some comfort heating of the MVHR supply air (really just enough to take the chill off the air due to the imperfect heat exchange in the MVHR unit)." https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/7859-top-up-heat-sources/?do=findComment&comment=133325 One thing to consider, with a duct cooler you might need a condensate drain, unless the amount of condensation is so low that it can be allowed to evaporate.

My council has mandated a green roof on my forthcoming build for stormwater drainage reasons. I have chosen the simplest option. A sedum roof using a system of trays and mats. In my case the roof won't be visible, only my neighbours will see it.

There is an example at PYC’s new offices in Wales. (They are an importer of WarmCel). The ceiling of their high-ceilinged open-plan office is fully coated with it. It’s a rather unusual and pleasing texture and they intend for it to remain on show. Good for dampening echos too I would think.

Not witnessed one yet but I believe they do both and take an average of a series.

Interesting to see. I wonder how much they cost.

Welcome @Diane. Congratulations on finding a plot! I was in your position about a year ago. In this post I listed some of the things I looked out for: I am sure others will be along soon with more help.

Sounds like Touchwood Homes. That is their approach. I have visited two of their builds, both good. The other advantage of having the airtightness layer on the outside is the reduced chance of it being invisibly punctured during second fix.

I wonder, can you place any panels on the flat roof at the top of the (huge) dormer, angled in frames? They may not shade the ones on the roof above.

A warm welcome back @SteamyTea!

@lizzie, I believe that your build is not MBC twin stud but MBC Open Panel 140mm (single stud).

At the annual BuildHub summer party, I vote for these two to be the two captains for the tug-of-war

Note that Sageglass, electrochromic glass that tints on demand, is for solar control not privacy. At nighttime, if the interior is illuminated everyone will see in easily. This thread gives some more background…

Personally, I would try to get your 1.5% overheating risk down a bit. Its way lower than the PH requirement (10%) but I would aim for less than 1% myself. There are many examples of 0%. As you may have read on this site, with a near PHs, summer overheating can often be more of a challenge than winter heating.

The advantage of ASHP, UFH and pipes in the raft is that it can easily be used for summer cooling, if that is needed (ASHP in reverse). Gas will likely be the sensible choice. ASHP will be tech-lovers choice for flexibility.

He/she's probably right. Are you having an insulated reinforced-concrete raft foundation?

Sadly for fans of the latest tech, having sensibly-priced access to mains gas usually means you should use it for heating. An old fashioned gas boiler and unvented cylinder. You just won't use very much of it.

Personally think those are pretty impressive figures, not quite PH but close. If you heated the house with just electric resistive heat (not an ASHP) you will be paying about £40 a month on average across the year (ignoring standing charge). With an ASHP, and a guesstimate CoP (coefficient of performance) of, say 3, that cost could be less. And your peak heating load will be 2.4 kW, so a smallish ASHP heating to UFH could be a good match for space heating, assuming you have a some sort of slab in which to run the pipes. Domestic-hot-water heating could also be supplied by the ASHP to an unvented cylinder @joe90-style. It sounds to me like you house design is close to some of the near-PH houses built by those on this site so solutions similar to the ones they are using could match your circumstances well. Do you have access to mains gas?

How many m² will your self build have?

Tuco in the Good the Bad and the Ugly…

I am interested in the angle of those trays. It says "Yield optimised system with an angle of 15° for minimum distance between rows". My initial guess was an angle of 52º or higher would have been better given the maximum azimuth of the sun in the UK but I now see that panel-to-panel shadowing could be a major issue on a flat roof. Thoughts anyone?

True but only for a mono bloc ASHP. I believe that a split ASHP would require a heating engineer for gasing. A whole new kettle of fish. (Non-expert here, just throwing in my pedantic tuppence.)

What a good idea! I would offer but, as I am only at planning on my first build, unfortunately my input would not be worth toffee.