Dreadnaught

Welcome on board! Great to have you here. I will be using a QS shorty for my pending build I expect.

Cat 5 and using a PoE access point for outside use. No need run a separate power cable. Here's an example: https://unifi-mesh.ubnt.com/#products

With the growing popularity of power-over-ethernet (PoE) devices in home automation, I am tempted for my build to install ethernet almost everywhere, and in some unusual locations, such as outside by the front gate, by the front door, where I can imagine having a car charge point, where I want blinds. PoE is now being used for lighting, security cameras, doorbells, and a host of internet-of-things (IoT) things. Who knows if this will bloom and become a ubiquitous standard but if you install the wiring at least you are ready if it does. Changing the subject, if your house is larger than can be covered by a single WiFi router then consider where two will go and give each location an ethernet socket. Buy specialist access points that offer seamless handover (such as UniFi by Ubiquiti) rather than consumer units (including the trendy mesh ones). Ethernet connections between access points is always superior to mesh. It is essential in my opinion that you buy access points that support seamless handover. Two low-end consumer routers will not work nearly as well. They hold on to the waning signal for far too long. UniFi units, for example, which are used widely in commercial installations, have seamless handover, are remarkably cheap, and are rock solid. They offer models for outside use too. Unifi APs do however take a little knowledge to set up but once done require no fiddling.

@Christine Walker good luck. I am sure there is a lot I/we can learn from you. Do share as much as you can on BH. Without hijacking this thread, I am particularly interested in your lessons learnt from your past builds and how you are using them in this one. I am also interested in the PM approach you are taking. And finally I am also interested in how your builder will interface with the frame company. All subjects relevant for me personally.

Welcome on board! As a dreamer, I was in your position a few months ago. Now I have an offer accepted on a plot.

I agree. Ethically dubious at best.

Nice. Out of interest, which company supplied the frame?

In my research, I have heard this said many times. Chippies over bricklayers for attention to detail and a pride in craftsmanship. Another issues I heard is about availability: good chippies are much easier to find than good bricklayers.

Wow, that's a good price. Might you be able to PM me their details?

I would be interested in your SunAmp quote. Andrew Bissell said on Twitter yesterday that prices had dropped recently, to about £1,000 for their most common model with average capacity, and excluding installation (which I imagine is DIY-able).

Out of interest, which timber-frame company did you use?

From the link in your first post. 2 Arrays… Tilt: 25.0°, Azimuth: 240°. The bigger one. Tilt: 25.0°, Azimuth: 150°. The smaller one. Should have read your first post more closely, haha!

https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/ I think.

Nice graphs. Looks like Tetris! I assume the top part is a schematic of the 2x arrays. Do you have yours on an SE – SW orientation, with more SW? What online service is that?

Good question. Anyone know an answer? Yes. I wonder who can challenge the fences? Not just a neighbour: as far as I can see they have no basis for a challenge at all, unless it is a right-of-way. Is the only legitimate challenge for someone to assert a title claim to the land? In my case it has been well established on multiple occasions by multiple people that that owner has been lost in the mists-of-time. Thus is no challenge even possible?

Thanks @nod. Any do's or dont's? Is it just a matter of fencing and a long wait? Who can challenge the fences (other than an owner, which in my case certainly does not exist)?

Does anyone have any experience of grabbing a small piece of land that nobody owns and which abuts your own land? I am familiar with the legal principles of adverse possession, I am more interested in the period before, when the grabbing actually occurs.

These people perhaps http://electropatent.co.uk/product/bespoke-floor-boxes/?

That's a really interesting comment. SIPs for the roof only. Attractive in addition as it offers particularly wide spans without a beam. I wonder if any timber-frame company (MBC?) offers the option of i-beam walls and SIP roof? Or whether they would need to be supplied by different companies.

Hadn't thought of this. What sort of future needs could these bricks fulfil?

@Hecateh Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success. C. S. Lewis And… Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. Isaac Asimov Brighter days lie ahead. Chin up!

Thank you very much for making the suggestion. Yes I have met Jane a couple of times, both times at the Buckinghamshire Passive house that Ben Adam Smith has been featuring on his podcast, which you mention. I also read her book, The Passive House Handbook. Yes PH15 is a nice system, I agree. Well thought through. I was on the phone today with Touchwood Homes about their system, which is similar but differs by having the airtightness barrier on the outside, removing the need for a service void within. An interesting contrast with PH15. Yes, have been to NSBRC a couple of times but planning to return because of learnt so much from contributors such as yourselves and others here on BH and that I will see things with new eyes on my third visit. I plan to go on 11 May for their next "show", when Ben Adam Smith will be talking. I appreciate your advice.

I wonder, does SPONS for Kindle offer the updates for the year like the printed edition? I notice its £30.50 on Amazon at the moment. Also how does the yearly update work? Will it be updated for 2019 in January? Do the updates that come with the book only last until December so the later you buy it in the year the fewer updates you receive? (I love that its the 143rd edition and "First edition 1873".)

Correct, zero stamp duty. Stamp duty starts at £125k for residential, £150k for non-residential.

We have not finally decided yet. I am buying from a vendor who has the original house and remaining garden. There is an existing design that was used for planning but I intend to vary it to make it into a (near or certified) passive house and will probably use a timber-frame construction of I-beams filled with blown cellulose for insulation. This has the benefit of making the house relatively lighter which is an advantage on my plot as there are tree roots that need to be protected beneath and which will necessitate a complicated foundation structure with piles.