Dreadnaught

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.

+1 I will be following this with interest as I will soon be doing the same,

A side note on stamp duty for garden plots. I have had conflicting advice as to whether garden plots are subject to the residential or non-residential rate for stamp duty. For plots costing more than £125,000 the non-residential rate offers a small saving.

Hi @Duncan10, a warm welcome! I am also in the process of buying a garden plot. And I have just retained my solicitor. I was told that deeds are not split for garden plots until the new buyer is identified, not before. The cost of my solicitor to me is £1,100 + VAT, plus search and other fees of about £320, plus stamp duty, plus land registry fee of £270. I sought 3x quotes before choosing. In my case, there is some complexity as I have an unadopted access road to contend with and some other issues. I imagine that your cost could be lower if the situation is simpler.

Hi @Ryan, if you are able, I would like two tickets for Grand Designs Live too please?

Out of interest, why not?

Quantum uncertainty? Emergent complexity of biological systems?

If there is a surface drain nearby, as I think there is on my plot with the surface drain being located in the approach road, is it acceptable to connect to it and discharge rain water to it, and thus avoid the need to incorporate soak-aways for roof rain-water as, for example, @JSHarris did in his build? My site is cramped so it would be nice to avoid the need for soak aways for roof rain water. I am a complete beginner in this area. I have skip-read Section H3 of the Building Regs.

Does this deliver its heat for space heating via the MVHR or a few radiators? EDIT: found the answer myself by searching. Heat from the EASHP for space heating is distributed by MVHR in Peter's case. And the "E" in EASHP stands for exhaust. A clever piece of kit. I applaud your approach. It is my aim also. Encouraging. I am tempted to have a go too. But, unlike your good-selves who had no need, I might require to have an expert on tap to answer my inevitable questions. Was gathering the copious data to feed the model easy?

Peter, interested as to why you didn't want UFH. I searched the site but could not find where you may have referred to this before. Sorry if you've answered this before. Did you feel the need to involve a certified Passive-House Designer at all, even just to check your workings? Was it easy to master the PHPP sheets, gather the need information to enter into them?

This discussion might be of interest…

Off topic: I wonder how-on-earth Cloudflare got the ip address 1.1.1.1 (and I wonder what the equivalent address is in IPv6).

Here is SPONS on the RICS site: http://www.rics.org/uk/shop/categorylisting/?segments=spons. Buying it gives you access to an ebook and updates for a period too. Its updated multiple times a year as prices race ahead change.

On this subject, I spoke to the architect of the plot I am trying to buy. He said that I could use the plans that he had prepared for planning purposes without needing to concern myself with the IP so long as I was building for the purpose as originally intended when the plans were prepared, i.e. building a single home to live in. Of course it would be a different matter if I was going to use the design multiple times or indeed try and sell it on to another self builder.

Aunty Google couldn't find that one. Clue?

Laudable. I do the same with plastic recycling. Its good exercise and I get to listen to podcasts on the way. I am big fan of daily walking (with podcasts).

Congratulations! And welcome! An exciting journey ahead. And one I hope to follow myself.

I had never heard of the Magicman! Good to know. And here is a link: https://www.magicman.co.uk.

I am sure you will, but tread carefully. I would have a (free) chat with a friendly local solicitor to get a second opinion on tactics. Choose one that has some experience of the planning system. Any one that handles conveyancing would do, I would think.