NSS

How long is the warranty? From my experience they tend to last between a week and a month longer than that ?

Yep, that's exactly what I mean. As you walk 'around' the opening door the bottom step becomes a trip hazard. Also, if someone happens to be taking the last few steps down as someone else opens the front door..... It's something I'd definitely want to 'fix' ?

As I've said before, not keen on critiquing others' designs but got to comment on the front door / foot of staircase. Imho they're far too close and you (and guests) will be regularly tripping over the bottom step as you/they walk through the front door.

I used to work in Basingstoke, travelling up and down from Fareham via Alton every day. Love the A32/Meon Valley. Drove the same route recently for the first time in years and was amazed at all the houses being built where the deer farm used to be but still a lovely area.

Welcome Tracey. We're also in Hampshire (close to The Solent). Whereabouts in our fair county are you building such a fine looking house?

If, as appears to be the case, the overlaps of the Actis blankets are not taped, the first thing I'd do is tape them as this will significantly improve your airtightness. We have a warm roof with Actis Hybris between the rafters and then Actis H-Control over that and the rafters (ie on the inside of the rafters not the outside as yours is) and it works very well. However, we spent a lot of time taping the joins/overlaps and achieved 1.6 on the air test. That said, we also have 200mm of rockwool between the ceiling joists, and at this time of year the loft is usually a couple of degrees cooler than the rest of the house as there is obviously no heating in there. Our MVHR trunking runs in the loft space and is not insulated.

... clowns who pretend to know a lot more than they thing they do ?

Kindle probably just figured someone so experienced and with such a busy practice wouldn't have time to read it anyway ?

Largely via stage payments made upon agreed milestones being achieved.

Opted for timber frame for the speed of erection to weather-tight, and because it enabled us to do more of the work ourselves. Research led us to a short list of three TF companies who we had detailed conversations with. We had two of those quote for the TF, only one of which offered ESCROW. It wasn't the only factor in the final choice but it was a significant one.

Hi @Lakeside, I also completed your survey (when first posted) but, as I stated, i didn't feel we were taking any significant risk as we were in the fortunate position of having the wherewithal (financially) to cover the budgeted spend plus any reasonable overspend. Like you, we didn't have a main contractor and carried out much of the work ourselves. However, and picking up on @Temp's point about ESCROW, this was a major factor in our choice of timber frame contractor. That was the largest single cost (excluding the land purchase) on our build, and the fact that our chosen supplier offered ESCROW removed the major (cost) risk entirely.

We have 140mm Hybris between the rafters (105mm in the walls) with Hcontrol over, taped, counter-battened and plaster boarded. Works for us, but there are those on here who will tell you it's snake oil.

I think it was more like thermal moss ?

We did the same Peter. He/she has been sleeping in the house for several weeks, after initially adding leaves to the hay we'd provided. Last night we had a our first frost of the year and for ten minutes (just before 3.30am) he was in and out every 30 seconds or so with mouthfuls of leaves.

Still adding insulation ? Cabin_11_08_2019 3_29_46am.mp4

Done ?

Congratulations. Enjoy the ride!

How does that feel, knowing (or at least heavily suspecting) where the money paid to you by one of your favourite clients is coming from?

Sorry, not me.

Welcome @Mischiefsmum Having spent the last 15 years working amongst people going through just what you've been going through, I understand your pain but I also feel your strength, determination and positivity. They are traits that have got you through the last six years, and they'll serve you well as you (literally) build a new life with your daughter. Listen to advice, but trust your instincts - and try to keep a smile on your face ?

If you take a look at my profile pic you'll see we have relatively small areas of glass. Granted, our circumstances are unusual given that night purging is not an option for us, but you'd be surprised just how quickly the temperature rises, even at this time of year (with outside temperatures in the low to mid teens), if the sun is shining and the SageGlass is switched off. If you have large areas of south-facing glazing, the outside temp is pretty much irrelevant if there's bright sunshine.

Hi @Conor, we ordered our SageGlass around 4 years ago now so the price we paid is probably not a reliable indicator of what it may cost today. That said, it's not cheap, but it is (as I've said before) such an elegant solution. We have several tilt and turn windows which it's installed in, but we very rarely open windows so the cables don't get the stressing of constantly being opened and closed. Whether you could install into bi-folds I wouldn't like to say for certain, but each pane requires a separate cable connection so I somehow doubt it. Even if you could, I'd be concerned about the stress those cables would be under with regular opening and closing. What I can say is that SageGlass is very effective, and (at least to our minds) offers significant advantages over other measures for mitigating solar gain.

Or maybe it's just down to how well (or otherwise) it's been installed. As I've said elsewhere, we have a PAUL Novus 300 and you cannot hear it running in any room in the house, even on boost. Sure, if I go out to the plant room, which sits within the footprint of the house but is only accessible from the attached garage), you can hear it running, but none of that noise (or at least none that is discernable) is transmitted through the ducting to the inside.

I'd really get that air test done before going any further.

@Savage87, forgive me if I've missed something earlier in the thread, but have you had an air test on the property? If not, it may be worth doing so before even considering installing MVHR as, if the airtightness is not great, you may find that no MVHR unit is going to work efficiently.