NSS

@nod that's bizarre!

Okay, thanks all, encouraged that some of you have had success. Let battle commence!

Postman Pat delivered a letter from the VAO today and to my utter bemusement they've placed our modest 3-bed chalet bungalow in the same band as the significantly larger 5-bed (less than 100m away) that we used to live in. I've already begun collating evidence of the (lower) banding of several nearby properties of similar size/configuration, but does anyone have any tips on how to go about appealing as I understand the VAO are rarely persuaded to amend these decisions.

I doubt anyone with a passive slab would have felt it

Terry, there's nothing recent about it, it started on ebuild. For me though, it's not so much the continuous plugging of MBC and passive slabs at every opportunity, it's the scorn poured on anyone who dares to use anything 'inferior'. As I've said before, this forum can be a beacon for better, more energy efficient builds, but that requires that it be a broad church. You and others have obviously had a good experience with MBC, and that's great, but when a member posts such a carefully worded review as @ryder72 has done, he deserved better than to be accused of being to blame (at least in part) for poor project management. If someone came on here and posted a similarly 'warts and all' (and yet remarkably balanced under the circumstances) review about A N Other supplier, would anyone have been so quick to defend the supplier and point the finger of blame at the client? I think not, so it's not healthy that one supplier, no matter how good, is 'protected' in such a way, never mind that a poster is made to feel uncomfortable about posting anything negative about that supplier when they've clearly had a bad experience. Rant over.

Yes, nice people to deal with, but also very professional in all aspects of our dealings with them. The fact that deposits and stage payments went into escrow accounts gave both parties confidence financially, and they've been building timber frame homes here in the UK for over 40 years so they have a long track record. Those were important considerations for us.

We have traditional foundations with a Hanson jetfloor slab. The below ground blockwork is topped with Foamglass Perinsul to mitigate cold bridginging. We used a local builder to carry out the groundwork and emphasised the need for the perimeter to be mm accurate (both dimensionally and level). UFH pipes were laid direct over the Jetfloor and a 70mm fibre reinforced structural slab poured before the TF came to site. We chose Scandia Hus to supply and erect the timber frame. From our very first contact with them we were allocated a project manager and he remained our main contact throughout. Ours is not one of their 'standards' designs, but a completely bespoke one-off to my design. They took my drawings and turned them into working ones, handling structural calcs, as design SAP, even the submission of the detailed planning application. We felt completely comfortable and involved in the process and greatly appreciated the benefit of the experience that SH and our PM brought to the project, suggesting minor tweaks that would ensure the final design/layout was the best we could achieve for our purpose. Scandia Hus effectively offer a menu of options which can be added to the basic frame, including (if desired) windows, doors, UFH, MVHR, staircases, joinery items, etc. I understand they can even offer a full turnkey package for those who can afford to go that route. We chose a relatively basic package of the frame (including erection) to sarked and breather membraned roof, plus supply of all the insulation (thermal and acoustic), all timber for the internal studwork (structural internal walls were erected by SH), timber for wall and ceiling battening, t&g chipboard flooring for 1st floor and all 224 sheets of plasterboard (all 15mm). Our builder delivered a near perfect perimeter for the timber frame to sit on, such that no shimming of the soleplate was required (according to the SH erection crew that was pretty unusual). On the appointed day said team turned up - both of them. Yes, the SH timber frame erection teams consist of two guys (aided for 2 days by a crane and driver to lift the larger cassettes for the first floor walls). They were on site for just 14 days and the work ethic of the guys we had was exemplary. So, all fine and dandy - well not quite. One of the wall panels was made the wrong size and one had an incorrectly sized window opening, but replacements were ordered (the factory is in Sussex) and delivered to site within 48 hours so any delay was minimal. We also had a problem with floor joists not being level in one area when we came to lay the flooring boards upstairs. Turned out that they'd craned a very heavy load onto this section and some of the joist hangers had buckled under the weight but this was not visible at the time due to the temporary 'deck' of 22mm OSB that had been loose laid before the heavy load had been deposited. As soon as the issue was identified SH sent a crew to rectify. Finally, we discovered much later when battening the vaulted ceiling in the lounge that the rafters (cut to fit on site) had been set at a slightly different angle than they should have been. This would have led to a tapered line between the ceiling and the top of the (angled) windows. A call to SH and (again within a couple of days) they supplied a set of battens planed to size to add as shims to the ceiling battens so as to bring the ceiling line parallel to the window frames. We're delighted with our now (nearly) finished home and are loving living in it. Are Scandia Hus perfect? No, but as others have said, it's not so much whether problems occur but how they're dealt with. Do they build the most energy efficient homes available? No, but we have no complaints and with our EPC of 96 it's hardly going to be an expensive home to run. Would we use Scandia Hus again? Absolutely. Sure there are probably cheaper TF suppliers out there, there may well even be better ones, but you pay your money and you make your choice - and we're very happy with the choices we made (which is all that matters really).

I not only got to name our house, but our road. If only the LA knew the real reason I chose the latter

Fly fishing for example

Not familiar with 'the adventures of Rollo', but suspect it may be similar to a 'wind-up' I was part of some years ago on the BBC 606 football forum. 'Saintess Sarah' (actually a Pompey fan) posted for months as a seemingly plausible Southampton fan before gradually being wooed by me and one other Pompey fan (the only others 'in the know'). Eventually 'she' accepted my invitation to accompany me to Fratton Park and went on to openly praise the Pompey fans for their amazing support, "far better than the atmosphere at St Marys" she said, before announcing that she'd converted to the blue of Pompey. Saints fans were foaming at the mouth as this unfolded on the message board and were even less happy when they eventually twigged that they'd been duped. Fredd's approach seems a little less subtle. More a case of finding an open window and lobbing a grenade through it

We too live in a very hard water area. Wve had a Twintec water softener for about 10 years (removed it from our previous home and refitted in the new one last year). Not cheap to buy/install but pretty much pays for itself after that in so much that the cost of the block salt is paid for by the saving in soap, shampoo, washing powder, cleaning products, etc. And of course, it takes less time and elbow grease too. For Mrs NSS, who has eczema, it's also a lot better for her skin.

Try Force4 chandlers. Not sure whereabouts you are but if you have one fairly local then they usually have loose screw, bolts, machine screws, etc as well as blister packs.

Congratulations. Now the fun really starts

Cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, in fact just about anything with hair (so just as well i'm bald), dust mites, pollen, grass, trees (in winter and summer), nuts (all), prawns, lobster and even latex (which possibly explains why we had three kids in 19 months ), plus a whole bunch of other stuff.

Cheers @ProDave. It's a Paul Novus 300 fitted with the optional F7 filters at present. I'd anticipated having to get some F9s but, so far, it seems that may be unnecessary.

A mate who worked (at the time) for Keyline ordered the Perinsul we needed, but had to buy full packs rather than individual blocks so you may struggle to get just four.

Hi @lizzie, that is spooky! I only wrote the post because I figured that one day somebody might be facing similar issues and Google may bring them hope. Never for a minute did I expect to find someone on Buildhub already walking the same path, but delighted my post has given you a little lift. Mrs NSS sends her best and says, hang in there, it'll be worth the wait

Some of you will know that we've recently completed our build and moved in. What you may not know is why we built the house we have, and why it is quite literally proving to be a breath of fresh air. Mrs NSS has had various health issues all her life, not least chronic asthma, but a little over 4 years ago things got a whole lot worse. Cumulative damage from the asthma had left the lower third of both lungs in shit shape, and this had led to a 6-weekly cycle of chest infections and antibiotic courses. This vicious circle eventually resulted in hospital admissions for pneumonia and pleurisy, and a diagnosis of Bronchiectasis, a degenerative lung disease for which we were told there was no treatment/cure. My first and only question to the clinician was, "Okay, so what can we do to slow the progression?" The answer, "in an ideal world, live in a hermetically sealed bubble". Essentially, eliminate as many of the irritants (airborne particles and allergens) to her condition as possible, and that's what I set out to achieve from our new home - not so much building the dream as building the bubble. Four years on, plot found, research conducted, house designed and built, and the news is so far so good. We've been in for about two months now and the difference has been remarkable with her reliance on inhalers significantly reduced, and sleeping much better due to reduced congestion. This week she had her regular respiratory check up and her breathing was found to be the best it has been for several years. Yes, it's early days, but if this house enables me and Mrs NSS to enjoy quality time together for longer than may otherwise have been the case, then it will have been worth every sleepless night, every bead of sweat, and every single penny. Whatever your motivation to self build, take a deep breath and go for it - you won't regret it.

Thanks all

Have to admit to also having thought the deadline for VAT reclaim was 6 months, so most grateful for this nudge and am now busily pulling the info together. As always with HMRC, I've found the 'guidance' on what is and isn't eligible for reclaim a little unclear, so can anyone confirm whether VAT is or isn't recoverable on the following, please? 1) Building Control Inspection fees 2) Hire of site office/storage (container) and portaloo 3) Fitted kitchen units & worktops (I know VAT on appliances is excluded) 4) Fitted bathroom furniture and sanitary ware 5) Fitted wardrobes Cheers, and Happy New Year to all.

If anything, I'd say it makes it all the more important that the other elevations (and roof/floor) are well insulated. Works both ways too as unless your rear elevation faces North then you'll benefit from solar gain in the colder months. Stunning looking property BTW.

Do you not have any glycol in the UFH pipes?

For the long cuts we just switched the blade into the circular saw.

I guess the fact that you're using grey boards means the cut ends show more than they do on our off white ones.

What are you cutting it with? We used a special fibre cement blade in the chop saw and didn't have any issue with chipping (nor scratching). Also, you're cladding before fitting windows and doors?