NSS

Okay, I'll admit it, I used a MCS approved installer and have just completed the RHI registration. I'll receive ₤111 per quarter (index linked) for the next 7 years, so something circa ₤3,300 in total. Was it worth it for the additional install cost? For me, I think it probably was, but the scheme does seem somewhat arse about face in that the more energy efficient the home, the lower the RHI payment received as it's calculated from your predicted energy usage on the EPC. Surely it would encourage the build of more energy efficient homes if the reverse were the case?

@PeterW not sure about integral garage but our plant room is within the footprint of the house but only accessible from the attached (but not integral) garage and she agreed, as it could you not be accessed from the main accommodation, that it could not be included in the calcs for banding.

Supplied as part of the kit @lizzie

Much like ours @lizzie except that our grey polystyrene inlet and exhaust are also wrapped with armaflex.

She already had the full plans, but presumably 'miscalculated' the area. I pointed out that larger adjacent 4 and 5-bed detached houses were only banded as E and that I would have no hesitation in appealing should she maintain the F banding for ours. That's over ₤300 per annum difference for us.

Quick update, finally spoke to the valuation officer this morning and asked her to justify the band F classification. Within about 30 seconds she'd quoted a total habitable floor area of almost 40m2 more than I knew our house to be. This afternoon, after taking another look at the plans, I receive an email correcting the size and reducing the banding to E. Result!

Well it seemed to be a bit of a race to bottom so I just went straight there

Had to ignite a couple of farts this week but more to avoid opening a window than for the heat input

LOL, I initially read the thread title as 'Smug Passivhaus dwellers', and then re-read it and realised my error

I thought @ryder72 had submitted his review for clearance by moderators before it was posted? Hope this isn't about to turn into another meltdown like ebuild.

@Stones very useful, cheers

@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.