NSS

Yes James, those pics were last September. Detail was all approved by SE, BCO and Scandia Hus before timber frame was erected.

James, I don't believe you need to fill all that 150mm depth with perinsul. We have a similar arrangement but used a coursing brick over the Perinsul. You can see it here http://strawberrytreelodge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/stage-2-blockwork-drainage-perinsul-and.html?m=

I have a matching pair of Internorm HF210 windows to dispose of. They are in perfect condition but were manufactured to the wrong size for my project so are surplus to my requirements. Photos and specs follow. The original cost was over £1,000 each but will accept £750 for the pair. Buyer to collect from Southampton.

Sorry Declan, but I think maybe you're missing my point. In your scenario it is clearly the butcher that is acting strangely, not the farmer. I don't dispute that in Jane's case it sems odd that the BMs have provided a quote for Actis rather than the requested materials, but that does not to my mind give rise to an accusation that the manufacturer has 'got at' the supplier. Of course, if Jeremy can PROVE otherwise then it's a different matter. In the meantime it simply appears to be a continuing attempt to rubbish Actis, both the company and their product.

Because the 'unethical company' quote was clearly aimed at Actis (not as he now suggests the BMs), and the rest of the thread is littered with slurs by Jeremy that are either made directly or inferred against Actis. Quoting over a decade old findings which refer to tests of a previous generation of products and inferring that the claimed thermal performance of the current Actis offering is likely to be similarly mis-represented / cannot be trusted is like saying current Skoda cars are as poor as those that were the butt of jokes in the past.

Here we go again. What evidence do you have to back up that statement? The fact that two retailers put forward Actis may simply be because they're making a better margin on it than the requested product, or they may even believe it to be the most appropriate solution. I'll be forwarding a link to this thread to the regional director at Actin as I'm sure he/they will be very interested to read your assertions that they are an unethical company. Oh, and in a spirit of openness, perhaps you'd like to tell the forum which of your suppliers it is that you have a 'contractual' obligation to to have your blog online. Members may then wish to make up their own minds as to whom exactly may have been 'got at'.

If you say so Jeremy. To be honest, when I saw that you were one of the team behind the new forum I seriously considered steering well clear, but I hoped it could be a broader church than ebuild had become. Apparently not so perhaps it's best that I just toddle off and leave you to it - then this is one fool you won't have to suffer (gladly or otherwise). Feel free to delete any/all of my 16 posts, I'm sure nobody will miss them.. Good luck all.

As do I, but I just wonder how many people only read the forum(s) rather than participate for fear of being made to look/feel a fool. Thankfully I've been a fool all my life so it's like water off of a duck's back.

And all the time we speak in what, to the vast majority of the population, is complete gobbledygook then that won't change. IMHO, if this forum really wants to encourage low energy homes to become the norm then it has to stop demanding a quantum leap to the Holy Grail (and scoffing at anything less) and recognise that a lot of people making small steps is better than a few scientists, academics and energy geeks fretting over minutia that means absolutely nothing to the masses.

Rafters are at 600mm centres and 45mm H-Control is being added over the top (and fully taped), then 35mm counter battens to create service void and to take 15mm plasterboard.

150mm Actis Hybris in situ.

Oh, and while I think of it, one big advantage of Actis over, for example, Celotex is that it is so clean to work with, which if you're doing it yourself as I am is a real bonus.

I wasn't suggesting the post had been altered to dispose of a particular statement, merely to indicate that my reply was posted in response to JSH's post, not PeterW's. And my point about 'bashing' and potentially libelous statements relates to the use of language in relation to multi-foil insulation such as "snake oil", "their mis-selling", " "what can only really be called an open lie" and "they fiddle the tests". Those comments may have been directed at products/practices that were in use years ago, but the inference is that the same is true today. Scandia-Hus recently constructed a new show home using the same spec of insulation that is going into mine, and in February they used a thermal camera to see how it was performing - see http://www.scandia-hus.co.uk/news_items/adelia-show-home-thermal-imaging-survey-results As for sound insulation, if you live near a busy road, or under a flight path, then noise insulation will be far more important than if you live, as I will, in a very quiet residential area. That said, I've been amazed at just how quiet it is in our house already, and that's with much of the H-Control layer (which is quilted layers of foil and fleece) still to be added, never mind the plasterboard and much of the external cladding.

Here we go again, bashing anything you haven't used yourself. Edit: this was actually posted in response to JSH's post below, which he seems subsequently to have removed, edited and reposted. Sailing close to libel rules?

I love marmite. In the process of self-installing now. I'll post results pics when I get a moment.

Don't know how it would compare price wise but our 150mm Actis Hybris plus 45mm Actis H-Control gives a u-value of 0.14

Surely the problem with fitting such film to reduce solar gain is that you reduce it all year round, thus losing much of the potential benefit during cooler periods of the year.

Sounds like a nightmare Dave but is £800/mth really all you could get? We get that for a two bed flat in Portsmouth (and I know someone who pays that for a parking space in London!).

Had my head in our spreadsheet last night. Wish I hadn't though as I always have a restless night after seeing just how much money we're haemorrhaging.

We have the Twintec which is, I believe, virtually identical to the Harveys machine.

Cheers all, and looks can be deceiving, DJF, the outside may not look too shabby, but the inside is a different matter!

Afternoon all, and thank you to whoever validated my registration (I never did receive the email). Anyway, whilst strawberries do not grow on trees, there is such a thing as a Strawberry Tree (Arbutus Unendo), and the very large one on the front corner of our plot inspired the name of our new build - Strawberry Tree Lodge. Progress is slow but I'm getting there. Indeed, if I don't get there before Xmas I'll either be dead or divorced!