Nickfromwales

Having the ring beam separate from the slab would be way overkill, and would typically provoke much thicker wall profiles ( to ensure thermal bridging etc was controlled ). Not sure this would be relevant or warranted with this type of structure / duty / requirement. It would have to be a considerable EPS sub-structure to accept the frame independently. All EPS structures shown previously here have a reliance, in part, for supporting this "frame", but none independently. The skins of the walls would usually be treated 'as one' and the load would be shared or taken significantly by the slab, in most instances.

Trickle rate with dMEV though? Would you / did you consider single room MVHR, even though the heat recovery is crap it is better than sucking in raw freezing cold air? Cost is the con as these units aren't cheap, so needs some thought.

So many ways to over-think this! Can't help coming back to this each time I re-read this. Deliciously simple. Thanks! I was looking at 2x 3x2 stud walls, disconnected by a 2" gap, outer on 75mm EPS upstand ( instead of the 50mm you show ) and the inner simply sat on the slab. So an 8" void, less the sole plate and repeat cold bridging, and filled with 'rockwool' batts / loose stuff or foam where necessary. 9mm OSB3 biscuits will be installed x2 per vertical rise to join the internal stud to the external stud to stiffen things up a little, with near zero bridging. I've already started taking down my beloved rear gazebo so I can get a micro digger and a powered barrow up steel ramps, up two rises of patios, to get to the top of the garden to start digging out for my new "studio" home office, which will then get PV on the roof. A home office has become a no-brainer, so glad I had the winter to rethink all of this before putting PV on the gazebo! ( It will now get rebuilt with a single mono-pitch roof, south-facing for 9 PV panels ( 21 then going on studio roof E/W split )). For simplicity, I am thinking 300mm of EPS under slab to absolutely minimise losses ( cheap as chips tbh ) and an electric in-screed wire for heating the slab "just enough" so it's comfortable in there, plus a cheap as chips AC system for additional heat / cooling, only running that when absolutely necessary. Roof would be pre-insulated powder-coated steel profile sheets, with a second layer of PIR bonded underneath. Easiest for an MCS compliant ( DIY ) PV mounting system. I think that's a solid plan?

It is, however, a little daunting to start off knowing your chosen "old boy" isn't going to aim for airtight / well insulated as his first option, and a lot are old dogs who just don't need to learn any new tricks because for every door that closes, another 2 open atm. The builder would need to be passionate, and would need to be open to having reasons given and consequences understood, should, for eg, their quality of workmanship behind the scenes not be at the same par as what was on show at the end. The builders I worked with on a job in Leicester were very receptive of me 'educating' them about where airtightness membranes / associated products etc went, and how to maximise on the execution of those works. End result was excellent. I had one builder sneaking behind my back to actually try and talk a client out of putting insulation under a heated summer-room screeded floor, saying it was a complete waste of money. Client stuck with me, and we put 200mm of PIR under it. Massive benefits, and they only had to use the UFH for the absolute worst part of the year.

Which is exactly what you want to aim for. Charge the slab during off-peak via ASHP ( CoP of 3-4 ) and then slow release the heat throughout the gaps of peak-rate electricity. Nice smooth hysteresis and super-low flow temps, as discussed above.

Impossible, not 2very difficult". The insulation will need hundreds of holes drilling for the mechanical fixings. Go to triple-glazed doors and windows, get rid of the functioning chimney(s), even if the external stacks still stay for aesthetics, and go for bio-ethanol fireplaces ( if you really need these things alongside gas CH? ). Get a new 'hydrogen-ready' gas boiler and new convector radiators, get the floor up and insulate / draught-proof it well, and super-insulate the roof. Leave the front alone, as with new door and windows, this will be a quite nice-looking house imo.

2 piles of dogshit, then, instead of one.

Folk keep coming up to me on the public exhibition shows, fresh from IR panel sales patter etc, and tell me they want to add solar PV to offset winter heating costs I ask if they have a small football field or similar to install 120 panels in. They say, "No". I say "exactly".

Yup. If anything, a candidate for IWI instead of EWI, but would need the occupants to accept a little less GIA.

Of these what, exactly, panel heaters or storage heaters? Assume panel if off a 13a plug?

These are largely brass units with composite 'paddles'? Odd that they don't attain WRAS. Why the need for a motorised valve? Change of £85 :) ? EDIT: Goes up to £100 if you choose 230v / other requisite "options".

I think you have a mixture of Economy 7/10 storage heaters ( filled with heavy thermal bricks ) and lighter panel heaters ( heavy ones sit on the floor obvs ). Search eBay / other to compare what these are selling for, but courier / transport costs will be a big issue for the storage heaters. Typically these go in the skip with me, due to the problem of getting someone to collect, even if offered up for free. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145028123702?hash=item21c4598c36:g:9uUAAOSwEspkMyXP&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4PtASZ4K3hdTX83c1pJc%2BTnpAk4atJHW5UHhKATkA1B%2FYG6lGgh6D5UChFNeVmkc25AbyE9foUnZB9ySSwVk67M4h%2Fl7K9Fs2L2NIJ%2BDqvdgs7ulgXbP8%2FOfHhOCRdUvYZe63AAN71mOUmtSeljwNmgak5ncdKS9fWSOwun%2BZFgslzQG9B9AxPuvdMv16xvu7TEVvJr5%2FmN%2Fz6oVGDyPGhAne%2FqknpoApxIEAmD3EMyJPhKu%2BqTGZJxeSOOJ7PrWjQsnr4uDIT3Y5oLSZdmsnyrN7kOjWSnqKjao6lwoZ%2FUy|tkp%3ABk9SR_jM6cjwYQ

It is only my opinion, but I think it would utterly destroy that house, looks wise for one, and piss your neighbour off, particularly your immediate attached neighbour. You are right that it will then be a moisture trap, so you'd be using or introducing trickle vents to all windows ( and then have to use them routinely ) to manage the new problem. That added ventilation heat loss will massively outweigh the EWI benefits, and this should only really be considered if you're going the whole 9 yards, inside and out, eg to EnerPHit standards. Don't get me started on the chimneys, and how much heat is disappearing up there all winter.....

I very rarely state an opinion, and I think it would prudent to reinforce that what I say is FACTUAL as far as I believe it to be, based on real life, hands-on experience gained from working with / alongside the "things" I discuss. 8 years hands-on with PH and all the various systems out there, FYI. I am only posting these comments because of the fragility of the situation, and certainly am not entering into assumptions or conjecture to add to it. FYFI, I have already offered an olive branch to several members by PM, FOC / in my own 'spare' time ( in an attempt to help them avoid falling any further ) to offer more comprehensive explanations of my comments, directly. ANY woodcrete system is problematic, as the block is essentially coarse Weetabix and completely open pore. This has significant issues with taking in rain and conveying that to the interior skin of the block, and causes huge problems in attaining AT qualities. FACT. Durisol and Isotex even more so, as the two leaves are connected by woodcrete and pass air and water through the concrete layer. 👎. Velox uses metal ties, so the concrete core is as close to 100% fill as you'll get. Jamie previously contacted me via WhatsApp to ask that I remove a comment directed at the Isotex block, as it had apparently caused a client to request their deposit back, based upon reading my comments here. I had made a mistake, so did so. The mistake was that I hadn't generalised my comment and used the term woodcrete vs Isotex in that instance. I apologised to Jamie, removed my comment, and then set about observing far more concise wording to separate out issue vs manufacturer / product from that time forwards. The point, and the FACTS, remained the same however, so it is essentially academic of how these differing qualities / flaws rise to the surface, afaic. "It is what it is", pointless squabbling about it. @IanMcP , @Renegade105 and @Russell griffiths can attest to the uniformity and benefits of building with EPS based ICF systems ( see, I didn't say Nudura once there #reformedcharacter ) and the results they've achieved with it. The olive branch remains extended.

What AC coupled kWp did you declare in your DNO application? Were you told to limit the export to (x) kW?

If you have a good spread, and the "painter" is actually a "decorator" ( not some goon with a brush and a roller and FA else in the boot of their Ford Fiesta ) then you'll attain excellent results. Folk still assume everything will be great, instead of making sure. On this job I spoke with the plasterer and explained to him what the lighting plan was, on behalf of the clients, and he used a 900mm speed skim 'trowel' to make the plaster in these locations absolutely spot-on. His work was pretty much the same standard throughout, anyways, in fairness, but he was approachable enough to agree to go the extra mile where the lights would be shining directly onto / up the plasterwork. I was going to speak to the painter to ask that he pole-sanded these areas after the mist coat. He was an unapproachable angry cock, and I don't think he actually owned a pole sander, so that project relied heavily on the plasterer. The painter used an unfixed WC pan as a step-stool, subsequently leant over and went arse over tit, smashing the pan to bits. He then blamed the job, the site, the fact that he had to share the property with other humans, blamed me for not having "fixed the WC pan properly, which was why it got broken", covered it with a dustsheet, and then threw his toys onto the pile of dummies he'd previously spat out, and left. "Bye, miss you already". I didn't ask for his contact details to recommend him to future clients.

I've had second and third ( 3ph ) from them on previous HMO conversions of 3 and 4 storey buildings over 100 years old. They'll give you pretty much whatever you need, as long as they have capacity. And if you can pay for the service alteration, of course.

Unless you've started and cannot turn back, I'd just leave the Isotex block exactly where it is, in Italy, and move to an EPS block. You can add 5 figures on for getting wood-crete airtight, and months of delays getting the interior done if you're not building through the summer. Ok if you've got time on your hands, and an unlimited supply of Passive Purple, but if you're paying a builder to do it you'll be spending a small fortune putting lipstick onto a pig ( of a block ).

Is today not a UK business / working day? I’d be sat outside the trading address before 5:30 today!

All micro generation A/C coupled? Or hybrid battery & inverters on D/C side?

What provokes that line of thought? With an "all-electric" 'eco dwelling' you'll likely have an induction hob, solar PV, 1 or 2x EV chargers, ASHP and maybe domestic battery storage also. Try getting that all onto a single phase and you'll soon have to start making cutbacks. 3ph is the way forward IMHO, plus it offers up rapid EV charging.

Have you been able to make contact with Insulhub Contracting and confirm the situation? What happens when you ring the phone number(s)?

The downstairs ones in plaster, as they needed to be made airtight ( as they had to be recessed eg cut into the wood crete ) but the upstairs ones above I cut in after the plastering and painting ( mist coats ) were done. I then, personally, cut these in, mechanically fixed them with off cuts of plywood , sealed and foamed the cavity behind ( injected in after fixing the lights into place ), and then Toupret filler a-plenty. I let that all cure overnight, then sanded and painted to check for any imperfections. 👌👍😎.

Not my plasterer. Guy is a legend. Coventry based, but will travel a reasonable distance. If anyone needs a shit-hot plasterer, let me know by PM.