Benpointer

Indeed. When referring to a person unknown most people would opt for 'they' rather 'he or she', as in: "someone called but left no message - I don't know what they wanted". No one would think 'they' referred to a plural number of people in that sentence.

We could hardly hear ours. Very quiet, almost silent.

Interesting discussion. We are considering using local greensand stone walling for some sections of outer skin on our TF or SIPS build. The Housebuilder's Bible prices stone at £245 per m2 versus £80 to £100 for brickwork, render, or cedar, which we also plan to use. So, stone would be 2-3 times as expensive according to HB. Is Mark Brinkley wrong on that?

I've spoke to our architect, he thinks we will be fine as we don't plan to build close to the tree but we will need an Arboricultural Impacts Assessment to demonstrate that we are taking account of the TPO. Power was put in last year - across the tree roots, I would guess - by the vendor and before the TPO was in place, so all good there. We have two existing buildings (a garage & a workshop) within 10m of the tree and we had considered knocking those down and replacing them but now I feel we can refurb them without any digging. Thanks as ever for the feedback / suggestions.

Thanks. There are no other trees within 50m of where we want to build. The oak in question is on our neighbour's plot. Our topographic shows it to have a 700mm trunk (I assume the surveyor can measure that accurately from a distance these days). The canopy (c. 11m dia) extends over our property by a few metres but not where we need to build - we should be able to build >15m away from the centre of the oak.

Yes, well, I am now worrying how close that oak tree is to our proposed build (plans not submitted). How far does a TPO extend?

Just noticed that the plot next to ours, which submitted full plans in early October, has has a TPO slapped on an oak tree on the plot in November and the Tree Officer has now complained the self-builders didn't take account of that in their (earlier) planning submission (!)

Brilliant! Thanks Alan. (Should be a pinned thread maybe?)

Chris, can I ask what you use as a trigger warning when you look companies up on Companies House? I assume it's not going to mark them up as 'about to go bust', nor give much indication that they have major cash-flow or credit issues?

John, I am intrigued by your suggested approach. Our last house (60s bungalow eco-refurb) had ASHP + UFH + MVHR and it worked really well. We had 6 zones. Most set to 21C but the main bedroom was set cooler (18) and our en-suite bathroom was warmer at 23C. Because we like it that way. We are now embarking on a new self-build. Early days yet but we will be aiming for near-Passivhaus levels of insulation and air-tightness. But: we want the bedrooms cooler than the living areas, and we want the bathrooms warmer. So I am thinking at least three zones, probably 6 to 8. I certainly don't want to be p*ssing around with balancing the flow rates to each UFH loop to set differential heating in various rooms. That sounds like madness when I could simply use a room thermostat. What am I missing?

I wasn't aware this was that sort of forum. 😉

I am aware of that advice but what should I be looking for? Following those links where is the hint that Air Craft are about to go into administration?

I assume it's this spreadsheet https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66ec38e0c8398625c331e7eb/Planning_Performance_Dashboard_Table_Final.xlsx And the relevant columns for self-build applications are headed "Non-major development excluding householder development"?

Are you sure that's the water? 😜

I can't access the article. Does it suggest removing the self-build exemption for BNGs?

It should work out 3-4 time more cost effective to run than electric rads because of the COP efficiency. BUT... as others will point out, ASHP and UFH really needs a well insulated airtight house, then you can ditch the idea of heating on/off times and keep the house at a constant comfortable temperature all the time. Other things to consider: air-tightness, MVHR, and triple-glazed windows without trickle vents.

If it were me taking the roof off a bungalow, I'd use it as an opportunity to raise the ground floor enough to put in a decent amount of floor insulation + UFH and replace the bottled gas by ASHP. UFH upstairs too and an 'upside down' house works in your favour where you normally want the living areas a bit warmer than the bedrooms.

Amazing build! No idea how you did that with the budget you had. Mightily impressed by your hard work and tenacity. Well done!

We fitted electric underfloor heating to a large garden room we built on the back of our then house 20 years ago. It was really lovely... Until the first electricity bill came in, at which point we realised it was costing us >£200pm to run. We switched it off and resigned ourselves to not using the garden room in the winter. Of course insulation was a topic unknown to us in those days.

Thanks - great steer. I can take little credit for the brief - input from BH posters on this thread. Very helpful thanks all.

Ah ok, I did wonder. Cheers

Pretty happy with our 15yo Bosch d/w tbh and suspect we'll veer towards another when we build our new kitchen. We chose it because it's very quiet and, as is common these days our kitchen/diner is our main living space.

I like the idea of the F&P double drawer diswasher. One question though: when you pull the drawer out, doesn't the washed crockery drip on the floor? There's always something that's not totally dry.

First quote back £525+VAT. Seems pretty good to me. I requested this: "As discussed, we are seeking a quote for a topographic survey. We are in the process of buying this 0.85acre building plot which currently has full PP for a 3-bed house. [Link to plot] We will be submitting fresh plans for a different design and we will need a topographic survey to cover the following: * Levels across the site, particularly the eastern half of the plot where the house will go * External dimensions and location of the two existing buildings, access driveway, gates, paths, fences. * The ridge and eaves height, and position of neighbouring house on the south of the property * The depth and fall of the ditch along the north west boundary. * If possible, the location and size of the oak tree in the neighbouring plot to the north-east of our plot. [Surveyor confirmed that would be included.] * Anything else you think we might sensibly need from a topographic survey of the plot, I rely on your advice." Can we ask him to invoice zero-rated as it's for a new self-build and there's already PP? It's only £105 but...

In a similar vein, in the far corner by the pantry door is a 900mm two-drawer fridge. By Hotpoint but I think they've sadly stopped making them. Only Fisher & Paykel (££££) and Liebherr sell integrated drawer fridges now I believe. We will definitely look to have one again though as it's so much easier to access than the standard cupboard fridge. Can't think why they are not standard tbh.