Benpointer

Thanks, I've sized the heat demand using Heatpunk at 5.3kW so a 5kW is not technically quite big enough. But you've got me thinking: You sized at 6kW and it's twice what you need... so this sizing business is not necessarily that accurate. I might be sizing too high, I might be sizing too low. How would I know? Overall, I'd prepare to pay for a bigger pump and some over-capacity than risk having a cold house during the next 'Beast from the East'. I am told by the guy that's going to do my MCS certification that these Panasonic units modulate down efficiently.

Looking for some more advice please guys. I am looking at a 7kW Panasonic Aquarea L series but finding their literature less than clear. https://www.aircon.panasonic.eu/MT_en/model/kit-wc07l3e5-wh-sdc0509l3e5-wh-wdg07le5-kit-wc07l6e5-wh-sdc0509l6e5-wh-wdg07le5/ These units seem to be 'hydraulic split'. Presumably that means the refrigerant (R290 - aka butane?) passes through the wall and the part of the heat pump that releases heat sits inside the house (a plant room in our case). Does that mean noisy machinery inside the house? Is having R290 inside a timber house a great idea? Also what is Bi-bloc versus, presumably Mono-bloc? Sorry for the dumb questions - I seem to be having a bit of a Mental-bloc. Thanks for any help.

Re pocket doors. I realised I posted an out of date plan - we've made some tweaks since then, in including losing two pocket doors. We may potentially drop some of those yet. One reason for using them is that I'm a wheelchair user and pocket doors are easier to open and shut in some situations. @SteamyTea Vaulted ceilings are u-value 0.09, see below

Geoff Cole from PWCR in Shaftesbury. Comparable price to WDA (we spoke to them too). We felt Geoff listened and understood what we wanted, and built on that with some ideas of his own.

Demo notice?? Thinks... are we planning a demonstration? Ah, a demolition notice, for the timber garage (nothing else is coming down)... Eeek!! The council website says: "Exempt work No counter notice is required for the following work: ... a greenhouse, conservatory, shed or prefabricated garage forming part of a larger building" I'm classing the timber double garage as prefabricated, so I'm going to assume not. But good shout.

More likely sticking his spade in the ground surely? 😉

Not sure why the BI can't use the tables any more but the SE was more cautious than the NHBC tables, see below. We haven't done any plasticity tests - was hoping to avoid the cost, which I guess we have done.

Our groundworkers arrived on site as promised on the Tuesday after Spring Bank Holiday. Raining all day of course! Though tbf it’s fairly light rain. They made a good start removing a concrete slab left over from a long-demolished, clearing the oversight and creating a temporary spoil dump site on the paddock. Three issues this week: An unexpected armoured cable is discovered on day two - our groundworker Marcus is unsurprisingly cautious. Quick call to our electrician Nick. Nick thinks it’s probably the a redundant feed from the neighbouring house to what was their workshop - should be fine. He comes to inspect it and concludes it is dead. We explain that the groundworkers have asked him to cut it if it’s safe to do so. “You want me to cut it?” he asks, slightly incredulously. Yep. Nick angle-grinds through the cable - cable is dead, electrician is still alive - problem sorted. Second issue: We found out on Thursday that the Building Inspector unexpectedly wants a “Structural engineer to design depth of foundation due to clay soil and the nearby oak tree”. Both our architect and groundworker expected that the BI would be happy to agree the foundation depths based on the NHBC tables. But no, the BI is no longer allowed to do that he says. So, we are in a hole so to speak but just not sure how deep a hole... A rapid scrabble to find a SE who is able to help and help quickly, as we want to dig the trenches next week. On Thursday we got hold of a chap we used for another project 15 years ago - he thinks he could help in short order. We await a result. Third issue: We had hoped to keep the existing timber double garage for the duration of the build, for storage through the build. But the groundworkers are worried about access and off-loading our beams for our B&B floor. The timber frame and window companies also think the space is very tight. I conclude the garage will have to come down - now. It was a mistake on my part to try to keep it; we could have dismantled it carefully during the ‘phoney war’ ahead of construction proper. Annoying. Fortunately our PP includes demolition of this garage so, we are fine on that front. Our chippie knows someone who may want it and will dismantle and remove for nowt at their expense, hopefully in the next two weeks. Failing that the groundworkers will knock it down with a digger, but it would be a shame not to recycle it. Edit: The SE has come back with the foundation calculations over the weekend (what a hero!) so we should be all sustems go for digging the foundations next week. Hurrah! Pre-start "One day my son, all this will be yours" Making a start. In the rain obvs: End of week 1. Happy with that!

We’re starting our build so I thought I’d attempt a blog. I can’t promise to keep it up throughout the build but I start with good intentions. Apologies for the inevitable typos along the way. A bit of background: We have previously done a lot of alteration and refurb projects for our various homes over the years, the most recent a major eco- refurb and extension of a 1960s bungalow. Last year we decided to bite the bullet, sell the house, buy a plot and build. We sold in October, bought a plot in November, and engaged some local architects to create a design to our brief. The plot is 0.85 acre on the edge of a Dorset village. It already had PP for a conventional 3-bed chalet but we wanted a near-Passivhus contemporary single storey house with vaulted ceilings - incorporating low u-values, ASHP, UFH, 3G windows, MVHR, PV, batteries... just about everything we could think of to make the house comfortable and sustainable. We’ve opted for off-site timber frame construction, clad in a mixture of timber and render, zinc roof. I am sure more of the construction details will get covered if and as I keep the blog going. I am a retired IT project manager so have decided to self-manage contractors rather than employ a Principal Contractor. I’m also a wheelchair user so, much as we would like to*, we won’t be doing much of the hands-on build ourselves (* Mrs. P. may not agree with that sentiment). We applied for fresh PP on the 28 January 2025, received permission on 1 May, and our architects submitted a building regulations application a couple of weeks later. We broke ground last week (see the next blog entry for details). For now, I attach a floor plan and some elevations to give you an idea of the build.

Last time we had our chippie and his mate fit our 3G windows. Worked out ok but not sure it was much cheaper overall and I am sure if we'd had any water ingress issues* our warranty would have been worthless. (*We didn't as it happened)

For comparison, our final cost also from Norrsken: Windows & doors £ 32,306 Sills & trims £ 747 Installation £ 5,560 Delivery £ 780 Total ex VAT £ 39,393 We're borrowing a telehandler from our groundworker, hence no Access cost - so that was a win!

We said no to the silicone - thought we'd do that ourselves. Late on in the order process I said I was thinking of changing my mind and asking them to do it... But it turns out they seal the windows with plain silicone anyway and the 'Silicone' quote is for external RAL colour-matched finishing silicon. Since we're cladding with timber and render after the windows go in we'll be doing the finishing silicone ourselves with clear at the appropriate time, knowing the structure is watertight anyway.

Most contractors are honest and decent in my experience; but some are a bit 'fly', and a few are utter ars*h*les. A bit like people generally, really.

I think it depends on your personal confidence, skill set and time availability but personally I wouldn't spend money on a separate PM. Find a builder you feel you can trust - not always easy but personal recommendations, ask to speak to some reference customers, etc. - and keep in close and regular contact with them.

Just looking at my quotes from Norrsken. They came down by about 7% but... we kept opting for more expensive options so we're pretty much back where we started. I could possibly have negotiated a bit harder but Internorm and Rationel were about the same price. End result is £40k exc VAT inc installation for our set of seven tilt and turn windows, two fixed windows, one x 4m wide lift & slide door, and three alu-clad composite doors (one with side- glazed panels). All glazing is 3G, alu-clad frames. Windows: P33A, Doors: S305A, Lift & slide: s315A. If I take off the composite doors and installation costs it's about £1000 per m2 for the windows / lift & slide. All now in manufacturing. Good support from Norrsken so far.

Thanks - all good points. Hand't thought about a first aid kit - will get one organised. Think I am pretty well lined-up with what I need to do for the VAT reclaim. Most contractors are supply and fit but I do have some materials I am buying and I'm keeping a careful record ready for the reclaim. I am currently wrestling with planning - trying to decide how much I can parallel various trades on-site, e.g. 1st fit electrics while my chippy is timber-cladding outside. Coming to the conclusion: 'not much'; it's all looking quite sequential at the moment.

So, we are about to start our groundworks next week - big milestone! As I am self-managing using sub-contractors throughout, I have done the following: Registered with HSE using the F10 form, noting my architect as the Principal Designer and me as the Principal Contractor. Completed a CITB CDM Action Plan using the CITB CDM Wizard. As our is timber frame construction, I have completed a STA '16 Steps to Fire Safety' assessment and recorded our approach (we are Low Risk, so it's light touch). I also have Site Construction insurance through Protek. Anything else I should be doing?

Dumb question but why are you having to scrub (sand/scrape?) the top off your screed? I was kind of hoping that once the screed company lay it my screed will be flat, smooth and (subject to drying our properly, fit to tile onto. Have I missed something?

Just ordered our Norrsken windows - also P33A - glad to hear yours went in smoothly. They look great!

Lol! It was so interesting it too 5 years for someone to reply "That’s very interesting." Easily done though. On topic our quote from HSL was £6k for a 170m2 single storey, supply and commission (self-install). I am sure we could have done it cheaper but I am very happy with their design, which I feel is high-spec, with a Zehnder Q350 at its heart.

The other way round. Go for slab 4 every time. That's effectively quarter-sawn and stable - cabinet-makers generally pay a premium for quarter-sawn timber. The only proviso is that, depending on the species, the centre of slab 4 may be split or even rotted out - but if you can see the slabs you can see any flaws. and you can always cut a centre strip out and joint the two halves, or keep any flaws as a feature - filling splits with resin if you wish.

Hi all, we have five 150mm x 150mm oak posts supporting roof overhangs in our single storey TF design. The TF designers have specified "Stainless Steel Simpson PPA elevated post base or similar" to fix the base of each post on concrete pads. I can only find galvanised steel Simpson PPA post bases online, which I guess might well see us out but it seems a shame to install something that will rot before the posts do. Does anyone know where I can get s/s oak post bases? (In a previous project I screwed in 4x 20mm s/s studs into the bottom of each post and concreted them into the pads, leaving a gap of about 25mm between the base of the post and the top of the pad, so I guess that's another option.) Pics attached:

Just spoke to OpenReach about our single dwelling self-build plot and the very helpful chap on the end of the phone confirmed we will need to pay the £2000 as no fibre in the street. So, I have registered as a 'developer' on there very clunky and confusing portal and uploaded details of our build as requested. I will await an outcome. @SBMS thanks for the info - useful to know that if the cost is greater than £2000 we can be excused the building regs requirement. The 5G speed is pretty good at the site so 5G broadband would be an option. I wonder if I can opt for that even if the OpenReach fibre cost is capped at £2k?

Cheers - I think that may be sufficiently clear even for me 😉

Thanks all. So as I understand it the mains LEDs have a driver built into the bulb - it occurs to me that this is what we've used in the past when replacing incandescent with LED bulbs. Are these LEDs with inbuilt drivers dimmable?