tuftythesquirrel

We went through this process around 2020-2021 so allow for inflation. We had quotes from 5 different architects and architectural technicians. We didn’t intend for there to be so many, however, after the initial quote, when I tried to establish some of the finer details before we appointed them, like, ”exactly where is the airtight barrier?...” “”– the realisation that they didn’t really understand my point, made us think that it was going to be difficult to get above the “we just do building regs.” threshold, rather than getting as near to passive house as possible. The prices ranged from £3k to £30k. The house is around 400 square metres. Our build cost will probably work out to be around £1000-£1200 per square metre. I can’t personally get my head around the basic concept of charging a “percentage of build cost”. Why would the architects fee triple, if our build costs were say £3000 per square metre? Our groundsmen, bricklayer, plasterer, electrician and plumber all charge by the metre or day rate, so why should the architects fee be any different? It makes no sense! The prices didn’t include the structural engineer. One of the architects said they used a specific engineer who lived 80 miles away from us. Since he charged by the hour, any site visits (even a very short one) were effectively a day out due to the traveling at £700/day. The weren’t flexible enough to use a local guy, so we would end up paying for his driving time with not much to show for it. These sort of costs can add up over time. I think the biggest reason for the variety in price, is what stage the architect is at, in their career path and their business model. The highest price we got was from a “design practice” that were a bigger outfit, with maybe a dozen people working for them. They had a scale of charges for various disciplines e.g. draftsman £55/hr. to £85/hr. for a partner. I sort of got the vibe from the quote, that any variations that were necessary after the initial design would have been charged at the specified rate (ad infinitum!). A significant portion of the fee would have been swallowed up by the practice overheads and the drawings were still in 2D. In the end, we went with a young chap that I presume, hadn’t been qualified that long. He was fully fluent in Autocad Revit (3D) and totally got the passive house “thing”. He worked from home and his price was at the lower end of the spectrum and not a lot of difference compared to the architectural technicians. Minor changes along the way were provided as part of the package. However (and probably most importantly), he was great for bouncing ideas off, which is so important at the outset. I think you need to get ensure you get value for money!

Hi @junglejim, There is no need to do this. It's an old-fashioned approach, and the last thing you would want to do is stick a great big "thermal bridge/ cooling tube" through your insulation layer. I had the same issue and found Jeremy's post below. (Subject - Air admittance valve / soil vent pipe). He clearly explains the reasoning and how to implement it.He clearly explains the reasoning and how to implement it, using AAV's. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/4459-air-admittance-valve-soil-vent-pipe/

The answer is 2m then. He has to certify. The only paperwork I believe I will get is the gas safety record, which relates to the boiler and flue installation rather than the pipework. The pipework manufactures documents say a minimum of 1 meter. That’s why I wanted to see it written in a regulation somehow, rather than someone’s opinion. Unfortunately, on that quote he proposed a 40kW boiler and I’ve fitted an 11kW, since the house heat loss is only 4kW, hence I wasn’t completely convinced by his competency. Connection to boiler yes copper, I would do all the main connections on the cylinder in copper also. In an ideal world I would but you haven’t seen my pipe run😁, so I will probably stay with plastic. Are you doing proper Viessmann install. With priority demand hot water and weather compensation? So without mixers or additional pumps? Yes, PDHW and WC, but not a standard install. It’s a 100-W system boiler and I’m using the Viessmann Plusbus EM-EA1 interface to control the burner and implement the WC using an Idratek automation system via a 0-10V signal. When I bought the manifolds and they came with mixers and pumps and I wasn’t convinced I didn’t need them. However, now I’ve accumulated a bit more knowledge and experience, I suspect they might be removed in the future. If you haven't bought your cylinder, get a heat pump one, with a 3m² coil. Your flow temp will drop and your recovery really quick. Yes, good point, I have. Thanks.

Hello. I am having a new gas boiler installed in our self build and I am carrying out as much pre-work as I can before the gas safe engineer turns up. The house is all UFH, which is obviously plastic pipe in the screed, as are the supply/return pipes to the 4 manifolds. The boiler is downstairs, with the plant room upstairs. I've run a flow and return in plastic from the hot water cylinders in the plant room down to the boiler. My question is do the connections to the boiler need to be in copper and if so, how long do they have to be before I can change back to plastic. I can’t see anything in the (Wales) building regulations and the Viessmann boiler installation manual has nothing. I have had a quote from a plumber that says he wanted to run 2 metres of copper from the boiler however, I read on the John Guest (Speedfit) site that they recommend 1 metre. Could anyone point me in the direction to where this regulation (if there is one) is written down? Thanks.

I sent them an email telling the the issue. The MD called me back so that was a plus. I ended up talking to a tech support guy. I explained I'd left the red wine on the floor for hours and it left a mark. He said that it was a sealer not a sealant, which is a different product. Their opinion was the wine was removed within an hour or so, it wouldn't have marked. So I might do a back to back comparison with this and diluted SBR to see what they look like on the floor.

Hi, yes they do talk a good job and seem to dominate this field with their advertising. I'll give it a go. Thanks.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, screed down over 12 months ago, so good to go. We are living a another part of the house and now moving in to the screeded area. I was thinking of diluted SBR only because it's not supposed to re-emulsify when it gets wet. I was just concerned it might change the colour. Our edges seem pretty good so far but yes we were going to put a strip of 18mm ply to hide the perimeter strip. Need to try a few test areas at different strengths. Cheers.

Good Evening, Can anyone suggest a good concrete sealer. We have a cement screed floor (Cemfloor) that has a good surface, so that is going to be our finished floor, it just needs a clear sealer. I've used a product called SmartSeal on a trial area, but it didn't perform as expected. I tried a small drop of red wine and it made a stain. Has anyone experience of a good product to use? Thanks.

Sorry for the sarcasm but haven't you forgotten the direct links to NASA and GCHQ? Good luck with that if you have an expensive architectural block wall and need to run surface mounted conduit of some form (20mm metal conduit). So you'll need maybe 5 runs just for the signal cables and a couple more for power. Could you tell my why all these are needed?

Apart from making sense, if you don't, you wont have adequate fire resistance, if you haven't followed the M.I.'s. If the BCO comes round as you are doing it he could reject it as not fit for purpose. Our space joist installation data says.... Plasterboard Notes:..... 4. Perimeter and intermediate noggins are required to support the boards at their edges. Perimeter noggins are required for all board thicknesses and joist centres, whereas intermediate noggins are only required for the thinner boards at larger centres. See fire resistance tables

We had an Internorm quote and they gave us 25% discount of the price. Our next door neighbour got 43%!! Never found out why. Ended up going with Idealcombi PH rated at about £400/m2 bought mid 2020.

Good morning all, Could anyone recommend a really durable external wood paint? I’m using the following system at the moment: Gori 11 Wood Preservative Gori 99 Extreme Opaque Wood Finish It’s water based, so dries really quickly. I’ve used it before and it seems to offer good long term protection, however I have the following issues: It seems to really emphasise the wood grain effect. Where we have plain doors (no wood grain), I was trying to tone down the wood grain in the bespoke door frames we have had made, to get a better match. However, it seems to have really sunk into to grain. Last week I painted the door to our bat roost. The door was made last year and has always been kept inside. This week the paint still seems tacky i.e. if you leave anything on it, when you remove it, there is a slight “stiction” before you can move the item. The paint still seems slightly soft. Could anyone recommend a good long term painting solution. Many thanks.

Wise words, if only I had known...

Great suggestion, I'll do the same when my KOMFORT EC SB550 breaks down 😁

Yes and the slab is never perfectly flat, so there is more opportunity to correct any undulations going over it twice.