PNAmble

We have a 1.2m overhang which ‘shifted’ the peak solar gain by a few weeks, plus reduced the maximum modelled room temp by a couple of degrees. We’ve also added external Venetian blinds on our south facing 5m sliding doors and windows. The Part O modelling will also inform which windows should be opening as well to provide purging. it’s also worth saying if you are going airtight and MVHR, the simplified spreadsheet doesn’t take this into account, if you get it modelled MVHR is accounted for in the over heating assessment.

It may do but you’ll have to get it modelled.. It’s pretty easy to run the numbers in the simplified excel, if it says no then you’ll have to engage some one to model it, or buy the software which you can with 39 day licence and build a 3D model. Problem is you need to pay for the weather data.

She was a looker but … that’s the problem.. People don’t understand the ‘tax’ of the standing charge which is loaded with green taxes , bust companies, smart meter funding. If those were loaded on gas, there would be a different argument re ASHP COP. Not to mention the regional difference of standing charges which I’ve post before. https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-advice-households/get-energy-price-cap-standing-charges-and-unit-rates-region It’s a huge regressive tax and discourages investment in insulated houses, ASHP and the conversion to carbon neutral. Rant over.

What’s rental, assume you aren’t England based as meter rental went out with the arc.

print a sign and stick it somewhere which says warning risk of fall: Green roofs need maintaining twice a year. Assuming it rains.

we looked at a number of options for a our flat roof which were non penetrating. They needed to go on before the green roof but are counter balanced. Eg. https://simplifiedsafety.co.uk This was to prevent a fall from an escape window onto flat roof (we also hadn’t put any fixing in before the membrane). In the end we went a different fire escape strategy, so never discussed the full details with the BCO

We've ordered Luxaflex blinds for our tilt and turn window which fit within the frame, https://www.luxaflex.co.uk/windows/best-blinds-tilt-turn-windows/ they've not been fitted yet, but we saw them in the showroom and provide a neat solution.

If we hadn't gone TF, we'd have had to pile which would have significantly increased costs, TF was built on site starting mid November; not certain where you got the year from, plus we could build during winter. Horses for courses as opposed to a blinkered view of alternative build systems.

We did our "as designed" through a separate company (cost was £480 inc VAT), we are a TF, but not sure why it would make a difference being an ICF, we provided the calculated U-Values, Target Airtightness, and other information including ASHP make/model etc. They created the full SAP Assessment. They have sent us the evidence requirements they need to do the "as built" which we are just collating now.

we sacked ours, best bit of value we did for our build. Ours didn’t know his arse from his elbow and as we finish our build we are still fixing his mistakes. Probably has cost me in excess of 15k of worthlessness. If anyone in the NE wants a name to avoid message me.

as I say, we had no choice but to go bespoke timber due to ground conditions. We originally were going ICF with an integrated retaining wall. Our SE who also owns a TF company and we spoke to a SIP company said connecting a TF to a retaining wall structure would be difficult whilst trying to achieve the cold bridging and insulation we needed, and have a TF guarantee. im sure there are lots of people on this forum who will suggest otherwise / recommend a brickie solution, but it worked for us and we built over the wettest winter on record. TF is a brilliant solution unless you want a brick skin, in which case it’s a waste of time as you’ll be be beholden to brickies weather conditions.

You will get a lot of comments on here who are anti timber frame but having project managed our build the financial benefits of speed are significant. However, building a TF into a retaining wall is a risk we created an 1m air barrier around the back and as we are an upside down house, cantilevered the patio over the gap. We had little choice in build systems as our ground conditions limit us to 20kn/m2. we broke ground September 2023, ground works and 13m x 3m retaining wall built, water tight by January 2024, will be complete by June 2024.

Other people live in different worlds, but aren’t classed as ‘self builders’, we paid a lot more but project managed whilst we had jobs. we were water tight in 4 months with a modern build system, including all retaining walls.

I’m just finishing a 4 bedroom house of 207 m2, ground floor dug into a 3 meter retaining wall, timber frame , passive standards, airtightness test 0.42. It’s an upside down house. 212 m2 with two bedrooms, you just have a massive living area or lots of circulation space. our ground works were a significant cost pushing our m2 cost above what we wanted.

In Northumberland Octopus charge a standing charge of a couple of pence less than the ofgem max. Our Plot had a smart meter pre installed. We used no / little power for 6 months, and Eon next refunded all standing charges during that period.

The standing charge is limited/set by ofgem per region as well as the usage price cap https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/get-energy-price-cap-standing-charges-and-unit-rates-region-0 it (the electricity SC) not only funds the failed companies but is also loaded with the green levies including those to encourage the use of electricity over gas 🤷🏻‍♂️ The standing charge is a regressive tax and should be abolished.

We put a floor drain in the plant room - for emergencies and to avoid mop buckets being lifted into the utility sink. We used a non return valve to limit smells. can’t see the benefit in a non wet room bathroom.

Ours in plant room (GivEnergy Inverter and battery). Added a heat and smoke detector. PAS 6300:2024 only recommends against loft installs. Plus it groups LI-Ion in same fire risk as LiPo which they arent.

We have one of these on our newly fitted T&T internorm windows - specified when bought. We had to fit it for Building Regs - needed it opened fully for Part O but not opening for Part K.

We went round in circles re trust; designed to passive insulation and airtightness; but an upside down house which meant that an insulated slab/UFH solution wasn’t suitable. Large (ish) North and South windows due to views In the end we’ve gone for a few radiators, single zone, assumed 35/30 flow rate @21/-3 which worked our at 3kW peak so a 5kW ASHP (R32) and PV running WC made sense. Worse case scenario we can push the flow rate higher with minimal impact on COP or just buy another dog.

We had to build a 3m retaining wall and the cheapest at the time solution (last year) was gabions. The cost was part of the ground works so don’t know the exact price but there are web sites to quote. I’ve attached the structural engineer design however. It’s not easy to find someone who is good at filling them, and getting stone to the location could be an issue.

id really be worried about this. Who is working for you ? and has the understanding it’s your money they are spending. If they are so symbiotic what happens if there is a fundamental problem, can you trust them to fight your corner.

We are also Northumberland - new build Timber Frame. Would second all the views to spend on Insulation and airtightness (passivhaus standards) Our pre plaster board airtightness test was 0.42 and took a lot of effort on our part and the builder to get right. Despite having a ‘turnkey’ build we have spent time virtually everyday on making sure everything is as we want it - including investing in a thermal camera to check insulation and potential cold bridges; this will be the most performant house our builder will have finished so he’s learnt a lot as well.

really couldnt say, but both myself and my partner are self employed - she had many years of sole trader accounts, I had 2 years limited company accounts. Mayflower will do affordability testing. We were running a second mortgage etc at the same time.

Max amount they will loan is based on final value; your ability to pay the interest on the self build mortgage is assessed on your income (not necessarily salary). we owned our land which had planning permission and they (Harpenden) enabled us to draw down 65% of that to fund ground works and then the ability to draw down up to 65% of the final house value as described above. it costs nothing to speak to a broker or to a lender we used Mayflower who were excellent but others about who get just as good reviews.