Bitpipe

Or as we call it - the broccoli oven as that's all thats ever cooked in it.

Decrement delay. https://www.greenspec.co.uk/building-design/decrement-delay/ We have blown cellulose fibre (warmcell) in a fairly deep cavity which has a high decrement delay in a timber frame build. An equivalent u value of insulation with a a shorter delay would not prevent internal overheating as effectively on a hot sunny day.

Problem with many heating trades is they are used to designing systems for poorly insulated houses that are cold in winter - so its rads in every room or UFH in a thin screed on a poorly insulated slab. Few are experienced with low temp systems which is where ASHP tends to do well. Will your basement slab be insulated underneath? Ours sits on 300mm (overkill, 200mm would have been enough) of EPS 200 grade which the SE signed off. It's rock hard and sits on sand blinded hardcore and once covered with a basic membrane will be ideal to build your slab on. Advantage is that you don't need to screed / insulate the basement on the inside - no point doing it twice. Would up the external basement insulation to 200mm and forget anything inside. Ours has no heating whatsoever and is perfectly comfortable year round - the ambient heat from all the appliances down there (TVs, fridges and the plant room) are more than enough. Are you having a solid or suspended ground floor over the basement? We went for suspended with UFH in spreader plates - works great with our timber subfloor and resin topcoat (when it ever comes on that is). UFH runs at low temp but as we have a gas boiler no option to cool, which I would love. If you're going to be quite airtight then you'll have MVHR also but view it as a way of effectively ventilating your house with minimal heat loss vs any meaningful heat transference. It may well be that you do not need much if any heating upstairs which is a big leap for many people. We just have towel rads and electric UFH in the ensuite & bathrooms. However we are on mains gas as it was then the most efficient heat generator, the new connection was subsidised and it was a known quantity 5 years ago whereas I felt ASHP was still a bit new for us. We have a veru economical boiler though (Woster Ecostar) and also supplement DHW generation with the in roof PV and a diverter. ASHP would probably have worked as well and the summer cooling is a real bonus. Also consider provision (i.e. ducting and services) for a strategically placed split air con - you can install later if needed. You will find that overheating (not just a summer problem) is probably more of a concern than winter heating.

Do it again Basement : 50% extra living space without the planners blinking... External motorised blinds : reduce solar gain, look cool and no curtains required. Electric gates : we quite like them, give us a lot of privacy and some kerb appeal. Passive standard house, MVHR, low temp UFH on GF only etc.. : Year round comfort and low running costs TF turnkey construction : great for the novice, quick to build 4m 3G sliders: Can move them with a fingertip and have nice views through them PV: Ok, we got on the FIT just in time so payback is quicker but on the flip side needed MCS install. Dark panels, in roof trays on slate roof so not that obvious. Velux Integra roof windows: powered off mains and remote controlled Fingerprint scanner for front door: 5 years in, never given us an issue. Kids don't need keys so never locked out Flush exit from front / rear to paving / patio : Worth the head scratching to make it work Resin flooring : very robust, looks great and no grubby grout lines. Even more of a revelation after recently getting a dog GRP for flat roofs: had some issue with topcoat peeling but they are 100% waterproof. Hot water return loop: never have to wait for hot water at tap. It's wired into the same PIRs and light switches Quooker tap : although it's a scale magnet in our area. Love not having a kettle. 5a lamp circuit: wall switchable lamps are a nice and simple scheme lighting effect Didn't do it, would do it next time Split aircon provision / active cooling: winter heat is not the issue, summer cooling is and will only become more so. ASHP: on mains gas so boiler seemed obvious way to go but like idea of using ASHP to cool as well as heat - with PV in summer Toughguard paint everywhere : even after 5 years, redecorating feels too soon Sockets where there are none - always a tricky one to anticipate Would be in two minds about doing again Render exterior : looks great when done but now getting grubby - algal growth etc plus the issues we have with the install. Would have considered a partial timber / render combo. External balconies : expensive and never used. Look nice but that's about it. Getting joiner to install door linings etc : would have been quicker (and therefore cheaper labour) to do fully assembled door sets.

Digital is fine, you just need to print them off for the submission. We had about 50/50 digital vs printed invoices. Golden rule seems to be you need the VAT number of the supplier. You also need the VAT charged to be shown on the invoice / receipt OR need to calculate VAT charged (remember there are different section on the form for these two scenarios). Depending on value, your name & deliver address need to be on the invoice. A few of mine, online ones mainly, I had to write in the VAT number which I found elsewhere on their website.

I left out the emailing supplier 2 years after buying something pleading for a VAT invoice (and getting it to my amazement). I'm still sure there's something I missed.

Depends - I have a very small share in our local community owned pub. Was a struggle to get it out from the threat of 'development' (most likely demolition) but we succeeded after failing with a previous local that is now an express supermarket. I'm a regular on the Thursday night quiz but at the weekend it's got plenty of local 20 somethings in there - most of the staff are that age also. We've managed to keep it alive over lockdown, doing takeway sales last summer and moving the quiz online to preserve the community but had to shutter the pub it this time round. Wet bars (i.e. no food) are really struggling and have had the least help in the hospitality sector. That said, looking forward to re-opening in May!

Ignore @jack - use my method instead. 1) Get a big shoebox - I used one that my rigger boots came in. 2) Put everything that looks like a receipt, including delivery notes and the odd instruction booklet, in the shoebox. 3) Do not print out email invoices, just leave them on email. 4) Now and again plan to sort through the box. Do not sort through the box. 5) Keep the box in a safe place. Occasionally forget where the safe place is and have a massive panic attack. Find shoebox and consider step 4) above. 6) Finish your build, get BCO sign off and feel smug. Realise that you now have 3 months left to deal with the shoebox. 7) Open box, riffle thought it, close box. 8 Open box, and sort into invoices and non receipt chaff. Feel a bit queasy that the invoice pile is smaller than you imagined. 9) Realise that most of your receipts are on email and spend the next month tracking them down. Using a hypnotherapist to aid recall is not mandatory but will help. 10) Wake up at 4am remembering a purchase that you have not found - get up and search email for it before you forget. Go back to bed at 6am happy that you've found another £3.75 11) Find the BH VAT thread, download the forms and start to fill out the spreadsheet. Realise that the two months you have left will not be long enough. 12) Familiarise yourself with the scanner you last used eight months ago. Allow at least 1 day to find and update scanner s/w on your computer. 13) Start scanning, printing and typing. Repeat for an eternity. 14) Realise you don't have a hole punch, card sleeves or treasury ties - spend £15 acquiring and debate of you can claim the VAT for these. 15) With about a week to go, finish the whole lot and feel smug at the neat bundle of filed receipts. Last time you felt this good about paperwork was a school project on volcanoes in yr 6. 16) Discover the back up shoe box with more invoices. Panic. 17) Take your VAT reclaim baby to the post office. Hope that the claim amount is enough to cover the postage. 18) Wait. 19) Panic again. 20) Get confirmation of claim success and receive funds. Entertain momentary fantasy about what you could spend it on before reality bites. Easy...

As well as a cold air entry point it would make a great home for bees and wasps, maybe some particularly determined vermin.

Most here who have used a raft have done it as an insulated raft, with high strength EPS under the concrete and UFH embedded directly in the slab so no need for insulation or screed on top. This looks like an extension though so maybe not appropriate.

We don't want to know what you found or where you found it.

Get one of these (or similar) and attach to a laptop. Maybe a 5m one. Poke through hole once you've popped out a downlight and see what you see! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Endoscope-LESHP-Borescope-Inspection-Waterproof-2M/dp/B01N2HHP5T/ref=psdc_6286389031_t2_B00A6K4DCK

Start here - has link to the heat loss calculator. Don’t be shy with questions !

So - what is your heat requirement based on your design (insulation and air tightness levels, solar gain, min external temp in winter)? There are some DIY models on this site to help you figure that out or more pro tools are available. When you know this, you’ll understand what system will deliver an appropriate comfort level and what temp it needs to run at. Mvhr will not make any meaningful heat contribution but will minimise heat loss through ventilation and suggests that your build is fairly airtight which means your heating requirement may already be lower than typical. Log burners put out a lot of heat and you need to ensure they are sealed and do not compromise what you want your MVHR to contribute. UFH in every area may need to run at a lower temp to avoid overheating. As you’re upside down that complicates the usual approach of concentring heating downstairs and allowing convection to warm upstairs with bedrooms being cooler than living areas (which many prefer, including me). Bottom line is you need to treat you house as a system that the heating is part of vs try and shoehorn something in without consideration to the environment it is in. Needing to bolt things like PV on to get necessary SAP points is not really the best approach. What’s putting you off ASHP?

Saw this in my FB feed. The best comment was the one that said 'Woo - Free shoes!' One of their reps confirmed there was a 50l capacity with 25 mins recovery time. They are also being very coy on the fused spur requirements as 'it depends' but other commenters said 32A which could be an issue for retro fit.

One thing to add, a few here with the MBC passive slab with UFH and ASHP run the slab cool in summer and it acts as a heat sink. I wish I'd put in ducting for a split air con as that would take the edge of any summer overheating and effectively run free on the PV.

We have a MBC passive standard build which employs a twin wall (and roof) design pumped with cellulose based insulation. Has a very long decrement delay and is very effective in reducing overheating. Obviously solar gain is the main culprit so we also specced external blinds on east for wall and roof windows where we have no natural shade (and street facing so privacy). Gable ends are north and south so not too much glazing there. West has large sliders but facing a mature garden so evening sun and more shade. Windows are set in 100mm from external wall which helps also. MVHR will not significantly heat or cool your house - by design the air flow is low volume - perfect for ventilation - but not meaningful to move hot or cold air.

This is the damage reporting line - obviously there has been no damage 'yet' but may be a way to get in touch with them. Just explain that you'll be starting works on site 'soon' and you're worried your crane may damage it - I think you need to create a sense of urgency to get them to do anything (even quote) vs just making enquiries. To report Damage to the Openreach network please call the reporting team on 0800 023 2023 (Option 1 + Option 1) the team are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But I really don't think it will be super expensive and should not get in the way of your plot purchase.

This does not look very complicated, OR would run a new wire from the pole outside 16a and use their 'flying wire' exemption to negate a wayleave, but if going to the same side of 29 that the current wire is on, it would not impinge much at all on 27b. I think it's a case of continuing to pester OR to move it to that pole so your works (and you will be planning to use a crane, obviously) does not damage it. https://www.openreach.com/help-and-support/obtaining-wayleaves What are flying wires? These are wires which “fly” across one property from telegraph poles on another property. We’re sometimes allowed to install these without needing a wayleave, but only if: we don’t need to enter the property to do it the wires are 3 metres or more they don’t interfere with normal business at the property.

A site plan sketch / google maps screenshot would help. We demolished and did not re-instate the drop wire to the new house from the pole across the lane, instead we laid duct on our side and, after discussion with OR, laid it at our expense across the lane to the pole. We pulled through our own cable (you can buy OR approved cable, not expensive) and they hooked it up either end when it came to connection time. I presume you could do something similar - if you present OR with laid cable then they should be happy to swap out the overhead line. You also have the option to 'mole' across roads and avoid the cost of closures. Maybe get a local ground worker to price this up and use that as a working figure?

I concur and so does Paul Weller.

In the bathroom we went with green plasterboard everywhere, had it skimmed (which apparently was not necessary in areas to be tiled) and tanked the walls around the shower and laid the tray using @Nickfromwales bomb proof method. Tiled over with porcelain, no issues 5 years later. We went one step further in the ensuite and used an Impey wet-room shower former and floor liner, same wall treatment as above. Again, no issues.

Temperature of water.

We had the common experience that meeting one is with one of the principals in the big office (back when offices were a thing) but the work is then handed off to someone more junior once your business is secured. In our case the junior (still a fully qualified architect, just not a partner in the practice) was great and totally met our design brief and there was oversight from the partners but there was still a bit of sleight of hand rather than upfront honesty.

Just read the same story in the Daily Mail - it was breathlessly being compared to gas but I had the same thought as you - what are the relative efficiencies compared to resistance heating, aka the good old immersion. Feels like a puff piece placed by their PR agency. Also in the DM article was a comment on ASHP - correctly identifying their lower output but saying this required bigger radiators vs exploring that maybe better insulation and lower requirement for heat was the answer. One comment was of interest - was it you @ProDave I had to check the calendar and it's only the 15th March. They claim 96% efficiency. You can build an electric boiler with simple, cheap, proven, reliable resistive heating (like an immersion heater) which is as close as you can get to 100% efficient for a tenth of the price. I think this idea is greenwash. The problem with them both is that electricity costs 5x as much as gas. The only way to make heating with electricity viable is with heat pump technology which gives you 3 to 5 times as much heat as electricity used. The only problem is that heat pumps are too expensive atm.'