Bitpipe

You may be able to get the steel ones powder coated to your desired RAL. Maybe call round a few local paint shops?

I used this exact system. BCO and warranty provider accepted it as a single method of protection. We had ground water at 6m and were excavating to 3.5m (with subsequent slab build up of 150mm compact type 1, 50mm blinding, 300mm EPS insulation, 300mm concrete). Came with a 15yr warranty and all works were regularly inspected by a Sika rep during the installation. The crew used the Sika red waterbar held in place with the Sika red mastic for section joins (horizontal and vertical) and pipe sleeve penetrations (fouls) and the concrete had the admix. We used shuttering so the quality of the pour was visible when it was struck (this is the one issue with using ICF). Sika plugs (rubber bungs that expand when a screw is tightened) filled the holes used to brace the shuttering. The shuttering design needs to allow for a recess / channel in each cast section to hold the waterbar and the team were diligent at making sure that was clean and dry. They also designed a 150mm high kicker as part of the slab pour with a recess in the centre of that. Also important is a land drain to the perimeter of the slab foot to a soakaway and backfill the working space with something fast draining like clean stone - in effect create a giant french drain. Type A can be effective but sometimes difficult to install and backfill needs to avoid any damage. Type C (internal membrane, sump & pump) obviously assumes water is getting in.

Has a sacrifice to appease the Heating Gods been explored yet? Maybe next thing to look at after bleeding the rads.

We have electric UFH in the bathrooms to warm the tiles, apart from a wet towel rad per bathroom that's the only heating upstairs as the house is passive standard. It's really a comfort measure, as tiles are good conductors of heat they will always feel cold underfoot unless warmed. I got a cheap 100w wire mat kit from eBay, Warmstar and it worked fine. I ditched the very cheap controllers that came with it and got some fancier ones from the Under Floor super store. You get expected resistance values for each mat and test them with a multimeter rolled, unrolled and installed. You need to specify the area to be covered as the mats are pre wired - you can tweak the shape covered by cutting through the webbing. There is also a temp probe that needs to go down alongside the mat for the controller. The build up was structural OSB, 6mm insulated tile backer board (screwed to floor), heating mat (stuck to floor with primer and tape), self levelling compound, adhesive & tiles - total build up was 25mm. The tiler took care of it all and I used a little tester unit that you clip to the mat while its being laid and it beeps if there is a short between L/N/E - you've no other option to bin the mat in that case but saves ripping up tiles. As above - these kits work fine with tiles as the layers above the element are very conductive vs those below. You can get 150W and 200W systems but again, need to think carefully about what is above the element - wood or carpet will be effective insulators.

You're right, EG must be living rent free in there.

Does Steamy's head have an up to date Gas Safe certificate? A zombie economy for some, others have done very well since 2008. Austerity was a choice and not a very good one but swallowed as necessary by those that keep falling for 'A country's finances are like a household' lie. Hopefully populism is on the way out and competent government will come back into fashion. We have another few years of the experiment to run though.

That's about it. There is now some walk on glass for sale from @pocster

Google 'decrement delay' - there was a good comment in this forum on it recently also. That wall (and roof) construction is quite slow to heat up in summer also. For glazing we have external blinds on south and east (street) windows, inc Velux, which are excellent at reducing solar gain.

Careful now, you may be considered feckless at some point in your life and need bailing out

I have the MBC passive wall construction and it's pretty soundproof - probably due to the thick layer of warmcell between the internal and external panels and the high levels of airtightness overall. I suppose it's highly dependent on the wall build up.

I got about 6 TF quotes and had to do quite a bit of work to make them comparative - variables included delivery to site, crane hire, erection, safety systems (fall arrest), foundation systems, non structural walls, temp stairs, insulation, airtightness testing, roof felt & batten etc etc. I got one builder quote for traditional block construction - it was competitively priced but I didn't have confidence that I'd get the low energy performance I wanted (he said 'I'll have a go' and I was not confident enough to PM that type of work. Also looked at ICF (done by contractor, not DIY) but that was coming out as a lot more than TF. If you can afford the up front cost you can get a lot done in a short time and move fairly quickly to first fix. You're pretty wether independent also - depending on the hardiness of the crew (and mine were very hardy) TFs can be erected in conditions when block laying would not be feasible. Also the predictability of door & window openings mean you can order those ahead and have something approaching just in time delivery. Also TFs are easier to adjust (within reason) if there's been a mistake on apertures (even after triple checking I still had a few). Scaff costs also potentially reduced.

We did our basement in shuttered concrete and put a timber frame on top. We copied the passive slab construction that the timber frame company usually provided. Also steel frame & timber joists for GF, although a concrete lid may have been cheaper, a web joist floor made it easy to install UFH and services (lighting, MVHR etc). Was all pretty straightforward.

The only place I opened an account at was Howdens as they won't sell to public. I just turned up in scruffy site clothes and that seemed to do the trick. Every other BM I just negotiated per item or got my trade to get their best price and I got the invoice in my name. I think the main advantage for trades are the payment terms where cashflow can be an issue.

I'd end up paying more but have no issue in doing so if its equitable. Also want to see the LAs, or more accurately the services they provide, properly funded. There is something of a sleight of hand where central government tweaks the grant to make some areas (usually Labour, more deprived) need to charge more and then get painted as poorly run, high CT etc. Other big question is how property values are assessed - for CT it's not that relevant as you get put in a band with equivalent properties but if a % is being paid then it needs to be more accurate and regularly reviewed. Also value for taxation is always going to be higher than the real world 'what would someone pay for it' value which could be contentious. SD is obviously paid on an actual transaction so is indisputable. With all these things you need to visualise the Daily Mail headlines as this will set the political weather to some degree.

Of interest to BC is meeting the regulation extract requirement for WCs, kitchens and bathrooms and minimum whole house ventilation rates. Your MVHR needs to be balanced to work efficiently so you normally double duct extracts and single duct supplies. You should have a supply in every habitable room and ensure cross flow of air through the house (hence the gaps under doors). BC may ask to see a commissioning report but you can DIY this. They may or may not notice/measure the door gaps - but without them your MVHR will not really work. Utility would not need supply or extract under the regs but we use ours for drying clothes (condensing tumble and rack) so have an extract. We also have a utility off the open plan living / dining area. When the door is closed, we don't hear the washing machine. We have a dishwasher in the kitchen (same open plan area) and never hear that either. Investing in decent appliances will make a big difference (we have Miele/Siemens). It is really difficult to soundproof rooms. You can go to expensive extremes, spent lots (rubber matting, resilient bars etc) and not got a lot of success. I used blue plasterboard on basement and GF ceilings and I suppose it makes some difference but noise still transfers. I don't think the air gap will make much difference if the TV is up loud.

You've not spent much time in NI @jack.

Look at it like this - you'll need drawings done anyway so crack on with those. Then chance your arm at the NMA and if you fail, you do the full app. The fee is lost but up to you if it's worth a punt. We did 3 planning apps: first rejected, second approved (after a bun fight and threat to appeal) and then we did a third as there were changes well outside of NMA. First one garnered lots of 'community comments', second fewer and third zero.

Mixed feedback on pre-app advice. Some planners use it for its intended purpose but others to push their own agenda of what is acceptable. Ultimately, anything suggested in pre-app advice is non binding when the full app goes.

From my own experience, you can submit a Non Material Amendment (lower app fee and simple yes/no decision) to an existing approval for minor tweaks - I did one that increased the front windows from 1000mm to 12000 mm and added solar PV to rear. As it was a tweak, I did the drawing adjustments myself and they were accepted. However it's at the planners discretion as to whether the amendment is non material. If not, you will need to do a full planning app again. I put in a second NMA for solar panels on front elevation and this was rejected as it affected the street scene. From the planning portal ... Government does not provide a statutory definition of ‘non-material’, it is down to the Local Planning Authority to be satisfied that any amendment(s) sought are ‘non-material’ in order to be eligible for this type of application.

Agree with the above - only toilet paper (which is designed to disintegrate) is allowed in our loos and we are on mains sewage. Anything else (wipes, etc) goes into a lined lidded bin in the bathroom. No smells and bins is emptied once a week. We had a blockage early on, likely a wipe snagging on something in the older part of our drains run from the previous build. That was not pleasant to resolve.

For MVHR to work as a ventilation system you need a balance between supply and extraction, supply to living areas & bedrooms and extraction from damp / smelly areas like kitchen and bathrooms. You also need an air gap of 7600mm2 under every door to enable airflow between rooms. MVHR units run at fairly low speeds for the majority of the time and only boost when triggered - manually (switch) or automatic, such as Co2 / humidity sensor or wired into the cooker hood or lighting circuit. When properly installed you should not really detect the airflow even when standing under a supply. Their effectiveness as ventilation systems is dependent on being balanced and having the external intake and extract on the same face of the building so they are not affected differently by wind. Their effectiveness as heat recovery systems rely on the house having an airtightness of 2 ACH or less. So having one or more fireplaces (with the associated free air supply) will rule out any heat recovery as your house will have negligible airtightness and may well rule out effective ventilation as, if there is airflow across the top of your chimney then that will pull air out of your house and out compete the pull from the extract fans in the bathrooms & kitchen.

As a NI native I understand the appeal of an open fire I had an old school friend who I had to stop coming round for a drink in the garden as after about 10 mins he wanted to 'get a fire going' ... SAP scores may not register with you but you need to pass to get the building signed off, there is a recent thread where someone is now being advised to retro fit solar PV to bump up their score due to some lack of foresight at the design stage. Also forever homes have a habit of being sold at some stage so they need a valid SAP. As Peter says above, if the open fireplace is a must have then don't waste money on airtightness, insulation and MVHR elsewhere as it will be pointless. A house works as a system, doesn't matter how airtight the rest of it is when there is a massive hole in the envelope - two actually as you'll need a free air supply to compensate for the fire. All the heat you pay to generate elsewhere in the house will fly up that chimney.

@nod I think @Makkers82 will shortly be in touch for a quote

Yes, essentially you are then the main contractor / project manager so will remove the 20% overhead that you'd normally hand over for a turnkey project. Many of us have gone down that path here with little prior experience. You just need to be organised and prepared to put the work in to source trades and materials in time and at a good price. A timber frame package can be a good option here as they are factory made so arrive with pre-defined window / door apertures (so you can pre-order those) and are quick to erect. Some will supply the foundation system also and if low energy is a goal then there are firms that will contract to meet specific targets. Ours provided all internal floors (decked) and stud walls so we were able to move quickly to first fix once the exterior was weather tight (windows, doors, roof covering & external cladding). Living on site during the build helps (and will save £s) if that's feasible. Think about floor area - if you go for a standard 2 storey and room in roof then for 300M2 you're looking at about 120m2 footprint for each floor (roof rooms assumed to have 50-70% of the effective floor coverage) which is 11m2 so quite large. Some build shapes are more cost efficient than others, complexity costs money.

That money was only resting in my account.