Bitpipe

This would be my concern. Even an honest contractor will find unexpected items when they start stripping back. Floors and floor slabs seem to be a common theme, plus walls out of plumb etc. Is your price an estimate or a fixed price? While you can, go get some more quotes and get a few for demo and rebuild also.

Almost happened in 1941 but there you go, another missed opportunity

Interested to hear your proposed solution. I'd like to see proper investment in national infrastructure (from trains to roads to broadband to housing) and an overhaul of the education system that promotes social mobility. I'd axe the private school system, or at least remove their charitable status, increase funding of the current system and revert to free third level education, but seriously look at culling the plethora of profit centred degree factories and focus them instead on vocational / apprentice style training. Much to learn from the german system where there is no shame in being a highly skilled worker and an engineer is akin to a doctor or lawyer, not someone who fixes your washing machine. And rejoin the SU and SM Norway style (we can stay out of the EU politics if we want) to prevent our shrinking manufacturing sector from shrinking further. And a proper progressive taxation system to fund it too that has an element that looks at wealth as well as income. Plus a welfare system that has dignity at its heart rather than spite. A lot of that will require new money and that's best done through cheap debt vs waiting another 30 years until we've saved it up in the national piggy bank. We're the 5th/6th richest country in the world, we can afford it.

The best 'cure' for national debt is to grow the economy as then it becomes smaller as a % of GDP. However that requires increases in productivity which requires investment in people and plant. Some of that is investment by business itself (internal and external) however the government needs to ensure that education is fit for purpose and that the national infrastructure is up to scratch. Trade and non trade barriers should also be eliminated where possible. Brexit is expected to drag GDP by a number of % points over the next few years so that will be a challenge on top of the short term Covid shock.

Having observed the build process of our passive standard timber frame, the most obvious difference was the airtightness provision between floors - i.e. there is a 4m airtight membrane that goes up the inside of the ground floor wall, out and over the exterior floor deck and back inside the wall of the upper floor. There is an internal airtightness membrane over the interior walls and the underside of the roof. Everything is taped together and the airtightness detail is continued onto windows and doors (which themselves are airtight. Final detail is that any external penetrations are sealed and the follow on trades take care not to penetrate the airtightness layer (this is mostly achieved by creating a service void). Modern houses are often described as 'plasterboard tents' as the structural wall is very leaky onto which is dot and dab plasterboard which is skim coated. Draughts are therefore concentrated at the joins of the plasterboard - typically ceilings and floors and these will therefore be colder than the other areas. The warm moist air in the home will condense out on these colder areas leading to damp. Older houses tend to have fully plastered walls onto the internal brick so are somewhat more airtight.

Dave is correct but from that perspective, you are where you are. But what would it cost to get the panels reconfigured to be consistent? Obviously a job for your sparky, or if they are reluctant, get someone else in for that specific task. How many grids do you have and which one is most intuitive- i.e do you have a reference design to replicate to the others?

Look, you can shoot that particular messenger, was first one I found. However the fact remains that a nation state is not a household and exists in a very different economic sphere. I found this useful https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/brief-guides-and-explainers/public-finances/ and this one https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/334/uk-economy/uk-national-debt/ I do wonder is the national debt is such a huge day to day concern? Like any debt, providing it can be serviced it is a useful tool for the government. From the second link above: Comparison with other countries Although 80% of GDP is high by recent UK standards, it is worth bearing in mind that other countries have a much bigger problem. Japan, for example, has a National debt of 225%, Italy is over 120%. The US national debt is close to 80% of GDP. [See other countries debt]. Also, the UK has had much higher national debt in the past, e.g. in the late 1940s, UK debt was over 200% of GDP. However, government borrowing is not always as bad as people fear. Borrowing in a recession helps to offset a rise in private sector saving. Government borrowing helps maintain aggregate demand and prevents a fall in spending. In a liquidity trap and zero interest rates, governments can often borrow at very low rates for a long time (e.g. Japan and the UK) This is because people want to save and buy government bonds. Austerity measures (e.g. cutting spending and raising taxes) can lead to a decrease in economic growth and cause the deficit to remain the same % of GDP. Austerity measures and the economy | Timing of austerity

I didn't say I liked everything about them politically, my point was more on the economics.

Ian, any scope to move the switches around behind the grids so that they are consistent? if you take that front panel off you should be able to access the individual modules. Our sparky was a bit more diligent (e.g. on every double switch either side of beds, inner is lamp, outer main light) but still got a few mixed up so that's how I fixed them. We have a few big grids (4x2) and initially I felt it was all a bit random until he explained that upper switches were ceiling lights, lower switches were lamps etc and the rooms were laid out in order - further along, further away etc. Also, for non intuitive switches (like the utility grid for the ovens etc) he had the switches etched with the function. You can also get this done with the switch plate.

Have you been able to see the calculation itself? Score etc? You can get free s/w (FSAP from Stroma) where you can play with the inputs and see what's what.

Ok, that's a big advantage. We used a timber frame package build as it guaranteed high performance (meeting passive standards) and was fairly fool proof for novices like us. Sort of. Our wall construction has a very long decrement delay - it takes a long time for heat or cold to penetrate from outside. However it is a lightweight construction, essentially an MDF/OSB sandwich pumped full of warmcell insulation (which is treated powdered newspaper). You need to view the wall as a system and figure it out from there. The relative density of the material is misleading - wood has a higher specific heat capacity than brick for example. https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/specific-heat-solids-d_154.html Essentially I think you want to avoid an extension that performs very differently (ie. heats up much more quickly or slowly, internally or externally ) to the rest of the house, unless it's going to exist as a fairly standalone unit (i.e. not all open plan into the existing). How it's actually built is moot but you're probably more likely to match it if you use similar methods (i.e. blocks with, insulated cavity). Whats your space heating strategy?

The comparison between running a nations budget like a household budget is a well worn politician's trope. https://neweconomics.org/2018/10/a-government-is-not-a-household The nettle to grasp is whether to tax income or wealth. The former is very easy to monitor (PAYE) but does not address the real inequality where massive amounts of wealth are in the hands of a small percentage of the nation. However those with appreciable wealth also have the means to obfuscate it and effectively influence government not to tax it. The property tax vs fixed charge is interesting but as discussed earlier, how do you effectively calculate the property value on an annual basis? RBWM, where I live, has the highest average house prices in the UK and our longe term conservative led LA boasted of keeping the CT low every year. However it now transpires that we have a massive hole in the budget so that magic trick hasn't worked. Still, I can get into Windsor Castle for free whenever I want so, silver clouds and all that. I grew up in a fairly grim NI housing estate but benefited from free education (just) and random house price inflation. Navigated a few recessions and would consider myself comfortable. Always happy to pay tax and would happily pay more if I felt it was being spent improving social mobility, which benefited me. I didn't see anything in the last Labour manifesto that scared the horses and the current govt has shown that there is there ability to access resources when they're required. It's a choice...

Tell us a bit more about the basement construction, when it was built, what the current waterproofing strategy is etc. Newton have plenty of products to seal basements but you need to understand what the root cause is - agree that effective external drainage is probably the starting point.

We bought a similar house back in 2011 (1950s brick & brick, no insulation). After considering all options to refurb & extend, we decided to demolish and start from scratch. 1) as a new build you save 20% on VAT. Another way to look at this is to take your build budget and remove 20%. 2) the new house is airtight and insulated to near passive standards so MVHR etc will work as designed. 3) we were able to re-orientate on site and take advantage of the aspect. 4) Were able to put a basement under the house to maximise the footprint (ok, this last one is not for everyone ) Have you considered (and priced) this option? Took us a while to get our heads around it but very glad we did. Got exactly what we wanted with no compromises and at a controlled budget (no surprises). I have met many people who have done what you are planning to do and without exception, they all wish they had demolished as the costs kept rising, the surprises kept appearing and the compromises kept stacking up. Plus no 20% VAT discount. To some of your points above It will be very difficult to make the existing part of the house airtight to a meaningful level. Most of the leakage will occur at the floor / wall interface where joists go into the wall. In our build, there is an airtight fabric that runs up the inside wall, comes out over the floor structure and back up the inside wall of the upper floor. In addition to the airtightness layer inside, every joint, penetration etc is sealed and taped. So MVHR will still help your air quality and ventilation but you may struggle to get meaningful heat exchange efficiency as that really only comes into play when your have airtightness below 2.0 (passive standard is 0.6) ACH. You can get a blower test when you're done to see how close you are. 'Thermal mass' is often bandied about in the likes of Grand Designs - do a few searches on this site for good explanations why it's not that meaningful. A better consideration is high decrement delay - i.e. slow to let external heat or cold penetrate the wall.

I don't know.. last week's was a real down to earth, relatable story of an everyday man and his £4.5m budget.

Great advice from Dave there - the HBB is a great buy. You're already doing a lot right as the most efficient house shape to build cost wise is a square / cube with gable ends and a pitched roof - tells you all this in the book. By luck, that's also what we have Also smart that you have areas that need minimal finish (garage) or can be left until later (room in roof). We were in a similar position with our basement and top floor - however when getting quotes I was always surprised that the incremental cost of including those spaces was not excessive, you've also got to weigh the advantage of doing it now at zero VAT vs doing it later and paying 20%. A compromise can be to get to first fix in those areas then buy and store additional materials for post completion work. While the VAT claim cutoff can be quite strict (3 months post completion), I have had trades come back a year later and still charge me zero VAT for labour based on our original agreement.

We had a good architect in that he designed a building we liked visually and functionally and most important got us through planning (eventually). Like you, he was not that interested in how it was built (was only really experienced with traditional methods), how it performed (low energy etc) and had no ideas at all about the basement which he was always a bit resistant to. So we parted company at that point on good terms and we took over the management of the build - did our own planning conditions discharge and used an independent BCO who was very helpful - plus all the resources on this site. Saved his quoted £15k in fees also for the next stage (detailed design). We were helped to some degree by choosing a comprehensive timber frame package that included their own SE and were able to provide the BCO with all the detail they asked for. However we did commission our own SE for the basement and they produced the drawings to take to tender and all the calcs to satisfy BCO. So if you're considering changing architect stop and think whether you need one at all and explore other options. Are you contemplating DIY for the ICF or using a contractor? I used a SE (Tara) who now work at Build Collective (https://www.buildcollective.co.uk/about-us) and are pretty experienced in ICF although I did not end up going down that path myself.

That's a great position to be in. The goal now is to get your architect and SE to 'value engineer' the house you want for the budget you have. Quite often you can get a dramatic effect, such as contemporary views, by using a series of smaller windows vs large and expensive expanses of glass - we have a few 'slot' style ones that are 600mm wide but 2m tall (and the same horizontally, higher up the wall) which really work well and they were quite cheap. Keeping to standard dimensions (e.g. 2.4m ceiling heights, standard internal door widths etc) will also reduce material and labour cost. We kept our interior colour palette quite muted but then used a signature colour (in our case a sharp teal) to add a bit of zing. We had custom coloured glass splash-backs made for the kitchen (not expensive at all) and used a whole panel of the same coloured glass in the downstairs loo vs wall tiles - again, not that expensive. Outside we tried to avoid the standard anthracite grey and used Basalt Grey instead (RAL 7012) to give a softer look for windows, cills and guttering etc - it's all the same cost if you're getting it powder coated. Are you having a traditional pitched roof or going flat? The latter can be expensive and problematic if not installed flawlessly so you could consider a traditional roof (i.e. slates) but at a very shallow angle (15 degrees). Anyway, lots to throw in the ideas pot there - it may take a few iterations but you should be able to get something with the look you want that won't break the bank. A few signature elements (such as your metal staircase) can make a big statement.

Welcome! You don't say where you are in the UK so hard to comment on budget - the rule of thumb is usually £1500 /m2 with some degree of project management from you (hiring individual trades) with that shooting up if it's a completely hands off build (i.e. you trust entirely to a single contractor) and down if you can take on more work yourself, depending on your skill set. You also need to factor in services cost (power, water, sewerage, telecoms) and access that will meet the planners satisfaction - sometimes these can be prohibitively expensive and kill your project at the outset so get ahead of them now. The other unknown is ground conditions - if it's brown land (ex industrial or similar) your LA may well want a contamination survey and remediation plan as a planning condition. Good that you have a friendly ground-worker, more important than a discount (they have to make a living) is working with someone you can trust and who can give you good advice. Architects, SEs and BCOs can all over specify and having an experienced hand to counter balance that is invaluable - that's where you'll save money.

Sounds obvious but it's the last thing you complete We had a final physical inspection with a to-do list of outstanding items - most were paper based, MVHR commissioning cert (DIY), electric & gas sign-offs etc. We had some outstanding glass to install (Juliette balcony) so just sent pics of that with a tape to show it was the correct height.

Yep, I had some wide variation in quotes. Essentially you're looking for a firm that has the plant and the contacts to arrange the concrete works. Maybe drive around a bit and see what's going on in the local area to get some more firms on your radar - look for works at schools or new builds vs domestic jobs. One of my shortlisted contractors did some site prep for me and only in conversation did he say they could quote for basements etc so you never know.

Just be prepared as this will be the start of it. They will have something to say about every single event, whether a delivery, noisy works etc. You need to be reasonable but firm from the outset. Let them articulate the concern (e.g. dust) but don't let them dictate the solution - just say you'll do your best to address it.

From our experience, you can get quite emotionally attached to the first few plots and there is the risk of overpaying to 'get the dream'. We dodged a bullet early on - was an old farmhouse with what would have been a plant nursery business at the rear. An odd shaped plot with some issues about access to the front. However we loved its location and were sad when we could not make it work financially but it took experienced friends with cooler heads to get us to walk away.

Yes, so an incentive to only take what you need. When I was with them (2015/6) they just need an email to release funds - no valuations once the solicitor did the initial paperwork.

I would guess you may be able to import VAT free (or reclaim any VAT paid outside the UK) and pay the then pay VAT on arrival and then claim it back again? Or the exporter needs to collect the UK VAT on behalf of HMRC - I know for this reason, many smaller retailers will no longer ship to the UK. https://www.dutchbikebits.com/shipping Damn all that bureaucracy that we had to endure previously.