Nick1c

Ours is around £10k for a 3 bed dormer bungalow & garage a significant issue was an access road 8' wide in places. We used a local farmer for most of it, he also dug/ filled in trenches we needed for services whilst the digger was there.

Thanks @Alexphd1 that look to be just the thing.

Thank you. If it is being used with slates or tiles the vertical element of the flashing is covered by the horizontally orientated remainder of the roof covering. If the join is flashing to flashing (& close enough for the different panels to appear evenly spaced) wouldn't making he joint weathertight be problematic (we are in an exposed coastal location)?

Our house has a 2 X 11 strip of Pv panels (17) & roof lights (5) drawn on the plans. None of the roof lights are next to each other. If possible it would make sense to use in-roof Pv as it would save slates and look cleaner but I can't imagine how the flashing would work. I know it is possible to have either Pv panels or roof lights linked together, but haven't seen them combined - has anyone come across anything that would work?

@D Walter, so did I, there is a section on decking on the Sioox site which seems pretty definite on the preservation aspect. Maybe it would be worth giving Russwood a call to see if you are told anything different?

I spoke to Russwood before Christmas about Sioox, they were keen to emphasise that it was for getting a rapid, uniform, greying rather than acting as a preservative, which is at odds to my interpretation of the Sioox website.

I think that the labour is what makes them pricey, afaik the big manufacturers have (expensive) machines which reduce this element. You could try complete joinery on 01288 331010. They are near Bude & make windows in accoya, painted in long-lasting paint. No idea on their relative price!

Thanks Neil. I think I'll go for the bcc100 package unless there is a good reason for choosing an alternative.

We bought an old bungalow to demolish and insured it in the normal way with our existing house insurers in case of 3rd party claims. Understandably they weren't keen to offer rebuild cover!!! i asked Cornwall council about council tax, they said that the building has to be uninhabitable & that meant the roof had to come off. This happened just before new year & I sent pics to prove it, no word from them so far... W. Sussex may have different criteria.

I am thinking about recording the progress of our build, partly out of interest, partly for security and partly in case things go wrong. Brinno seems to be the camera of choice. I have looked on their website & the TLC100 looks to be the best as it has a wider viewing angle (140deg vs 112) - would those who have used one agree? I also have a few related questions: 1 Does everyone working on the site have to give consent to be recorded, if so does it have to be in writing? 2 What is the best/safest way of siting them? We have an electricity pole directly in front of the site, I was thinking of putting it on it 15' or so off the ground using bungee cord. 3 What is the best setting to use for the combination of security and record & do they have a motion sensor that can be set for 'out of office hours'? They seem to be £165 or so on eBay, is this the best source - or has anyone finished with theirs?

Thank you. @PeterStarck Who did you use?

I have just called self build insurance to discuss insuring our site. It appears that they won't quote for any building planned to have over 50% timber cladding! Are there any other options people have investigated with 'more relaxed'criteria?

In our last house we used fire blanks which had a nice swing weight & were cheap. We just had them trimmed to size, I'd use them again, but with edging strips.

I see what you mean about the poor conductivity. Oh well, it was just an idle thought. If we get an ASHP I'll look into using it for cooling.

I realise that the UFH is in the slab, I was just wondering if a second 'circuit' below the slab would have the potential to provide a low tech form of cooling as the ground would be at circa 10C.

Not sure if this is the right place for this but: A significant issue in very well insulated houses seems to be overheating. Is there any merit in the idea of putting some UFH pipes under the hardcore of a passive slab and pumping the UFH water through them in the summer to cool the slab, or will the pipe be damaged by what is above it?

Thank you.

Thanks Peter, The angled vent is easy, but where does the backflap go [and where do you get them]? Two of the ducts are horizontal through walls, the fan for the third one is celling mounted.

We have three extractor vents in our current house. With the 65mph gusts we have been getting recently the vanes which are there to reduce back flow have been making a fair old noise. Does anyone know if it possible to buy an external fitting with an electronic actuator which releases the vanes from a closed position (or forces sprung loaded vanes open) when the fan is turned on?

Thank you.

Thanks, I managed to miss the velux shutters....

Our plans include a section of roof with 19 PV panels and 5 roof lights. I have only heard of velux and fakro, are there any other manufacturers I should be looking at? If we can afford it I will go for the passivhaus certified model, in order to match the PV panels I think they need to be 1x1.6m. One of the things I am concerned about is overheating, in order to mitigate this I am thinking about external blinds for the roof lights. Fakro have options for both blinds & shutters, I haven't seen them for velux. Have people found big variations in price between retailers?

Anyone?

I would imagine it depends on your floor finish. Our (current) plan is to power float the slab to give the finished floor. The up side is not paying for additional tiles/timber & less time/money power floating as there will only be four edges and four corners. The down side will be ensuring accurate measurement of where the walls will be for fixings and protecting it during the build. If you put timber on an un insulated slab are you setting yourself up for cold bridging problems?

We are starting to look at window costs. I have asked for quotes from Ecowin, Nordan & a Rationel supplier. It seems that Internorm are a great (if pricey!) product which has been let down by some retailers. Could anyone recommend an Internorm seller for me to ask (I would ideally like supply & fit). I am in west Cornwall.