jack

Careful using that at night - lots of blue light, which research is increasingly suggesting is bad for subsequent sleep. Great book - still remember it vividly from over 25 years ago. From memory, there's something similar in Fahrenheit 451.

Thanks. I think this is perhaps the newer version of the first version I posted above.

Somehow I missed this post when it went up. Some amazing quality work going on there - I'm jealous! This is a frankly stunning result. I can't see any sliders or (God-forbid) bifolds, which I'm sure helped. I'm sure that half of the leakage on our house was around our large sliding door. Your windows are clearly nicely-adjusted for sealing too. Any chance of an update? Have you moved in yet?

Yes. For example, our Panasonic Aquarea came with a controller like this in the box: It has an unlit LCD screen and is an utter pig to use. You can also buy more advanced controllers, like these (not sure which is available for current models): Much easier to use, by all accounts. There're also app-based controls available with many models, which adds another layer of flexibility(/potential problems!)

Unless they're leaving them all open in the middle of winter, this doesn't make much difference. We have PH levels of insulation and airtightness, and regularly have doors and windows open. During the shoulder months, it's often just a nice thing to do when the temperature is right. During warm summer days, we keep everything tightly closed up during the day to keep the heat out, then open up once the temperature drops to purge as much heat as possible overnight. Having a bit less insulation is going to make virtually no difference to overheating if you have too much solar gain. Plan for brises soleil, external blinds, solar film - anything to reduce to impact of solar gain. Don't underestimate solar gain to the east and west - on summer mornings you'll get loads of gain from those directions. The heat of the morning sun getting in on a summer morning can set you up for a miserably hot day. Also, solar gain to the south can be a killer in the shoulder months - the sun is lower in the sky so tends to get under the window reveals and overhangs. They're right about fires and passive house levels of insulation and airtightness. You repeatedly hear stories of people spending a lot of money installing a wood burning stove, and using it once. However, even if you go for less than passivehouse levels of insulation, I'd encourage you to reconsider the fire. Health-wise, they're one of the most damaging things you can do, both for yourself and your neighbours. More practically, you're still likely to generate far more heat than is practical, even in a house with U-values of 0.13-0.14. That's especially the case given where you live. As for recommendations, we went with MBC about five years ago and were very happy with the work they did for us. A couple of minor mishaps along the way were rectified with zero fuss.

Yes, but the hit is per panel not per string.

Possible, yes. Recommended...?

You're right to be concerned, and I'm surprised anyone is suggesting rendering directly onto an outer layer of OSB. First, OSB isn't ideal as an outer cladding. You want to have a think about vapour openness from interior to exterior. For example, we have a twin stud construction, which (from inside to out) is airtightness membrane > OSB > warmcell-filled twin stud > panelvent (I think that's the brand - vapour permeable board, in any event) > breather membrane > vertical battens > cement board > brick slips. You definitely don't want to be rendering directly onto whatever is used to close the twin stud wall. It needs a ventilated cavity.

Welcome to BuildHub. ? By complete coincidence, I was listening to a podcast with Paul Stamets (mycological legend) today. He's presently undertaking research into combining lion's mane mushroom extract (which stimulates myelin production) with niacin (which stimulates peripheral circulation). His focus isn't MS, but clearly any support your brother can give his myelin system the better. It'll be some time before results are known, but if you're interested in getting ahead of the science in a fairly low risk way, that's one avenue. Another option is a ketogenic diet, which appears to help some sufferers. I only know about this because my own diet is largely ketogenic, and I've seen mention of MS a number of times in articles I've read on the topic. Hopefully I'm not teaching anyone to suck eggs. MS is such a horrible disease, and I hope your brother's progression isn't too steep.

What about cutting out a narrow strip along the line of the window and replacing it with something denser and more stable sitting straight onto the concrete? Something like a GRP box section or I-beam, or some laminated strips of concrete board? That'd minimise thermal bridging, although as you say, XPS might be a better shout on this point. What does the manufacturer say about long term compression?

Not sure whether it helps you, but Opinel is a well-regarded knife brand for grafting.

Simplicity of controls would be a big one. @ProDave, for example, has found his controls to be really user unfriendly. Ours are pretty poor too. Some brands have more expensive controllers available, which are allegedly easier to use. You could look at the pricing of those and report on what additional functionality they provide. Some recent ASHPs can be controlled via an app. If yours is one of those, that'd be worth reporting on.

You must be right, because even ground-based slabs are higher than ground level.

Ha. As it happens, we don't have our spices laid out in a shallow drawer as I suggest - we have them upright like yours, to fit more in.

Personally, I prefer a shallow drawer that you can lay the spices down in so you can see the labels.

We have Scolmore Click Definity (screwless faceplate) throughout our house. Good: The rocker switches (ie, the bit that moves) look and feel very high quality. Our electrician was very complimentary about the quality of the terminals etc in the back. Less good: They're very heavily sprung and can be quite loud in operation (socket switches and retractive wall switches for lighting). Not sure it that'll be the same for the particular version you're buying The screwless faceplates are, imo, pants. They feel flimsy, don't attach positively to the backplate in all cases, and I think the attachment dimples on the sides are as visually intrusive as screws on the faceplate. I'm not sure what you're planning, but if I were doing this again, I'd go for good quality plastic outlets rather than stainless. I actually think they look better.

We have owls. Their calls drive my neurotic dog mental, even after years of hearing them.

The amazing drying cupboard in the utility room, which still isn't enclosed after 4 years and may never be used as intended. The layout of the windows and sliding door in the kitchen, which made it impossible the furnish without having a sofa cover one of the windows. On a related point, we should have done a better job of planning the kitchen. There's too much area devoted to bench space and not enough to comfortable seating. Including a bath in the main ensuite. We've used it maybe twice in 3.5 years. It was added at the last minute to enhance resale value (despite the fact we never plan to sell), and the room would be larger, more attractive and more usable without it. Downstairs toilet is too big - should have made it narrower and given the space to the adjacent utility room. The workshop attached the garage is so narrow as to be impractical. Should have had the internal wall in a different place along half of the garage to make it wider. Should have built in provision for recessed internal blinds. Again, I could go on!

Maybe they don't tender when they see them?

We either hung a door backwards or put the switch on the wrong side in the utility room - can't remember which. Net result is that you need to reach behind the door to switch the light on and off. I'll retrofit something eventually, but it isn't a priority at the moment. We have recessed skirting boards that are (or should be) flush with the wall above. In some places, skirting boards are slightly too recessed. Oh, and the height of the gap between them varies throughout the house. Little thing, but it's something I notice all the time. We didn't find the time to screw all the boards down upstairs, and now we have places in our bedroom that creak. Drives. Me. Nuts. We decided for some reason not to include external blinds on our large bedroom window, despite the fact it faces east. I think we were just desperate to save money at that point. Why did we choose to lose those blinds rather than the ones facing the same direction in the kitchen? Literally no idea. We do have the wiring and a recess, so we can retrofit, but it will be more expensive and a bit of a pain in the arse than if we'd just done it properly the first time. I could go on for several pages more...

Knowing what I know now, I'm horrified by the quality of the scaffolding that we and the trades we had onsite were clambering over.

Welcome to BuildHub.

Interesting mix of gear, thanks for sharing. I'm familiar with this from the Loxone group I'm on. It's very highly rated with that firmware.

Of course he understood that you were talking about overheating. That is, however, a different point to moisture interfering with curing, which is the one you were making. Goalposts moved.

Nice attempt at moving the goalposts.