G and J

I’m 62. We will be starting the build soon. I too have periodic chronic CBA Syndrome. In 9 years I’ll be 71. Oh god, I see my future…. I wonder where my paint pot will live?

I believe that with that small a coil you’ll need a high flow temp from your heat pump to heat water effectively. That will hit your COP hard and I presume the extra load on the heat pump would increase noise and wear. Maybe some form of heat exchanger may work better but it still might be simpler and easier (and who knows maybe even cheaper) just to accept the tank replacement as part of the cost of boiler replacement.

Our main sewer pipe invert level is only 500 mm at the front of our plot and the required falls mean that gets less near the house. The paver over the drain looks like a bloody good idea regardless - is it just laid there and then covered up or is it cemented in place?

But in all things I lay awake thinking…… So if the no concrete slab/screed idea works with well enough compacted hardcore stuff then that means (I think) that I could do a hand mixed concrete layer on top of the compacted stuff to then put insulation then floated wooden floor on. I’ve been thinking I needed proper poured concrete which will be sill expensive to pump the circa 75m from the road. I guess I’m thinking more like a string oversite than a slab. I wonder…..

My 25m2 garden building doesn’t have to comply with regs and we won’t be throwing money at it as it is just a man cave, but I still want it nice and useable. This idea would solve my ‘getting concrete down the bottom of the garden after we’ve built the house’ problem. I’m keen.

So a total wall build up of maybe just shy of 500mm and a u value I would guess just better than building regs. Not something I’d be pleased with. Block outer skin helps mortgagabilty, but quite a few lenders are taking against external wood cladding even on block. If going block on block then I would think standard block-insulation-block-plaster type would yield a cheaper build with a nicer feel.

I think you’ve just solved a dilemma I have with my pigpen (man cave, thing). Brilliant.

Ah - do you mean ‘cooked’ stripes in the carpets. That does not sound good.

Is that to ensure that there’s enough strength in the floor ‘skin’ to stiffen it nicely? If so a floating layer of flooring won’t help. Presumably that extra strength could come from an extra layer under the routed OSB just as much as it could on top, perhaps improving the thermal performance.

If these are fink trusses then I can only be guided by my recent discussions re truss options for our build. The pertinent point from that is that fink trusses are brilliantly efficient compared to other types, efficient in the sense that there are lots of other options but all of them require a lot more timber in the cords of the trusses. I’m guessing you are talking about removing the bracing which would scare me to death especially given the above. I’m assuming you don’t wish to pay a structural engineer just yet, though you will surely have to. Maybe worth getting a specialist room in the roof company to give you a quick view re feasibility - might be a way of getting an idea without committing funds.

Just for info we are in the same LPA as @Alan Ambrose We have submitted A preapp, with response within timescale (just) A full planning app (demolish bungalow/build house), that following the need to redo the 21 day consultation period, took 1 week from receipt to validation, 14 weeks from validation to decision A NMA application is currently in train, validated day of receipt The full planning app and NMA app was undertaken by local (known) architect, everything was available at outset Broadly same scale as house next door one side, but will be only timber clad property in road and borders conservation area so not an absolute slam dunk. Not sure what all that tells anybody but.......

I would suggest posing the question from a different angle. What exactly are you planning to build and what factors are you focussed on? Overall cost? Wall thickness (or thin-ness)? DIY-ability? etc….

It’s a bit like the loft conversion debate really. Loss of floor area to stairs vs usable floor area gained and all that. Thankfully usually there’s more important overriding factors that determine the plan…

When we built our current house we received many comments about wasting space in the hall. We could easily have made it much smaller but we liked the gallery landings (which makes it sound much grander than it is) and the sense of space it gave, and we were happy to have less space in other rooms to compensate. I think in the vast majority of cases the site and the preferences of the dudes that the house is being built for dominate the design, which is how it should be.

Yes. Did it help in any way? Ah, now there’s a question….

Thank you. The drawing is fine from my point of view - it helps me confirm my understanding of what we are needing. We’ve got two flat(ish) roofs to sort out, one on the house with a parapet and one on the man cave down the garden, so I need all the help I can get.

Golly, that’s a very good point.

We are in the middle of finalising our flat roof design. The architect suggested a cold roof with less insulation than I would like and less than ideal allowance for services and airtightness (if that’s a word). @Big GI would be grateful to have sight of your warm roof design.

If the Wi-Fi one is cheaper (all other things being equal) and it saves me having it on my mind what the hell, why not? And trusting a known make is something I understand.

OK I give in, I’ll buy a bigger ASHP so I don’t have to put up with the noise.

How the bloody hell did you discover that?

Or how about a 5kW heat pump and a woodburner? ……….runs for cover while giggling!

No.

Ah, understood, thank you. I’m wondering if putting in a 6” insulated flue for a stove that needs 5” is my normal overengineering/overthinking thing (again!). My thought process is that lots of stoves need 6” so if we dislike the stove and want to swap it (we have done that before) then it will give us more choice for very little cost. But this is a stove we may hardly ever use. Such a puzzle.

Interesting. What does that allow for?