scottishjohn

If i were going off grid ,then I would have solar thermal in the mix to heat your water and save pv for things that must use electric . a bright day in winter will still give you 50c on panels to charge up your thermal store , I used a thermal store with 3 coils --solar in ,mid tank UFH out ,top dhw -which was then blended with cold to only send water to taps at 50c. main volume of tank was heated if required by lpg ,but that could be Pv or anything . downside to my system was not large enough thermal store --so could not use all solar avialable alot of the time . will not make that mistake again I was discounting it on new build but now no FIT from pv and ASHP maybe not much ,due to house energy rating -,its back on my list . but got to wait for heat load of new house to go nay further with tank size computations.. build a concrete one surrounded in pretty stone in middle of house --any energy that leeks will heat house anyway

that will explain why they are so much more expensive --adative for UV protection in that case always use black grids and connections at surface level then --not the brown one?

a question to those that know is there any reason why you would fit solvent weld type pipes over push fit when they seem to cost much more maybe mandatory if its a pumped line ? or maybe in a septic tank drainage feld application Is there any stipulation on colour as most seem to be brown ,but other colours available ,presuming they have BS cert

I had same problem --with my garage -after splitting it into units long story short --wanted to fit sprinkler --was simple to get plenty of overlap on spray patterns not exactly rocket science to fit galv steam r pipe to all purlins with sprinker heads every 6ft -which have an 8ft pattern but BC insisted on fire engineer cert sent drawing to man --"yes thats a perfect overlap " Ok says I, how much for cert £5 k --a lot more than cost to do the job my reply not printable

become a hermit LOL

I take it grid connection is not possible and no hydro available?. It can be on the ground if you can get better orientation that way shading from anything is a major thing as it could cut in half the number of hours in a day you could get power production where you are in the country will also make a difference

I asked same question of blauberg agent in uk when talking about a centralized mvhr system for new build his suggestion was to accept small loss when in use and have it separate direct extraction to outside with a flap type exit . better than blocking up the mvhr filters and coating ducts internally over time with gunk just what I have been told you make your own mind up I know what I will do when i get that far

simple answer is yes. my architect did a job in london --conversion of an old big tin shed 30,s design into accomodation . there was also a hvac system as well as it was multiple occupancy . it was fully foamed, all the walls and roof under plasterboard etc . when he went to sign it off it was found he could not open doors easily due to vacum in building when hvac running . when hvac people were contacted --"AHH you got it better sealed than we expected,never seen one that good " --so it had to be re-speced to suit. so yes it will work fine ,cos that was only 150mm they used

must be a big new build if you need a 3phase ASHP .LOL

If I wanted to build a house from wood in five years from now I would buy 200% of what i needed now and season it ,pick the good stuff and then start the build + sell the rest . I know a man who did that- 20 years ago -sort of . got all his oak ,stored for 3 years then machined it to sizes he needed and then fitted the house out with it ,floors and all wood work and doors and furniture etc . he reckons it actually didn,t cost him much in the end cos what he didn,t use he sold very well as seasoned wood -but you need deep pockets for that game

never seen such a biased scaremongering post as this before !!. you involved in the campaign fear in brexit ? I take it you don,t drive on motorway bridges due to liability of the concrete failing or go inside any multi storey concrete structure . do not even try to compare aviation wood with house building stuff --that again is biased as we are not talking about same thing . you think that aviation wood supplies are anywhere comparable to construction wood ! I certainly would not use readily available construction for a load bearing member on an aircraft I was building or flying I have never found 20 pieces cls that are all straight --just not how it comes . why do think that glulam has come about --cos they cannot get decent large section wood . even look at joists and things made from engineered wood --not real wood .

you will only know what the difference is by asking your supplier all depends how close 3 phase is and if they need to fit a larger transformer because of other people on same line I think that would be my first move --find out cost difference -- one plot i was looking at -a n old farm needed transformer replacing --£4k--so don,t guess find out

but all well above the water table that is the way VELOX do it in poland and suggest in build manual --strip found ,then 500mm panels to make perimeter --fill with concrete ,then clean stone inside +pour slab

not a clue what percentage --but you can bet the areas close will have a very deep frost penetration level requiring these sort of founds . And again sweden has summers and winters not like here

which is why I posted what i did you cannot get good wood ,well not at sensible pricing --but you can get good concrete very easy which is why I would not consider building a TF house with MODERN timber you will know as well as I that cutting a new bit of wood is very easy --try to cut a seasoned bit --totally diffeent thing very much more dense and harder to cut --but it will stay dimensionaly correct

OK with 3 phase you have 4 or 5 cables 3 live phases and on old systems a neutral + an earth --but as the neutral is really an earth -then modern things use only 4 wires each of the lives when paired with the nuetral give 240 vlots --approx so when you use all 3 lives and a nuetral on soemthing you get 440v approx you can split a 240 circuit from board by just using one phase+ neutral --so you could balance your load across the building by using the 3 phases for different circuits to pull even current long time ago you could save money by doing this --but I am told --don,t know for certain that it don,t matter anymore cos meters are tricky only reason for having 3 phase is to run big motors as they use less current for same load as single phase and there is a limit on size of single phase motor

so sweden don,t count then ?? thats not a nordic country carry on knit picking if you like

all I,m going to say to this is you cannot comapre the wood used in a 500 year old house with the crap we get now ,which is still growing or near enough, and has not been seasoned for years before use. what is the warranty you get on treated timber??? 10years ?--hardly the same stuff is it ? Yes and in poland and those countires you have real winters + summers where it is cold and dry in winter and stinking hot in summer to dry the wood out --not semi cold and damp like uk so wood never really gets dried out . ask any one with a TF house how much it shrinks in the first few years and way doors change fit and cracks in plaster etc--thats shows the wood is not seasoned enough

I will not reply directly to JS reply to my post as he is only looking at half of what I wrote , as that suits his view point to try to convince all that passiv slab is the only way for all situations . which it is not . As for his saying that germany don,t have permofrost --who mentioned germany ? plenty of permofrost in nordic countries and lots of europe that has a frost line down to 1m -1.4m which we never get here -thats why you bury water pipe at 500mm that is why it was developed --so there would be no foundation heave as well as ther insulation value --but note all systemsrequire drainage so it don,t get WET. now if as JS says foam is water proff why would they require drainge ?--my case proved I think study the spec --other systems are avaialble --i,m not pushing any --just first one i found https://econekt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ECONEKT.-Passivhaus-Raft-Foundation-System..pdf the case we are discussing has a water table of 2" --we are told so why would you want to build into the ground to have soggy foundations --unoless you going to tank them like a basement .. this idea that eps or foam is water proof is TOSH,as JS says --thats why you have to tank basements even if built from ICF-- and have positive edriange layers as well my case proved again I think the SE+ground specialsit will advise --but it would seem that building out of the ground is the simplest and cheaperst way - use blocks to get out of ground then beam and insulated block floor +use as much eps as you like --but above the ground no sort of french drain around your passiv slab is going to work if water table is at ground level --wheres it going to drian too?

and concrete can out last wood by 10 fold at least --go to rome and see the 2000year old concrete there so long term the actual co2 etc is probaly less than building from wood ,which will be replaced many times . If you were building with green timber that was not processed + sourced on site then your argument would be more valid ,rather than kiln dried stuff which will probably have come from deepest russia or canada--cetratinly a long way cos most home grown wood is only good for chipboard /osb--which has lots of chemicals in glue and energy in in processing . any way these interior walls for thermal mass --are they dry built from rock ?-if not you have concrete there and your slab. you could always build a "cobhouse". LOL

sounds like you need a better architect . unless you really trying to do a grand designs build any good one will have a damned good idea of what is required and ball park costings only once design is finalised would there be the need for final detailing of certain things by structural engineer how much a sqm you allowed for £1500 -£2000 -- that will give the architect a clue on what he can do

easy to see what happened there you built it --then you found you should have got a building warrant FIRST you can do virtually no improvements to a house in scotland without BW permit outside the PD scope so they made you jump through the hoops they could have made you flatten it -- just do it the right way next time

I certainly won,t be fitting them to my new build ,but will design it so i can run ducting. Its the old story design eveything before making anything and there willalways be compromises along the way . the way the yanks use to build houses was quite good .they would have a "wet wall" . which meant on one side of house -- north in this country you have a walk way behind actual living area for all services to go in from floor to floor which made maintaince + remodelling very easy

I think you need to elaborate on "high embodied energy" term . what are you actually saying .?

your engineer will tell you but wet ground will be twice the heat loss of dry ground so maybe you lay foundations (strip type) some block work then use a block and beam floor above the water table with suitable insulation ? i read a very good article on insulated raft system ,which strongly suggested that if it was in water all the time it would eventually absorb some water ,which would then drop its insulation value by up to half . so maybe better to just not get your insulated floor wet to start with. you have to remember this insulated raft idea came from countires that have permo frost or very cold winters ,which we do not It strikes me a its all about selling us something we don,t really need, I know all the guys that have done will get defensive --but just think about it logically . yes insualet founds --but 300mm !! a bit OTT for cost verus actual savings possibly quite a fair bit of controvesy in Ireland as they have been pushing htis for a while now