JohnnyB

The VAT is strange. Nearly everything else is zero rated if it is supply and fit, it seems strange that a broadband connection isn't zero rated when it is now a requirement to fit fibre to the premises. It seems that is an outdated policy. But, it is a matter of where we book it and how much it costs. Book with BT, zero upfront, book with Openreach and they want £2400. There is already fibre the other side of the road so it will be fibre to the premises if we book it through BT or Openreach. We can get 900Mbps if we wanted, not that we need it that fast. The letter from building control say the connection needs to be capable of high speed communication, which is classed as at least 30Mbps on other documentation. I can get that on the mobile sim we are currently using on a good day.

I went on the BT website last night to see if I could now request a new connection, and I can. I didn't get as far as signing up and today I got a phone call from the sales team asking if I wanted to go ahead. I explained I was building a new house (so not ready for the connection yet) and was told that a new house wasn't a problem, I didn't need to go through Openreach and they will call back in 2 months time check if I'm ready for a connection. Thanks for the info @nod, it seems we don't need to spend £2k on a new connection

It sounds like I need to call BT again and see if I can get any further with them. I don't remember, but I thought they meant the property doesn't have a phone/broadband connection so need to go through Openreach to get that sorted before they could get involved. The house is listed on the post office database and comes up in most postcode searches now, I'm not sure if it did when we last tried to get the connection through BT. Is that what you mean by the address database?

Interesting, I'm sure we called BT last year and were told we need to contact Openreach as the house isn't on the system. Is your house signed off yet and when did you start the build? Building control notes make it sound like we need to be high speed internet ready before they will sign it off.

I see from an older post that an internet connection wasn't zero rated but has that changed now it is a requirement for high speed internet to be connected to a new build? It used to be easy to get a new phone line, and free from what I have been told by the builder opposite our site. I have found that I need to go through Openreach as a 'developer' and they now charge £2000 plus VAT. My understanding is I am required to have a high speed internet connection for building control to sign off a new house, so it seems wrong that it isn't zero rated. Is this something that is left over from a time when a phone line was a choice and it was quite cheap to get a new connection? Or am I missing something and there is an easy and cheap way to get a new internet connection?

I used Structure Scaffolding, based at Mendelsham. The guys working on the house at the moment are complaining about a few things but he was recommended by the chippie and a couple of other people and the price was the best I got, about a third of what you've been quoted, but that does depend on how involved your job is as £9k is a whole lot more than any of the quotes I've had so I assume your project is more complex. He has also been good on timings, I gave him some warning of rough dates and kept him informed occasionally and he turned up when I needed on the two parts I've needed and any problems were sorted quickly.

Or the Pope?

Ahh, thanks. We have seen the one with the black dots that are closer together in frames at an exhibition a couple of years ago, and thought they were quite noticable. The samples we have seen with the clear dots that are further apart have only been small samples and it is hard to gauge how they will look in a larger window. They are much more noticable in sunlight than they are indoors. We have discovered that we can't get everything we want in a new build, what we like wouldn't pass the PAS24 tests, so we are going to go for triple glazed or possibly krypton filled double glazing as JohnMo suggested above. We are waiting for prices and U values for the krypton filled units compared to argon 3G and then we will decide which to order. We have decided it isn't worth the extra cost and the distraction of the dots in the vacuum glazing if we can't get windows to look exactly as we want anyway.

Interesting, is krypton filled much more expensive than argon? The vacuum glass isn't a hugh increase, about 9% more than triple glazing on our wooden windows and doors.

@lizzieuk1 Did you use the vacuum glass in the end and if you did how have you found it and have you found the dots are noticable or do you get used to them and they blend into the background? We are having all timber windows as we want a very traditional look, and have 4 sliding sash windows and we are considering the vacuum glass. The cost isn't too much more but my wife is very unsure about the dots, will they stand out to her and become annoying or just get lost in the background. I think the windows will look better for the thinner glass, but not if the dots distract the eye every time you look outside. We have seen the glass with the clear dots, I think it is from PassivGlas not Fineo, but they are still visible and the consistent rows of dots are quite noticable on a small sample, we haven't seen a full window with it in.

The first SAP assessor I spoke to (who doesn't have time to take on my project for health reasons) when asked about the modelling and using PSI values I came up with, or someone else, he said can't see a reason why he couldn't accept my figures. I have asked the person who will probably be doing my calcs if she can use my figures, or those from someone else, but via email and I am waiting for a response. I can't see any 'qualifications' I could gain, just courses for using software, and the below screenshot is from the Elmhurst website I tried to attach a basic DXF of my wall build up above the window but a DXF file isn't an allowed file. How do I post/send it? I have added a screenshot and one of the 3D to show what we have built. I have also attached a spreadsheet with figures I was given to work out the U values. There will be timber fixed to the main timber frame to fix the window in place but it will be in short lengths at 3 or 4 points around the opening to reduce the amount of timber needed and that can conduct heat. There will be an approx 10mm gap between the window frame and the hempcrete that will be filled with Illbruck FM330 expanding foam but gaps don't seem to be shown on the models I have seen so I haven't included it. I would assume that helps the thermals is it is an insulating material and something is needed to fill the gap. U value calculator.xlsx

For me the easy bit will probably be the CAD as I know how to use that. If Therm is fairly easy to use I would be interested in understanding how to use it and work out how good the junctions should be, whatever the EPC shows. I'll see if I can make any sense of it. Would you be prepared to show me a little of how it works, as we are both in Suffolk? I find it easier to learn by doing/watching than trying to understand instructions. I did have a bit of a look last year and hadn't a clue what to do, I think that was understanding where to start, what was needed and feeling like I hadn't got the time to learn what was needed. Thank you, that's very kind. As above I'll have a look and see if I can make any sense of it. Is there a simple instruction set to start out with that would help me start to understanding the software? It was one of the SAP guys who said about proving the method. He and a colleague were looking into software used for thermal modelling to see if they could do it theirselves. He said he needed to be able to prove his models by modelling an approved model first and getting the same results as the approved results. I was reading up since posting and wonder if it is that straight forward. I'll speaking to the two people I've been in contact with about the SAP calcs and I'll ask them both what they need. My understanding is they are responsible for what they sign off (and are happy to prove if they are inspected) and BC are happy as long as they have an EPC. My timber frame isn't standard, using hempcrete makes it quite different so I'm not sure other timber frame models would work for this, I guess it would be a starting point . If I know what is needed for Therm I can draw it in CAD, I might already have it from the BC drawings. Examples of DWG drawings would be helpful to start with.

I don't think that's going to happen for us, we are using hempcrete with a stick built timber frame. The hempcrete is mixed on site by a small company. It's a basic process using mostly natural materials and when we have come up againest these type of questions they haven't been asked them before.

I am looking for something to use under the doors frames in anew build, so there's not a thermal bridge between the brickwork and the screed. 25mm of celotex between the screed and the bricks seems rather thin. The architect is suggesting I use Marmox blocks but that seems overkill to support a door frame. Is there anything else that is suitable for this that will work out cheaper?

I'm having the same issue, needing thermal modelling. If you didn't find it hard to use would you be able to give some help in working out how to use it? I have been told that if we can model a standard junction and come up with the same results as the 'experts' then they can accept our figures. It sounds like there are a lot of junctions to model and I'm getting prices of £150-300 plus vat per joint. It is sounding expensive if I have 5 plus joints to model.