oldkettle

Definitely has to go inside. How exactly depends on the connector of your laptop SSD. If it is M.2 then you will need an adapter http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2637817/connect-ssd-desktop.html Overall this article seems to give a good idea what different formats you may find inside your laptop and how they fit. http://www.computershopper.com/feature/2016-guide-the-best-m.2-solid-state-drives-tested

well, this is from the top of the search https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/349uqc/build_help_does_gaming_on_an_ssd_destroy_it/ but I am not a hardware guy. So far HDDs died for me more often then SSDs :-)

For gaming or pretty much anything I would not buy a PC without an SSD. The difference in performance is staggering. SSD as a main drive, internal or external HDD for storage.

Thank you, I got that. Why is it better than this one? https://www.underfloorheatingsystems.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Diffuser-Plates-above-Floor-with-batons.png ? Looks simpler to implement but clearly there is a catch? Well, I guess it would not work well (not enough support) for the tiles.

Thank you. When I say trickle ventilation I mean the night vent position on windows. But it seems it is mentioned in BR: usage is "not recommended because of the difficulty in measuring the equivalent area(!) etc." It probably does not mean "not allowed" though. And I agree standard trickle vents are not a good idea, found it impossible to keep them clean. It seems will have to talk to BCO about it as recommended.

Nick, are you describing the "Diffuser plates on batons" solution as displayed here https://www.underfloorheatingsystems.co.uk/underfloor-heating-design/floor-construction/#! ? Just trying to make sure I get the picture right.

The reason I asked is my existing walls are cavity so I am interested as well :-)

When you say traditionally, do you mean cavity walls or solid walls?

From the conversation with BCO I gathered that I don't have to upgrade say walls downstairs which to me means they are only interested in extension meeting the requirements.

Hi, I am looking at further details for our planned bungalow to a house conversion. We will be adding first floor with a couple of bathrooms and bedrooms there. What I want to know is whether there is a requirement to have more than just a trickle/purge ventilation. The reason I am asking is I am contemplating whether to install standard MVHR unit or one of Fresh-R units with a view to install another one downstairs later as well. According to this https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/17/extensions/7 I do not have to have mechanical extraction since there will be openable windows in bathrooms. Have I missed something? Any recommendations please?

Jack, I bit off-topic, but why would you prefer a different roof structure? Or is it for flat roof only?

@Sensus, are you saying that when we compare two houses, one built by large developer to their usual standard, i.e. leaky :-) and PH, in the same conditions of 70-90% average RH, PH with ventilation is going to suffer from mould etc. more?

My personal semi-educated (a course on machine learning and general IT background) opinion on AI house is it is - "in theory" :-) - not too far away (certainly less than a decade) and that the main problems are unrelated to AI, i.e. cost of automation itself and privacy concerns. If you mean different people in the same house will have different and contradictory requests - it's a different story :-) But real AI - as opposed to standard "fixed options" software - is very good at adapting to pretty much anything, although for now only in isolated areas. Amazon, Google, MS, Apple and others are moving fast.

5) Thank you for your kind offer :-) If I was any good as an architect I would not be asking people how to move my stairs to get a better layout. One needs an eye, experience, intuition to improve things. Yet that does not stop me from stating the obvious when the layout is bad - as a user. Similarly, people don't care what technology is behind my application, they care about user experience. And I am happy with my current job - which I am reasonably good at. 6) Not sure how it refutes my argument. I noticed that in too many cases large bedrooms will be converted into smaller ones at a first opportunity because people in this country value number of bedrooms rather than overall size. But it usually stops making sense when the house is already 4 bed. If people liked smaller homes more they would be selling at a premium :-) and there would not be price difference between 150m2 4 bed and 180m2 4 bed. I somehow believe this is not the case. 7) It would have exactly as much credibility as "I like my tiny house" survey :-) But I would be curious to know how major developer tried larger houses for a bit more money and it flopped because people refused to buy the monstrosity. :-) With regards to interstitial condensation, is it not a risk at all or a much lower risk in conventional buildings? Steady-state internal environment does non mean the house is falling apart if temperature gets higher or lower, right? It just means "ideally to lower the energy consumption it is preferable to keep it stable". Which is desirable, but not enforceable. If one cycled home he will probably naturally feel somewhat hot. Well, open the window and enjoy - I personally prefer a shower in the warm bathroom :-) So all problems so far come down to ventilation. Well, then here is my punchline :-) If a particular PH was build with inadequate ventilation there is a finite and not extremely large amount of money that can fix this problem. It may be 2K or 5 or 10 but it is unlikely to be 30. I'd say it's not too bad. I may believe otherwise (as you said, better minds are not sure how to fix it reliably) when I see the evidence that somebody tried simple measures and failed.

1) Since my posts do appear aggressive I apologise. No harm intended, as I already said. 2) I certainly agree with "live and let live" approach 3) I am also very much against government intervention in most areas where it somehow believes - likely because a lot of people do - it has to act. 4) Which means that the answer to your rhetorical question :-) is no, I have and want to have zero saying in how other people choose to live. 5) I completely disagree that having a paper size of >X makes a house somehow good. Houses that I linked to may be large but the layouts are inadequate. And sorry, there is no way a survey by vested interest organisation is going to change this for me. I choose to believe my eyes. 6) I also don't see much point in "price per m2" comparisons - it should be cheaper after a certain size because it is clearly cheaper to build (per m2). 7) I would be curious to see the result of a survey asking "would you like 20% more internal space for 5% more money" :-) I just noticed that most points that I was trying to make (and some of yours i.e. density requirements) are already here. https://www.architecture.com/Files/RIBAHoldings/PolicyAndInternationalRelations/Policy/Housing/ImprovingHousingQuality.pdf So I am not entirely delusional. Lastly, with regards to the original point. From what I can see - and as usual, please do correct me if I am wrong - the only problems related to PH seem to be a) pure air quality (that sometimes manifests itself as mould etc) b) overheating i.e. in both cases not enough ventilation. Would you say this is fair? Any other major issues like houses falling apart or fire safety?

I was not trying to prove that every self-build is better (in terms of quality, design etc) than mass build. I was reacting to your statement that mass build is "thoroughly designed and developed". Well, I am sorry, just can't treat those examples as such. And no, it was not the worst I could find, it was the second in the queue here https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/find-your-home/england/hampshire There are more badly designed houses then well designed ones, so I can just keep going https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/find-your-home/england/hampshire/andover/the-chariots/parcel-b---plot-011---the-buckingham - BTW, this one is just... WOW - the 2 bedrooms on the left side! And just imagine that it could have been an excellent 4 bed if they did not split them. https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/find-your-home/england/hampshire/andover/the-chariots/parcel-b---plot-006---the-stanton https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/find-your-home/england/hampshire/andover/the-chariots/parcel-b---plot-061---the-langdale The first detached one in Suffolk https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/find-your-home/england/suffolk/kirton/violet-gardens/plot-37-the-kentwell - check the main bedroom on the right with massive claimed size and yet no real space for a proper bed and a wardrobe at the same time. I mean any bed with the headrest will force people to squeeze between it and the wardrobes. Note, these are all from expensive part of the range (for the area), large detached houses. And even those are hideous on the inside. And then you say they care. Well, I do believe they care about not having complaints, so warranty part - yes. As for the floor plans... people have no choice but to buy from them because there is not nearly enough competition in the new home market. So most will have to take what's there - as bad as it is. I am sure you know that architects themselves say sizes are inadequate https://www.architecture.com/RIBA/Contactus/NewsAndPress/PressReleases/2015/Over50ofnew-buildhomesaretoosmallforfamilies.aspx This just scratches the surface. Adding 5m2 of footprint to every house costs peanuts to a big developer. It may even save them money by allowing simpler layouts. And do they do it? Oh, who in their right mind will forfeit extra profits to make customers this bit happier? By the time the average person may come back for another house (does it even happen with more then a few percent of population?) management is long gone. @Sensus, I want to make one thing clear. I know I am throwing a lot at you in these posts and it is not too well organised. I have absolutely nothing against you personally. You are here to share your expertise and this is great. Hell, I have nothing against every individual big house builder. But I dislike them as a whole, as part of the system, passionately. The way housing market is functioning in this country really gets on my nerves.

Completely agree, again, after visiting friends who bought new from big developers. @Sensus, please look at these http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-60637082.html - how do you like bedroom 2 ? http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-44469513.html - same here. I can easily imagine one being hit by the door when looking inside the wardrobe https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/find-your-home/england/hampshire/eastleigh/bakers-quarter/plot-058-the-kentdale this one is just brilliant. Of all the bedrooms only one is rectangle, the rest have extra angles that make them "interesting". Look at the master bedroom, you can only get a 2.5m wardrobe in there, would you say it is enough? Positions of windows and doors make usage of 3 out of 4 bedrooms extremely limited. I am not an architect but I looked at many houses like these and I find this kind of layout ... well, bad, inconvenient for people who are unfortunate enough to live there. And I would be surprised if you said these were well designed.

Sure, agreed :-) BTW, big fan of maintainability myself (both in SW and building tech). Still looking for a standard solution to have access to inter-floor space when laminate or cork floor is laid :-(

Fair enough. I find it impossible to "defend" PH standard (which obviously does not need my defence) because I have not enough understanding of it, but since there is nothing do compare it with I personally have a winner :-) As a few people here said, there is no PH police. People are clearly free to setup their environment the way they like within the restrictions their building provides. I much prefer the limits set as high as possible because it is easy to lower them to any level. But this is just my choice and it does not matter because I can't have it in my current house anyway.

OK, then clearly a simple question. What standard does guarantee this health and well-being yet not makes occupants servants of their house? British, international, your own - anything you like.

Honestly, I find it really, really hard to imagine a house in Britain that is too dry. Well, in the South East. I would be very curious to see one. Also, again, it is not difficult to add moisture. Way easier, than to get rid of it. These are the choices as I see them: 1) Air-tight (not necessarily PH) : one has all the tools to have comfortable life in such house - it is warm all year around and MVRH is there to for ventilation. One is free to open windows and/or put in humidifier if required. Also one is free to use the house, i.e. put furniture anywhere in the house not worrying about cold spots in the built-in wardrobe. 2) Standard : one has nothing of any use apart from windows that may or may not help depending on season. Put your furniture next to the wall at your own risk because unless every single occupant is a fan of having open windows all day long AND during showers etc. you will get all the harmful stuff one of the obvious sign of which may be mould. So... choose your poison. I know which one I prefer. And which one of those would you call serving its occupants? But you clearly see different choices, don't you?

I know I will appear boring and yet : every single house I lived in so far had mould and smell and RH levels above 60%. And I can quite clearly see for myself that the house with (old) cavity insulation is better for us than the one without it which was in turn better than two with solid walls. So my point is somehow I am pretty certain I will be better of in the house with good insulation, good air-tightness and MVHR because on top of everything some people are indeed from Venus :-) and unfortunately my wife is not a big fun of open windows in October. And even open window does not help much on cold rainy day.

@Sensus, this document http://www.ibp.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ibp/de/documents/Publikationen/Fachzeitschriften/mold_growth_predictiontcm45-35017.pdf - if I underestand it correctly - states that below 60% RH probability of mould growth is close to 0. Also, it seems to imply humidity should stay quite high for 6 hours a day for the growth to actually occur. If (if!) this is correct than with MVHR our localised 100% RH after shower or kettle or washing will not last that long. In my leaky house I actually hardly ever see RH below 60% between October and March. Right now I have 67% at 21.9C next to me with the window open and it is not going down. Yes, it is not healthy but there is nothing I can do about it. At least with better air tightness MVHR can help somewhat.

I would quite specifically want to get an idea not for building walls and creating a proper roof in the attic but just for making the space warm as opposed to cold. I can see from the quotes I have got for my extension so far that the difference for our roughly 90m2 of footprint is quite small, 15K at most - and this is against Warmcell roof. And if we take £1000 as a rough guide cost for developers then 15% extra makes it £150*40m2=6K. Would you say this number makes sense? If it does, would you say enough people would be willing to pay 6K for this extra space?

Not sure. You said that the small self-build market is not worth much attention. I just noted that the size is limited entirely artificially. When the farm next to us was bought and developed there was no such thing as offering public to buy plots, otherwise we would not have ended up with monstrosities at a ridiculous price. http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/brookwood-farm-sale-nets-28m-7123244 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/developer/branch/CALA-Homes/Brookwood-Farm-97141.html http://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/property-55574881.html Note they never even show the land strip on these plans - so tiny they are. Now, split the 16 acres to say 100 proper homes (plus roads and a school) and you will get reasonable plots at around 300K max + the build itself, people would actually get something quite decent. Incidentally, my personal view on the regs may be not far from yours but for a completely different reason. I would rather regs controlled only safe vs unsafe leaving the rest to the market. Enough competition would sort it out reasonably quickly. I do agree it is annoying to build bad houses nowadays due to wasted resources though. If the proper stock was being built in the first place there would not have been so many improvement projects that start sometimes 3 years into the life in a new house. Again, back to the point. You said developers are limited by the market. Can you quantify how much more expensive it is to create a warm attic as opposed to cold one at the time of original build? I would be surprised if it was more than 10K - that is for extra 20 to 40m2 of space + storage at eaves.