puntloos

Oh absolutely not, I was just thinking to put most of my 'plant' in the loft, and put outside units "close to it", for example I have a flat-ish roof so perhaps I can just put it there? I suspect, I would love to hear about anyone who thinks they can do this ? Clearly dual-purposing "air pipes" for both trickle-mode as well as power-mode seems like an amazing solution, but indeed if most people don't know how to do this properly I could imagine it being a can of worms... Yes absolutely planning to use MVHR but as people above said it seems the expertise might not exist in UK? Suggestions? ?

To be clear I fully intend to also provision for the "inside-to-outside" link for a classic A2A. Indeed something like copper pipes etc. Not thinking of a "dual (air) hose" device And you're right they also should be put in during construction. But currently I'm primarly thinking about how to get cooled air from the device (in the loft) to the actual rooms.

In my case though I still am designing a house from scratch, so dimensioning in a few ducts is fairly light on cost, no? I have the impression "10cm" pipes might be sufficient for a low-ish flow of cooling? "enough".... to be clear I do indeed intend to go for an ASHP that indeed is reversible, but well, as we all know the #1 sad story here on buildhub seems to be 'my super well designed passivhaus is too hot". Presumably most of these people do still have a cooling ASHP, so unless the cost of some piping ('cost' can include sacrificing house space by increasing void width) really is unreasonable I'm thinking of creating this 'Plan B'

I'm sure most "properly done" passivhauses will never ever need air conditioning, but since we are building a house from scratch, and you know, maybe climate change will give us particularly nasty firestorms in 2040, we are planning to at least install some basic air conditioning ducting rather than regret not doing it, and buy an AC if we find we need it because perhaps our PHPP calcs were off, and the ASHP doesn't cool (enough) either etc etc.. You get the idea. As such, assuming indeed a slightly-out-of-spec passivhaus of 300sqm, how big does an aircon and the associated ducting need to be? I'm in particular looking to understand how large the ducts are that have to go into the walls,. so an answer such as "You minimum need a 1-ton cooling system, with 15cm duct diameter" would be helpful -

Yeah the massive flexizone is overkill - I guess 24cm is fine-ish with the full pan diameter being 30 (at the top.. i think, so the base is probably pretty close to 25). I think my rings are 15cm. Result: Not the end of the world but annoying, not just with the pan but also while cooking.

Starts to add up, yes Ah I'll just build a large compost and manure mulching device in the front garden to really show my green cred!

Thanks all, I guess I've just never been exposed to a modern induction hob Good to hear that some of them heat large areas, not just a hot-spot.

So far, I've only encountered induction hobs whose actual heating rings are perhaps 10-15cm diameter. My largest pans are 30cm or such, which means that even though they claim to be heatspreading, food gets heated very unevenly, with anything in the center cooking (and then blackening) much faster than the rest. Does anyone have an induction hob where one-or-more of their burners actually is 30-ish cm? Or is that a physical impossibility somehow?

Yes true, the US apparently uses some weird asphalt thing, where in the UK slate or tiles are 'reasonably priced' I guess. At the end of the day I don't care for brand, but it should be somehow standardized so it's not too unfriendly to other brands or mixing with standard tiles should these fail.

Indeed, I wonder where they fall cost-wise, and mildly concerned what happens if they go out of business.

Can you remind me, does the lack of approval mean I can't get the 10yr building (NHBC style) warranty? Ive reached out to Tesla but indeed I fear it will be too late for me, would need them in Aug timeframe..

Tesla just announced their 'v3' roof tiling system, and they are claiming that the cost-per-watt and cost-per-roof outstrips comparable tile+PVPanel setups. Also of course they look more elegant. Does anyone know any actual roofing companies supplying Tesla, or similar style(?) PV tiles? Cost vs panels? Downsides? https://electrek.co/2019/10/27/tesla-solar-roof-v3-quote-price-decrease/ say that a 1860sqft (172sqm) v3 roof costs about 55000 USD, which includes the storage battery, and is rated at 9.45kW. A standard domestic 4kWp system will cost around £6,000, but with tesla you get a 'free roof(tiles)' of course.

I looked at the manual again, no luck. I don't think the function exists - at least not in 'basic settings' etc (which is already super dodgy going into C10 mode etc etc)

Perhaps worthwhile for the fanciest things but pretty tough to try to imagine if something is designed poorly without having it in your hands

I had a very similar neff in our previous one, where that actually worked but in this one it didn't. It's perhaps worth re-checking, but even if this folly is fixable, neffs are still very dumb (for example the power settings are 1000, 680, 360, 180 and 90 watt I think. WHYYYY - why not 1000, 500 and 100. At least you can do some mental math on how long it'll take.. etc

I'm at the stage of selecting devices, and frankly I'm worried about high quality stuff with terrible user interfaces while due to covid we can't really go to the stores. . Some examples from my rental: - My Neff microwave requires 4 buttonpresses to turn on the microwave. (the primary stupid part is some main function selector you have to push, then push again to turn on microwave mode, every-single-time) - My Indesit hob on 'max' takes about 5 seconds to stop heating a thing (either holding the "-" button for it to slowly go 9-8-7-6..., or holding the power button for 5 seconds). Surely a proper hob should have a FAST way turn off heat. - My randombrand dishwasher requires you to turn it fully off, turn it fully on again, and then re-select the eco program we always do, by pressing the 'program' button 5 times. SIGH How do we avoid these pitfalls? Video reviews? Are there any good review sites that make sure to check this stuff?

Other than sound (below), which other ones? @jack mentioned it, but more in general, as before, "if done properly" things can be avoided and "if done not properly masonry can also have trouble". I'd just note that as a simple principle, if a building has more physical weight, it's harder to move it around with soundwaves ? .. or pay someone to invest theirs? ? But yes, true.

One frustrating thing about selecting build methods is that you can find glowing proponents for pretty much everything, and those proponents seem to wave away all concerns with something like "oh, but if you do it properly then it'll be fine!" TF has worse sound insulation.. but if you do it properly.. Brick is harder to get airtight.. but if you do it properly.. Passivhaus tends to overheat in big summers.. but if you design it properly.... Instead what I'd like to know: (I'm listing some examples/myths? I've picked up, but please correct me.... without saying the word 'properly' .. ) - Are there any unique-to-timberframe problems that one simply would not have with masonry Changing your mind about the 'shape' of your house is near-impossible once you've put in the order. Rotting beams after being exposed to water Flimsy walls can't carry weight (such as a large mirror) unless pre-planned. Sound carrying (footsteps, toilets flushing, home cinema) much further Are there any examples of major design flaws with TF that meant some? all? of the produced frame had to be discarded and do production again with a fixed design? - Are there any unique-to-masonry problems that are actually solved by TF? Brickies are human, so various precision-related issues, large items that do not fit, harder to get airtight, etc Long time before watertight, so risk of water causing hassle Load bearing walls very hard to modify, don't try to open an unwanted wall, TF is probably fine to remove a wall here or there - Are there any general principles that can be said about these choices? Is building in TF more, or less risky than building traditional? Is building TF People tend to say 'tried and true' but clearly with almost "3D printed" timberframe, as long as your design is good (big if? maybe?) then the TF will max that to the milimeter? and finally: - Is ICF meaningfully different from TF in these considerations? - How do I get proper specialists to do it properly in the first place, and/or how do I force them to do it properly.

Welcome squire, not sure you can be classified as a noob at 30+ years of exp but happy to pretend

Thank you all, interesting stuff. I tend to agree that 2.20 is probably a good minimum height for "comfortable living" that doesn't feel cramped. That said, the loft in my previous place was 2m10 and no major issues arose other than me being able to hit the lamp with my head if I stood on tippy toes.

A variety of sites - such as this one - claim that the minimum ceiling height after a conversion must be 2.2m due to building regulations. What happens if my loft is 2.1m and I ... insert a bed and some wallpaper anyway? - Will I not (officially) be allowed to call it a livable bedroom? - Will I not get permission to change any external features - windows or dormers etc (If I keep all works internal I don't have to even apply for planning I think?)? - Or is it actually illegal somehow? - Or is it just mildly cramped?

Only one for now! Happy to send it over privately, send me a message if interested?

Ah ok so this is a QS estimate? Very helpful to know, perhaps the basement team I found was too pricey. Where are you located though, I imagine 'middle of nowhere, Ireland' might be cheaper than my 'commuting distance from london' spot..

40K for a 25m2 basement + foundations? That sounds hugely optimistic, perhaps depending on where you are trying to build.. but if you have any actual quotes I'd love to hear them!

Sadly not, the groundworks company doesn't do foundations, and the basement company doesn't do foundations-alone. I'm sure I can get more quotes, for example I asked a quote from a timber frame company that will do foundations so perhaps from them I can untangle it. Let's share our notes, shall we? ?