Russdl

Thanks very much Mike, that should make for very interesting reading - I appreciate your post. Russ.

Thanks for the answers so far. Much like Ian, I don't feel I have the available time, but I have an older, much wiser, semi-retired brother who does so I'm going to delegate to him.

Much appreciated Ian.

There doesn't seem to be a great deal of discussion about PHPP on these pages. I'm planning a passive house (not necessarily certified) new build and have convinced myself that it really should be done. I've read on these pages about problems with overheating but there is generally no information on whether the property in question had a PHPP and the overheating was predicted. I know of one property where there was no PHPP (it had been modelled, but not with PHPP) and, on first sight, I thought it looked like a building that would probably overheat. Sure enough, it has, and now requires remedial work to try and reduce the problem. I guess the question is 'does PHPP work?' Followed by 'how do you find a PHPP expert?' because some of the discussion indicates that there are some PHPP practitioners out there who perhaps are inept.

@Nickfromwales Lightweight.

Nick, I wasn't expecting you to act as my PA! I could phone them myself but I'm not sure I would know all the right questions to ask. Having said that, if you do call then I would be very interested in your views and, of course, owe you a pint or three.

Nick (everyone). Do you think it's feasible and practical to run everything, in a passive house from 2 Sunamps, just using PV and E7? No water storage? No buffer tanks? No ASHP? etc. It seems to me, from my limited knowledge and understanding that it might work, but I would really appreciate your, (and everyone else's) considered opinion. Cheers. Russ.

It's sort of looking like, for a passive house, a twin Sunamp set up, charged by solar PV and E7 (when required) would negate the requirement for any other kind of water heating or storage. Am I reading this right?

Thanks all for your feedback so far, we very much appreciate the time you have put in to looking at our plans and then responding. The second en-suite is hanging by a thread and may well be deleted, if it stays it will be bigger and have it's own window. A sunpipe or sun tunnel will go at the top of the stairs. I think I'll leave the kitchen where it is and hope the sink is not full of dirty dishes when we get visitors. There will probably be an additional door on the north east elevation. Technicalities regarding the stairs and the building height etc still pending...

Thanks Dave, I'll check regarding the step on the half landing (that would never, ever, have crossed my mind!) Nor the stair lift - I'll check that. En-suite 2 getting bigger as we speak, personally I'd be happy to abandon it but the boss seems to think its necessary. My poor drawing. There will be patio doors from the sunroom and lounge. I'd though about the bin walk and decided that going through the sunroom would not be a major issue but I may just reconsider that, thanks.

Thanks for your detailed reply AliG. Very good point. It's still fields behind - but I guess that could all change. Plan 'A' (which is in its infancy) is to by the little corner of field that we look out over but I guess I should have a plan B Thats the next step. I was concerned about the spans. Next stop MBC to see what they have to say about it. Good points, I'll move stuff around. That was deliberate, but probably not well thought through - I think your right, looking at a nice table as you come in may be better than a sink full of dirty plates! It would also probably make it easier to site the waste from the No.2 en-suite. I had thought about that, but then discounted it. The stairs will be open 3 sides on the ground floor and I was hoping that might provide enough light. Can you get Sunpipes for passive houses? I'll get on to Google. That will happen, as will the understairs storage. Neither have I! it came out of my head :-) It's purely a sketch at the moment. I fancied a veranda, and obviously need to shade the windows. Shading them with PV's could kill two birds with one stone. I found these PV panels http://www.lumossolar.com and thought they may be an ideal solution though I've no idea on costs. the fence round the back is just to define the boundary in 'SketchUp' and in reality would be a lot less significant. Continuing the 'solar veranda' around the back was deliberate to increase the amount of PV production time. Thanks again Ali for your excellent and considered feedback. Russ.

Dear all. I would welcome your feedback regarding our proposed plan. We have an old bungalow we plan to demolish and replace with (probably) an MBC house. I've spent countless hours messing around with SketchUp and I think I'm finally there, but I may have a bit of tunnel vision now so I value all comments. For context, here is the (irregular) plot and surrounding property. The plot is set back from the main road and pretty much invisible until you walk past it. Access is from the south west, it's narrow and it may be tricky. And a view of the proposed new house, looking from west to east. The low pitched roof is because it is pretty much surrounded by bungalows or one and a half story houses and I suspect ridge height will be an issue. We would like a 'solar' veranda but not sure of the practicalities yet. Ground floor plan: Fairly conventional 'open plan' but we've opted for a plant room on the ground floor that will also be a washing/drying room and store room as there is no useable loft space. I plan to run the majority of the plumbing, MHRV etc to the first floor in a void between the plant room and downstairs WC. Is that sensible? First floor plan: Thanks for your time. Russ.

I'd vouch for Sketchup as well. As Barney says it's a bit of a struggle to start with but gets easier and easier. I've been faffing with it for a while and now have a 3D model, geo-located in Google Earth, accurate sun/shadow positions and all surrounding properties modelled. I'm far from being any kind of expert but I've found it invaluable to see what works and what does't. I've also managed to get some fairly reasonable 2D plans and photo realistic(ish) visualisations all from the same 3D Sketchup model. I'll be posting some Sketchup images on here in a day or two to get feedback regarding my plans.

I'm really glad I asked this question. Some really useful thoughts and ideas have sprung forth from this fantastic community - thanks to you all, especially Jack.

Wise words Stones, I'm on it...

(Phew, took me ages to sort out the 'quote' feature! Luddite!) That was the kind of information I was after as but was unable to find - seems as though there is plenty of ambiguity unless someone knows of the 'source' document because I'm b*ggered if I can find it. Dogma: Thanks for all your hints and tips. Jack, I'd appreciate that. Le-cerveau, that sounds not dissimilar to my plan - I'll check out the blog. Thanks. Thanks all for the wealth of advice and information already flowing, what a great site this is. Russ.

Thanks Ed. It seems as though 'wishing' and 'hoping' play a significant role in the planning process. I'll wish me luck as well!

I definitely want to move the entire footprint and I definitely want to remove the entire original bungalow so definitely not PD though as PeterW mentioned earlier, PD could be used as bit of leverage at some stage.

Thats really interesting Joe, thanks very much for that little gem regarding a bungalow being a 'style', I shall store that nugget away. I wish you luck with your appeal, it sounds like they would have to be insane to refuse...

I've read about that approach before Peter and I found it most interesting. I shall certainly keep it in mind if I find a 'brick wall' in my way.

Thanks for the advice Ferdinand. My bungalow will stay firmly(ish) rooted to it's plot until I have a clear 'yeah' or 'nay' from the planners.

I like that plan of action Peter, I think I might explore that route, thanks. Russ

Thanks dogma, sounds like you achieved the kind of thing I'm after. I've not run my ideas past the neighbours or parish yet as I'm keeping my hand close to my chest at the moment, not sure if that's wise but it seems like it to me in the early stages... I've started trawling through the links that Ian provided but so far it seems it's more 'permitted development' and not 'replacement' guidance. I'll get back into it and keep digging. thanks all for the replies so far. Russ.

Ah! Thanks Ian. Now why couldn't I have found all that! (shuffles off embarrassed, looking for glasses and a comfy chair...)

Thanks. I have done plenty of reading but can't seem to find anything that gives any clear guidance on what may be permitted (ridge heights, building lines increased area etc). Before I formally set off down the planning route I wanted to have some feel for what may or may not work and to the best of my knowledge, in this neck of the woods, planning will only 'talk' during the pre-app stage (which many seem to view with a jaundiced eye) and I want to know lots more before then anyway. Russ.