Triassic

Less than £1k delivered! But which make would you recommend?

We live in a well insulated cabin and when it’s never been too hot inside, it’s warm in winter and cool n summer. If we want ventilation we open a door or a window. A Sunamp doing both the DHW and UFH would be the simplest approach, couple these with a PV array and a pre heat buffer vessel fitted with immersion heaters using excess PV and your done!

Has anyone costed the various options lately as this may help with some of the decision making?

Great thread, thanks everyone for all the contributions. ln my own installation I’m going for a Sunamp for my DHW, if I coupled this to the PV array described by Nick (above), why, in a well insulated house, do I need a ASHP?

Terry, thanks for the post. I’m leaning towards using a Sunamp unit for DWH. The one thing I’m not clear about is heating and/or cooling in a near passive house. How do you achieve this?

BRE have written a report about that https://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=3112 "In the UK, glazing that faces south or west will generally become warmer than glazing facing east or north. South or west facing glazing is at greater risk of thermal breakage, which occurs when an area of the glass becomes warm but is adjacent to an area that remains cooler. The warmer part of the pane expands while the cooler area does not. This restrains the expansion of the warmer area which is therefore subjected to tensile stresses. If the difference in temperature between the two areas is sufficiently large, a fracture in the glass will occur. "

I'm thinking, again, about hot water, given that the Sunamp units are on offer. I'm considering having PV on the roof and using it to heat the Sunamp battery when the sun shines, and mains power when it doesn't. I'll also have a small buffer store of water preheated using the ASHP. So having looked at what others have installed I'm confused. Jeremy has a Sunamp PV, having got a quote from Sunamp, they suggest a Sunamp UniQ eHW 9. What's the difference between the two units?

Tried that, nothing! So phoned them, sorry no discount is applicable to your order! Very disappointing!

I’m about to place a large order for membrane with The Proctor Group Ltd. I notice on their pro forma invoice there’s a % discount box, mine is empty. Has anyone got a discount, if so, how much?

That reminds me, I need a new tyre and inner tube for mine!

I’ve been getting quotes for 130 m2 of external waterproofing membrane. As it’s for application to ICF I appear to have two choices, dimpled plastic membrane or a self adhesive manmade fibre membrane. The one thing that’s becoming clear is the price, the quotes I’ve had so far have all been between £900 and £1000. That sound expensive for a plastic sheet? An I missing something?

Just a quick update on the props. After being told there were a large quantity on a site about 4 miles from me and then visiting the site, to be told by the site agent they’d been removed from site the previous week, I was somewhat frustrated. Luckily for me the site agent then told me they’d got 100 of their own props and I could borrow the 40 I needed for the week, foc! What a helpful guy.

A friend has just taken delivery of a Wren kitchen and the build quality looks very good. He tells me the price was also good, he negotiated hard. The good thing with Wren is the units are delivered fully assembled, complete with doors fitted, so his 12 m of kitchen was installed in a day and a half.

For my raft pour I was told to wet it down after it had been power floated and to cover with tarps to keep the moisture in. Im pouring my ICF basement walls on Thursday, it’s going to be 25deg and the ICF holds the heat. Let’s hope the concrete cures OK as I can’t wet it down.

I as on a site recently, 12 “eco houses”, one stood out from the rest, every joint in the timber frame was sealed and the inside had a vapour membrane and was taped etc. The rest weren’t up to the same standard, I asked why. Apparently the first one I’d seen was the “test”house, hence all the attention to detail.

I’m about to pour the concrete into my ICF basement walls. How long do I need to let the concrete cure before I can backfill behind the walls?

I’ve just renewed my house to nsurance and one of the new requirements is to have two smoke alarms and two fire alarm extinguishers I asked why and I as told it’s because my house is timber framed and has some exterior cladding.

I’ve got my ICF walls constructed and the next step is to fill them with concrete. The manufacturer states that the ICF must be proper before the concrete is poured. I’ve contacted the UK supplier of the system a few time asking for a date for delivery of their hire props and keep being put off. I’ve now found out that all their props are on hire to a housebuilder constructing an ICF housing estate of 30 houses.. Time is marching on and I need to get the basement walls completed, so the TF company can get started on the house! Does anyone know where I can hire ICF prop?

I’ve got a small section of concrete formwork and need to apply a release agent to stop the concrete sticking to the wood. Any suggestions what I could use as a DIY release agent - oil, wax, emulsion paint????

I’m about to order timber for my sole plate. Do I order treated or untreated timber? As I have a DPM under my insulated slab, do I need a separate DPC under the timber sole plate?

I wonde4 what ever happened to Mikeee and his neighbours who burnt painted wood and old pallets?

Air pollution plans to tackle wood burners Ministers want to halve the number of people exposed to high levels of pollution from fine particles, known as particulates, by 2025. One of the most contentious proposals is to reduce pollution from wood burners, which, along with solid fuels, cause 38% of particulate pollution. But a source at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told the BBC there was no plan to ban existing stoves - or the burning of coal and open wood fires, which are far more polluting than wood burners. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44203396

Start with a small fire upwind and use a leaf blower to increase the combustion rate. If it starts smoking use the leaf blower again to get extra air in there.

I’d read that you can render directly onto ICF and on one or two of the American Build forums people had posted that they had plastered directly onto the ICF.