kaye

ah ok, this is a learning curve for me. I will ask the timber frame company on monday what they suggest on this.

its all totally airtight, taped to within an inch of its life by the timber frame company, (the airtest was very good 0.5). It has warm cell insulation (installed by MBC) The loft hatches are airtight and insulated, albeit not the prohibitively expensive ones - dolle clickfix with a u value of 0.49.

HI all, Wondering if your collective brains have any knowledge on condensation in a cold roof in a passive timber frame house. We have tons of insulation in the loft floor, slate roof, when we opened the loft hatches to do the second fix electrics up there this week there was a deal of condensation. Is this normal in a new build timber frame and should i be doing something to prevent it? We have only just got the electric on and plastering has only just finished but with it being airtight i am assuming moisture should not have escaped from the house into there from that. The loft space is boarded out and we were intending using it for storage (the proverbial xmas tree and assorted other junk that its difficult to part with). Appreciate any help or advice any of you have on this.

We have just installed one of ours now our ceilings are plastered. The joiner said he was quite impressed with it, it's provided with the architrave for the ceiling which is neat, it was easy to fit and no hassle. They have an installation video on their website which is v helpful. I am pleased with it, for the money i think its a decent buy though we may put some more insulation over the top of it at some point when we have some time. Hope this helps anyone trying to avoid having to take out a mortgage for one of the expensive alternatives!

we got Dolle ones in the end, £512 for the 2 which were much more reasonable than many of the others on offer TBH. I haven't installed them as yet but they seem pretty good. will let you know when we put them in and if there are any issues. There is a very helpful video on line on how to install and the company were decent to deal with.

Olf - those are good spots, i have been getting eye watering quotes for passive standard ones - £750 each. I have checked those 2 out and they look good dont they? be interested in finding out the lead times and if anyone has used either of these. I dont want to be spending loads of money on these but on the other hand i also dont want a draughty gash (so to speak) in my passive house do I?

I am looking for a couple of insulated, air tight loft hatches and ladders for my passive standard house. Its only a small area but i assume it would be stupid to get a bog standard one given the levels of insulation i have? i can see some very expensive ones around, wellhofer and jupiter e.g. Has anyone used these or have any recommendations for specific types/brands so i dont end up wasting money. Appreciate advice from anyone who has done this recently.

I had Scotframe, Flemming and MBC on my shortlist. The offerings are quite different and you have to do a deal of probing to get to the bottom of it. Its not just the finish its the spec of the insulation, reliability of the company, confidence in the finished cost, inclination to fix any issues that could arise throughout the project etc. Its a bit of a minefield. I have a spreadsheet which may help if you know what are priorities for you. MBC are one of the few to guarantee the finished cost as per quote. I selected MBC for this reason and also as they provide more of the build, foundation, erection and partnered with a window company at the time (though they no longer do this). I considered it a reduced the risk for me being a first time self build. Though I was very impressed by Scotframe who were incredibly helpful throughout the evaluation. I cant confirm if this is a wise decision as yet as i am waiting for the timber frame to arrive (next Tuesday!!!) Give me a shout if you want me to mail over the spreadie.

@Eileen I have checked and as my house is a replacement dwelling (policy h10) and a one for one replacement, as such there is no CIL apparently. Also there is no CIL in Wrexham county. I queried it back to my planning consultant and he didn't provide an explanation but said I needed to do nothing more, being a cautious type I checked with the planning also (just in case) and they provided an explanation on where some "development contribution" levies apply but not CIL. All seems a bit confused but I have it in writing so am going to go off and worry about other things now. Thanks for prompting me though as it would have been a sorry state of affairs if I stumbled across it later.

thanks pete will have a look

thanks both

thanks, have you used these people?

me too, let me know how you go on

Taff - I think I am exempt as I am not creating a new dwelling or increasing the floorspace by more than 100 feet. I am demolishing and rebuilding similar footprints on existing site. I will check with my consultant though on the exact reasons as to why as this has made me dubious!

any one got any recommendations for sensibly priced frameless glass balustrades for juliet balconies? I am needing to provide the fixings for my timber frame design and haven't a scooby on the best companies so I can gain the technical info. I was hoping to put off this decision for a while and unsure if the fixings are fairly standard across suppliers or specific?

I checked this with my planning consultant early doors and he said I don't fall under CIL. Not sure if it was because it was a demolition and rebuild or self build. Either way he was quite definite about it. I haven't filled in any forms though? I love all the hurdles from local council. SuDs has been my favourite so far given I am in the middle of fields and already have drainage to the existing structures that have been around since 1940. An thanks I am very proud of my wall! Sitting at a desk for many years I never thought I could do something like that!

HI Taff, Thankyou. It is a beautiful view we have out the front and sides, bed 2 has a lovely aspect and patio doors onto a juliet balcony, that's the plan once I source one that doesn't cost an arm and leg!

thanks Peter. only another 200 yards or so to go! a nice job for sunny weather!

Thank you! I have attached a PDF of the house plan. I am going for a passive house with 0.12 u value, roof is 0.10 with passive slab, triple glazed aluclad windows. The garage is also going to be timber frame but of a lower spec. I did a whole bunch of research into timber frame suppliers and from a massive of list of around 18 (they all have widely different offering which is bewildering) ended up with a shortlist of 2, Scotframe and MBC. I opted for MBC end as they provide the slab and partner with Rationel widows and I wanted to keep as much as I could with one supplier to reduce the potential for gaps and issues. Planning permission was trying! I am very glad I deployed the services of a planning consultant else I think I would have ended up as public enemy number one with our planning department. One thing that has surprised me is how hard it is to find reclamation folks interested in stuff e.g cant even give away the lovely JC Edwards clay roof tiles. Such a shame as they are now going to be crushed and contribute to a farm track. I have included a photo of the house and flat as they are, (at least for the next couple of weeks till we drop them) and of my lovely wall when I was in progress of reinstating it, may start on the rest of it when the site is cleared and am waiting for the arrival of the frame. 03 Proposed Plans and Elevations. A2_.pdf

Hi all, have been stalking this site for a few weeks not and its time to come out of hiding as I think I will be needing to consult the experience and brains on the site shortly. I am embarking on a project to demolish a decrepit bungalow and granny flat in a beautiful north wales valley and replace with a passive standard timber frame 2 storey house and granny flat/garage. I have absolutely zilch experience in building (though I have learned dry stone walling and started to reinstate the walls around the plot which I am incredibly proud of) but am in a fortunate position to have time to be very involved in the project. I am a project and programme manager and have many years experience in the finance industry, hence my expectations are that a. nobody does anything when they are supposed to do it and b when they eventually do it its not as expected. I think that should set me up realistically? I have my planning permission, have selected and ordered my timber frame following many weeks of evaluation and research and ready to demolish the shacks and make some real progress in the next month. So now the fun starts! Wish me luck folks!