Thorfun

No wind flapping that we’ve noticed. Maybe the triple glazing helps with that? and I don’t generally go out after dark in stormy weather to listen! 😂

Sure. Cost is important. But so are aesthetics! I think there are so many factors to consider. it’s one of the reasons self-building is so stressful. All the decisions that need to be made from loads of various data points.

We went with Venetian so you can still see out while shading. https://www.hallmarkblinds.co.uk/external-blinds-and-shutters-uk the Trojan ones.

external blinds will mean you won't need internal curtains so the total cost is reduced when you consider that speak to an AC company about costs for getting them to do first fix and then you can second fix at a later date when funds allow there are ways to reduce the initial outlay of costs and some costs can be offset by mitigating the need for other things later. e.g. adding solar PV now will reduce the running costs of the house as you live in it. so you're, in essence, buying your electricity up-front until you get to the point that you've paid off the install and then you're getting free electricity!

we have an ASHP for hot water and ufh (downstairs). the AC can do heating for the bedrooms but we didn't need that last winter at all so it's primary job is cooling.

my 2 cents..... 1. external blinds are a must. plan them now so they can be built hidden in to the fabric of the house. we use ours to shade from the sun but also as curtains at night so don't have internal curtains for privacy. 2. just install AC when i was researching i read a lot on here about fan coils and underfloor cooling etc and, in the end, it was just too complicated for me. not being able to heat water and cool the house at the same time just seemed a pain. so we planned for and installed ducted AC in the bedrooms and wall mounted units downstairs in a few rooms that we thought would need it. it is fabulous. the external blinds help and we have them automated to shade and follow the sun around but sometimes you just want to open them up fully and enjoy the view! so the AC takes care of the overheating and it's powered by the sun via our solar pv so i don't worry about running costs at all. our south facing bedroom has been a steady 21°C since April regardless of the outside weather. keep it simple, install AC.

Does it still look like an office ceiling?

We had to get an extension as the council tax department still (7 months later) hasn’t got around to the valuation yet. 🤦‍♂️

Ask for interest only

Just out of interest, what’s the flow temp you use for your slab cooling?

when are you atmos speakers turning up?

I find it hard to understand how/why people want 2 x subs as one has always been enough. doesn't stop me wanting 2 in my cinema though. 😉

About £2k 4yrs ago. No idea what she charges now

probably not worth using the YouTube video of House of Flying Daggers! doubt it's more than heavily compressed stereo.

I always thought Das Boot was a great film for sound from the silence inside the sub to the crashing waves above it. damn good film to boot as well. (pun intended) and the House of flying daggers drum scene to test out your 7 speaker surround system

I'm going to be lazy and post this link https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/search/?&q=lighting designer&author=Thorfun&search_and_or=and which is a search of my posts for "lighting designer" 😉 results include a post where I give the Instagram account of the designer we used.

enjoy!!

If your BCO is walking around with a tape measure checking every minutiae then you’ve got the only one!

@BotusBuildi've been a long journey to get internet to our new build. long story short, i advise going to BT or EE as they will pay more towards the excess charges from Openreach. our excess charges were £1300 for a new pole and cable, Vodafone said they wouldn't cover the charges and didn't want to pass them to me (not that i would've paid them) and told me to look elsewhere. Plusnet (despite being part of BT) said they wouldn't cover the charges and i had to pay all of them....including VAT. so i told them where to go. then i tried EE (as BT has already ****** up at the start of our journey and i had a beef with them) who said they'd cover the excess charges up to £6k. so, ditch Plusnet and go for EE even if it's a little more expensive as they might cover all of your excess charges. good luck! we're on our 4th service provider and have been without a line since BT screwed up at the end of Nov 2024. our 4G service is just about good enough for TV but not if the kids are also streaming at the same.

Just read through AVforum for a few days and you’ll be an arm chair expert and quoting impedance value of different speaker wires like a pro.

It doesn’t have to be. You can get all-in-one kits to give a pretty good surround experience.

Could you have plugged something new into the ring main that’s causing noise?

Many years ago when I was buying a home cinema setup I compared Denon with Onkyo as the specs were similar but I found the Onkyo quite treble-y and the Denon was much warmer. obviously it depends on the speakers you’re pairing it with which is why it’s important to go listen to different combos. Although that’s not perfect as it’ll sound different in different rooms too! but eventually you’ll just get used to it anyway so it probably doesn’t matter.

i meant any home! it's like reading the threads on avforums where they say one thing is better than another but most "normal" people in their "normal" environments really won't tell the difference! i'd put the £350 towards a better amp or speakers