Thorfun

so just a single CAT6A per switch? it's interesting that one cable will do the same job as the tree cable. I was thinking I might have to run 2 x CAT6A cables to each switch for comms and power. but a single cable is much easier! I've been looking at the KNX switches. very sexy albeit a bit pricey! I've looked deeply in to the DMX route that you've taken but the reviews and posts I've read on the Loxone forum about the reliability of those DMX 302 dimmers has kind of put me off. I know the KNX extension is hugely expensive as are the dimmers when compared to DMX but the KNX dimmers are supposed to be very good and reliable and still cheaper than Loxone. but, I'm not 100% sure we need loads of dimming circuits anyway as the way I've planned the lighting in Dialux we have lots of mood lighting without the need for loads of dimmers. so it's tempting to just start with a few Loxone dimmers and then if we decide to add lots of dimming do it at a later date. so many decisions to make and we haven't even broken ground yet! I will keep following your progress with lots of interest. keep up the good work. ?

awesome. glad it's all going well. are you using Tree cable then? and are you using the Loxone switches? just confused by the statement about the increase of quantity of Cat6. sorry if you've mentioned all this before, if you did I've probably read it and just forgot! sounds like you're going to have a fun Christmas this year. good luck with it all.

sounds scary! can't recommend anyone but I'd be getting multiple quotes and references and visits to past clients. doesn't sound like something you want to be cutting corners on. good luck.

@joth how's it going? just wondering how your first fix is going with the Loxone stuff? as far as I remember you were doing it about now.

just wanted to say a big thank you to @A_L for his assistance on this one. with his direction I have extrapolated the table as he suggested and plotted a trendline in Excel and using that I have been able to easily see the difference that different thickness and type of EPS makes to the basement walls. I've come to the conclusion that 200mm EPS 70 outside the basement walls will yield a U-value of 0.095W/m2K and the basement floor with 200mm EPS300 a U-value of 0.09W/m2K, when adding in the effect of the soil, which easily hit our required targets. I've really enjoyed the journey this research has taken me on. this forum is brilliant. long may it continue.

whoops! missed that bit, sorry. ? thank you so much for this. it is so incredibly useful and would seem that if the extrapolation is correct that the 200mm of EPS should easily be enough.

agree with the comments above. we were just fortunate that the architect we 'clicked' with also happened to be the cheapest! although I think he made a mistake on the costings and under charged us but I'm not complaining at that. I think you have to go with your gut feeling on this one as you don't know what they'll come up with until you've signed up! although, ours charged a small fee for a 'feasibility' study so if after that we weren't happy with his designs we could've walked away without having spent too much. good luck and we all look forward to seeing how the plans develop. maybe you should think about starting a blog? ?

hi @A_L. I've read through the document but I'm a little stumped. "Walls which are beneath ground level should be entered as normal into the U-value calculator module of the program, but you will then need to use the total resistance of the wall calculated by the program (which can be viewed in the ground floor data entry screen) and the known depth beneath ground level to get the adjusted U-value from the following table. You should then enter this figure directly into the program." I get this but according to the changeplan calculator the total resistance is 6.935 m2K/W, right? but the table in the document doesn't go to those levels! a maximum Thermal resistance of 2.5m2K/W unless I'm completely reading it wrong. Also, my basement ceilings are 2.9m high and there isn't a 3.0m column in the table either. am I reading this all wrong?

Thank you so much. I’ll go through it once GBBO is finished!

good catch. yes, the architect has specified 30mm PIR above the internal waterproofing system. I'm not 100% sure why but maybe something to do with not being able to or maybe not wise to screed directly on top of the waterproofing membrane. or maybe he just took it from this drawing supplied by the waterproofing contractor. either way, I'm actually ok with the extra 30mm PIR. The screed is because of the waterproofing membrane. we can't put UFH pipes in to the slab due to the fact as well, so we need something to go under the finished flooring to house the UFH. we could use 30mm PIR on the walls but that will reduce the room size and so maybe adding extra EPS outside the walls would be the best way to go. thanks for the responses so far. definitely giving me food for thought.

welcome. you're right, there's loads of folk on here that know what they're talking about. one day I hope one of those will be me! ? our architect charged us £2k +VAT to get us through planning (in SE England) so £5k seems a bit steep to me. good luck.

the architects have already been in contact with KORE (albeit a chap called Steven) and we are awaiting a response from them. I just wanted to put it out to those on here who also know what they're talking about. ? the 0.10W/m2K target is overall floor U-value for EPC/SAP calculations really. tbh, I plucked the figure out of the air based on the MBC passive slab. it seemed like a good target to get to at the time as I was (and still am) pretty ignorant of the whole thing. same with the walls. 0.12W/m2K seemed like a good figure and the as-designed SAP reflects those target values. Once I actually get the house built and budget becomes a factor I have the option of reducing the wall insulation a bit which will give a 0.14 or 0.15W/m2K figure and then the as-built SAP will change. but for now I just want to get the BR drawings finalised so I can get the submitted and crack on! it seems that the SE is awaiting the final thickness of EPS required to get the U-values I requested of the architects. probably should've done this all sooner but you know how it is. ? did that add a huge amount to the overall cost or was it pretty negligible?

Hi @Edward. thanks for the response. I think the architect is already asking Kore about the calculations but this forum has already given so much great advice that I thought I'd seek out the thoughts of the collective hive mind. I'm aware that there are other companies that will offer the insulated foundations and I will approach them for quotes but this is simply for the building regulations drawings and as-designed EPS/SAP. I did ask about needing EPS300 and some of the point loads on our building are high enough to require EPS300 (I'm not going to argue with the structural engineer on this point as I trust their calculations and I am in no way qualified to do it myself) and to avoid confusion where EPS200 could be specified and run the risk of getting the wrong spec in the wrong place they have specified EPS300 throughout. I'm ok with this and would rather it was over engineered than run the risk of issues in the future. Again, on the second drawing I am not going to second guess the structural engineers and believe they have designed the foundations to deal with any heave. the company, TSD, are insulated slab experts and so I trust them.

so, I've put what I think is correct into change plan and got the following for the basement floor and walls. do they seem correct? if so, I'm happy with the floor but the walls aren't quite near to the above ground u-values of 0.12W/m2K. I'm thinking that I really shouldn't be worried about hitting 0.12W/m2K in the basement walls as to get that level I'd need 300mm EPS which seems excessive for a basement, especially when airtightness seems to have a much bigger impact on heat loss. thoughts?

thought I'd better add the spec sheets for the Kore EPS ?‍♂️ Declaration_of_Performance_KORE_Floor_EPS_100_White.pdf Declaration_of_Performance_KORE_Floor_EPS_300_White.pdf

Hi all, I'm after a little bit of help calculating the U-values for these proposed foundations using the Kore system. this one is 200mm of EPS300 under the basement and up the walls: and this is an example of what's under the rest of the house where there isn't a basement. this is a TSD designed Kore system with 300mm thick EPS which is very similar to the MBC passive slab so I would presume that this will yield a U-value of 0.105W/m2K as stated on the MBC website? our architects need to know the thickness of insulation we'll need to achieve 0.10W/m2K on the slab and 0.12W/m2K on the walls and I'm hoping that someone would be able to assist with what these current drawings would yield for U-values. I do use https://www.changeplan.co.uk/u_value_calculator.php to do my normal U-value calculations but I can't see anywhere on there that would take in to consideration the soil at the depth of the basement slab nor what effect the soil has on the basement wall U-value. can anyone assist please?

or potentially use the Helm tracks that @Onoff mentioned in the thread I linked above if the wall size is sufficient and it's the look they're after.

I'm with @Mandana on this one and wouldn't be looking at pocket doors. from the looks of the plans the pocket wouldn't hold much of the door (assuming a single track pocket door) and bifolds would give a larger opening. although I'm happy to be corrected if there is a better solution out there. I looked in to large pocket doors and couldn't find any large ones. here's the thread as there were some other good suggestions in there for you.

following with interest and when you find a solution please can you let us know as we have a similar space between our entrance hall and kitchen/diner! ?

good luck to you @Eddy. I admire someone willing to make such a big change to their life in order to be happy. I wish you all the best. have you thought about approaching the Job Centre about re-training courses? I thought the government were doing a campaign recently to get people retrained in to new industries.

we're having 197mm top chords, I'm just going to fill with insulation (obviously leaving the 50mm gap) and then put PIR on the inside against the chords. I believe that's a pretty standard way of doing it? means don't need to pay for thicker trusses.

I have heard of them and they were on our shortlist of companies to use. I was impressed with them as well, the price was very reasonable and we weren't completely put off from them after going to see a property they were building although there were some things we weren't 100% sure on so in the end we chose to go with Flight Timber as we got a better feeling for the quality of the build for them that we went to see. if the quote is good then go see a house that they're building to see the quality of their work. or just do that anyway before they quote! then it'll save time for both sides if you're not interested from the off. ?

about 10 years for us and 2 previous attempts at purchasing something falling through but now we're about 2 or 3 months away from breaking ground! Welcome Heather!! stick with it and I'm sure something will come up eventually.

this! for me it will be hard to let go of that and trust a subbie. but I know I'm going to have to as I can't do it all myself and be finished within a family acceptable timeframe.

do you mind telling us how long it took you to do on your own and how much you did, i.e. m2? it's one of those things that I'm thinking about doing but it will all depend on the time it will take compared to the quotes I get in for it.