Thorfun

never mind. I found it on the forum guidelines. "Starting a Blog Many members choose to record their project by using the forum’s blog facility. A blog is a great way of recording your progress and sharing it with others. The blog functionality can be enabled via a request using the Contact Us link at the bottom of the forum. Once the functionality has been enabled you will have the ability to ‘Create Blog’ from within your user profile."

am I being completely dumb but I can't seem to find a way to create a blog! can anyone point me in the direction of how to do that? I have a personal website that I could use but thought it might be more useful to host it here

we got 3 different architects to come round to see us (it was supposed to be 4 but the 4th didn't seem to be interested as after I phoned and left a message with details as to what we wanted I got a voicemail back saying he'd received a message about an extension or something rather than the complete demolition and self-build we're doing! it goes without saying that I didn't call him back). all 3 came to site to have a look around and for us to get a feeling if we'd be able to work with them. we then got quotes and all were pretty similar but we chose the chap we thought we'd most like to work with. After an initial consultation he came up with a few sketches which we were completely not what we wanted and we also questioned as to whether he even listened to us at the initial meeting. we were thinking of phoning around and trying other architects but we went for a meeting and explained how we felt and he said, no worries I'm never going to get it right first time and we took aspects from each of the sketches and discussed it all and now we have final plans that we absolutely love! so, in my experience, if you like the person and get on with them then give them a chance. the first drawings will never be exactly what you want and they will change and evolve as time goes on as the relationship builds. obviously though, if they're pig-headed and won't listen to you at all regardless of how nice they are you need to dump them and find someone else! just my 2 cents and experience of our architect.

thanks guys. great information so far. keep it coming. ?

I would've thought that any system that connects to and can be charged from the grid would do this, no? if not then surely the grid companies would be complaining. ? I work from home 4 days a week at the moment and my wife also works from home occasionally making personalised cuddly toys and the like. I don't think we get a lot of power cuts but seem a little prone to power trips/blips. and that means that my computers/NAS and other devices with hdd storage take a battering when that happens and unceremoniously shutdown. this could lead to hardware failure. the new build will have whole house automation so this will only get more important after we build. I could by a UPS big enough to power the IT equipment and allow them to shutdown nicely in case of a power trip but they tend to be pretty expensive in themselves! Thanks. will take a look. thanks for the info. some good names for me to research there. interesting about what you say about the Powerwall and that is definitely the Tesla way (as we both know with the software updates on our cars!). they're very much a release it and see what happens type software company. doesn't mean I don't love my car though. ?

Hi all, for our self-build we are looking to put in at least a 4kWp solar PV array (maybe more if I the DNO will let me and it's not too expensive) and I would like battery storage as well to act as a battery backup for power cuts, blips and outages. I am aware of the arguments about it not stacking up financially but I'm not so fussed about that as I can't put a price on the fuzzy warm feeling inside that I don't have to use bought in electricity, at least not at full price. I have a Tesla as well just for completeness of my electric requirements. so, financial arguments aside, has anyone had any good experiences with battery storage? just to add that I was at the Build It Live show in Kent on Sunday and was talking to a guy from Solar Watt (who I'd never heard of). he was very vocal on the fact that BMW are their parent company and how their system is a DC system which increases efficiency as there's no conversion from the panels to the batteries. downside is that they don't work as a battery backup and can't charge them from the grid. so, they're pretty much out of the equation! but I was wondering if anyone had heard of them? I couldn't find any mention of them at all on here. Most of the other threads on battery storage on here are pretty old so I thought I'd start this as a way for people to recommend or give updated experiences on the whole battery storage topic. thanks in advance.

We don’t have an SE yet but I have spoken to 3 friends who are an SE, a builder and a surveyor and they have given me some good ideas but basically the outcome of the conversation was that we need to wait until we’ve got the Geotechnical survey to know what we’re dealing with. so, for now, we’re going to submit the planning application to get that ball rolling and then get the geotechnical survey done and engage the SE to design the foundations. If at that point we determine it’ll be cheaper to extend the basement And slab the entire thing then we can go back to the council for an amendment to the plans. the whole thing is complicated by the fact we have an annex, a garden room and a boot room that all branch off the main house that there’s no way a basement will be going under. once I have the geotechnical survey and structural engineer report I’ll start my own thread. sorry to hijack this one @Conor!

Hi Peter, that is very interesting as we're only doing half a basement to save money! I will speak to our architect and a structural engineer friend and see what they say. thank you so much for the input.

Yeah, sorry. I didn’t make it very clear! Our basement will only be under half of the house and will be a music and games room so needs to be cosy. as it’s only under half the house I guess I’d need 2 x separate slabs. One for the house sitting on the ground and one for the basement as the one for the part of the house with no basement won’t be able to extend to the part over the basement. I hope that makes more sense!

We are planning a basement and I was initially looking at an insulated raft but can’t figure out how that would work with the basement underneath? I fully admit that I have a ton of reading and research to do for our self build but I think not asking how you’re planning to do it would be a wasted opportunity! ?

I'm in a similar place at the moment and this is an interesting thread topic for me. Anyone got any other comments to add to what's already been said? did your windows go in? thoughts/experiences of Gaulhofer? did you get anywhere with your investigations or decisions?

that actually now makes a lot of sense. thank you!

now I'm even more confused! but that same insulating effect will be twice as thick to get the same U-value, right?

ok, twice the price for half the thickness. I guess that makes sense.

actually, now I think about it, to get similar U-values I'll need double the thickness of eco insulation so the I need to double those prices so the Kingspan isn't actually as more expensive than I first thought. sorry. schoolboy newbie error! ?‍♂️

so, I've been looking further in to this, specifically with regard to prices to compare our different options and must be doing something wrong! it appears that the Kingspan K12 framing board is the most expensive insulation when priced per m2 and compared to hemp, wood fibre and loose cellulose (just for the product and not including installation). please tell me I'm wrong here. I thought the PIR insulation was cheaper than eco products? or am I being naive here and you're actually paying a premium for thin insulation (and thus thinner walls)? if this is the case then I think I'd rather lose space from my room size and buy a cheaper and more eco friendly product.

thanks Patrick for the response. all great information! I've not actually looked at the prices of this stuff yet. once I get the final dimensions of the external walls I'll put it all in a spreadsheet and calculate the cost differences between them all. I assume that with the blown cellulose there are 3rd party companies that will perform the work after a timber frame has been erected? or are you limited to a timber frame company that offers it as a solution?

I'm wondering if I can use flexible wood fibre between the timber frame and then the rigid wood fibre sheathing on the outside as further insulation and air tightness and attach the timber cladding to the sheathing? obviously, I'm only just starting on my journey so something like that might not actually be possible for various/numerous reasons!

this was an interesting read (https://www.ecomerchant.co.uk/news/insulation-materials-compared/) that someone posted in another thread. it seems that maybe wood fibre might be the way to go as it has a lower lambda value and decrement delay value. more research is required! ?

yep! I've read it which is why blown cellulose is on the list of considerations. ?

thanks for the great information and the 'twice the thickness' simplicity makes perfect sense. so, unless I want really thick walls hemp is not really the way to go is what I'm getting from the responses so far! I will definitely look in to mineral wool. cheers.

Hi Patrick. thanks for the response. I am considering blown in cellulose as a potential option as well although that's not something that I can fit myself. at least with hemp batts I can fit them myself and save some money (as well as do my bit for the planet). although I guess a counter argument to saving money by self-fitting is that the money I would save by using blown cellulose would pay for someone to do it for me! so much to research and I've only just started!

I was thinking about simply getting Hemp batts and fitting them between the stud work of the timber frame. on the Black Mountain website their NatuHemp product has the following U-values: THERMAL PERFORMANCE Thickness Thermal Resistance (R) U Value 50mm 1.28 m2k/W 0.76 W/m2K 75mm 1.92 m2k/W 0.52 W/m2K 100mm 2.56 m2k/W 0.39 W/m2K 150mm 3.85 m2k/W 0.26 W/m2K 200mm 5.13 m2k/W 0.20 W/m2K 250mm 6.14 m2k/W 0.16 W/m2K interestingly, according to the Kingspan U-value calculator 120mm of their K12 framing board with the following build-up yields a 0.23 W/m2K U-value so similar to the 150mm of hemp. And both require further insulation to get to a decent U-value. Construction build-up includes: 3mm skim coated 15mm plasterboard Polythene vapour control layer Kingspan Kooltherm K12 Framing Board between timber studs 9mm OSB Kingspan nilvent breathable membrane Timber cladding on battens. I need to do a LOT more research on the whole subject and would value other opinions on the subject.

Hi Dave. thanks for the information on the Earthwool. I'll look in to that. I know that hemp isn't the best insulator. The Thermafleece Natrahemp product has a Thermal conductivity of 0.040 whereas PIR seems to have a thermal conductivity of around 0.023, hence the thick walls to get a similar level of insulation. some of our sustainability requirements will need to be dropped as we price up the build and it may end up being insulation but I'd like to at least investigate all options before we make a decision!

Hi all, we're currently in the plan drawing phase with the architect for our West Sussex project. We're trying to get away from using oil based products in the build and I am drawn towards using hemp for the insulation of the house. The architect has said that the calculations to get wall U values of around 0.15 with hemp we would need at least 400mm thick walls. We'd rather not lose that much internal space if possible so we're investigating a potential hybrid solution where we use hemp in the timber frame walls and then cover it in another insulation to obtain the required levels. he has suggested we look at the Actis products. I remember reading about the debunked claims on their old product (and have read through old threads on here about the multi-foil insulation) and am a bit sceptical but by using it as a secondary layer and it being so easy to fit that I could do it myself is quite a tempting solution. so, I guess my question to the forum is has anyone used hemp as an insulation material? can anyone think of a different (preferably non-oil based product) that could be used as a secondary layer to reduce the cold-bridging from the timber frame that isn't Actis? or can anyone suggest that Actis have got their act together and now have a product that is worth using? he was talking about the hcontrol hybrid Actic product with the built in vapour control. thanks in advance.