volcane

Hi All, We are eventually beginning to make real progress on our new house (after 2+ years in planning) The site has been cleared, layers of stone installed and the Kore ESP for the foundation has been delivered. The ESP will be laid next week with the required ducts and drainage installed ready for the slab to be poured. (the frame, a SIPS with cellulose is 80% complete and the windows and doors have been ordered). We are aiming for passive levels of insulation and airtightness, South facing un-shaded. No stoves. Our house is large approx 400sqm plus double attached garage. 5 bed with 2 ensuite, a main bathroom, additional shower room and a small WC. So 5 showers, 1 bath (young children so currently 1 bath per day). Shower use 3 per day. Occasional guests so need capacity for that. So we should need very little heat and could likely do without bar a few small electric heaters but we will put in UFH pipes (in the grand scheme of things this is a very low cost). But what do we do to provide the small amount of heat to the UFH and more importantly heat our DHW? and how much is it likely to cost both to install and to run? Options under consideration: Mono block ASHP + UVC (perhaps 400 litre) issues legionella Split ASHP + Sunamp stack (6X2) LPG gas boiler with UVC (and buffer for UFH) We are in Northern Ireland so no RHI and PV is no longer cost effective (vs E7 electricity) A gas boiler is likely to have the lowest capital cost and should be good for 20 years, I'm not sure how long an ASHP would last, long enough to justify its cost? I'm attracted to the Sunamp system but it is very 'capital heavy' and if the ASHP fails or needs expensive maintenance then I would be better just going with a gas boiler, but the Sunamp would be better placed to accept PV input if they become cost effective. All opinions welcome,

Congrats, I'm 2.5 years into our project (and a bit before that I'm not counting!) and feel good that we have finally started.(site cleared stone in and EPS delivered ready for the slab)

We found our architect following a visit to Kore where I asked about someone local interested in using their insulated foundation system. He is now mainly a builder but to his misfortune was interested in our project. I came to him wanting a type of house that he wanted to build, him being an architect was a bonus. He stuck with us through our planning battles and knows what I'm like! Our site is cleared and stoned with the Kore delivery coming on Tuesday. Windows were ordered yesterday. Our architect was driving a dumper in the rain. That's dedication.

The Mesa appears to be available in 3 different breite (widths), 700, 800 and 900 shown here http://www.gutmann-exklusiv.de/files/mesa.pdf I presume that the hob isn't included. We 'want' a larger hob even though not all the rings will be used at once but the space available when cooking is very useful. I think that the 80cm Gutmann hob combined with a matching Mesa downdraft would fit our needs.

@ryder72 If not the 4 ring Bora what do you recommend? We will have an induction hob, I had planned for a 900 unit, 5/6 cooking zones, on a 700 deep worktop (not that keen on having the hob in the island). The Gutmann Mesa seems to fit the bill? Have you seen this in action?

One towel??? I have a current wife who requires 3 towels post each shower and also manages to soak everything

short item on RTE television just now on a passive housing estate. Will be on the +1 service at 8 for anyone who can pick up rte.

We are planning to use a Biorock due to its simplicity and lack of ongoing costs. I have spoken to a an engineer who works with very large sewerage systems and he only flagged the potential disposal of media whenever it will need replaced. The only ongoing maintenance is to check and wash the filter annually. I have read @Stones report on ebuild and hope his problems were due to poor installation and this will result in us (my builder!) being extra careful when installing the Biorock.

I may need 3 no. of the same. Group buy?

What style? Did you go for a 'nice' front door?

I did similar on the last house and plan the same for the new place only I fitted the socket face upside down to allow the cables an easier run to the surface of the island.

I should've added to the above that our proposed house is very contemporary and has grown too big so the cost difference to have the wooden interior would be significant. I hope to get a chance to post up the floor plan and elevations.

We are in very final stages of house planning but one of our/my earliest decisions was the windows. I wanted internorm and picked Studio kf410 aluclad. Initially wanted to move away from PVC but realised that the wooden interior finish looked like it was wood effect PVC and the cost difference couldn't be justified.

@recoveringacademic Hi, Still trying to work through some details before we actually start (things haven't been working so well for a while) I think we need a PHPP model worked out for our house, no certification but I'm worried that it may overheat of that the upstairs bedrooms may be too cold. We have had a quote for the PHPP calculations coming in at over £2k, and I remembered seeing the above and wondered who would provide the above service? thanks

Hi All, I'm pulling together bathroom fixtures in order to have a fairly accurate costing before we start digging, I'd even order what we need in advance if necessary. Local firms don't offer that great a customer service so there really isn't any disadvantage ordering from Germany. Is anyone who ordered from any of these online suppliers willing to share their order details?? I'm struggling with pulling it all together and I'm worried that I'll miss something from the order?? We have two ensuites, a main bath, two downstairs showerrooms and a WC to kit out, regards V

I wonder what Arlene will make of this??????

Shame, his input would've been very beneficial on a lot of recent discussions here,

We are most likely getting Internorm doors and windows and the doors are timber aluclud (windows are PVC aluclad). They have no mention of fire rating but an aluclad timber door should meet FD30 requierments? I have the same issue with the integral garage, I am fairly certain that building control will want a fire door to the garage, if Internorm can't supply the certification then I will have to source an alternative. hopefully you can reach a solution. Did you contact internorm? (Are you sure that the door you are getting is actually PVC it may be timber?)

Having had the cold feed to the kitchen tap run on top of the insulation with the UFH pipes (contrary to my instructions) in a previous project, I can say that the end result was truly catastrophic! constant running of the cold tap to achieve cold water is a total pain, even after 2 years it was still an issue. There is nothing worse than a mouthful of warm water when you were expecting cold. I would make every effort to isolate the cold feed from any warmth.

This has been my line of thinking, the cost and potential complexity of installing an ASHP (and maybe requirement to service and then replace in 10 years). I have been thinking of a sunamp stack just to make sure I would be covered and be able to add a HT ASHP later. Possibly a used ASHP may be useful as a preheat source for water going to the Sunamp.

I find that it is almost impossible to compare different manufactures. I have been to shows for the past three years and have quizzed 5-6 different providers (some are no longer trading) and not one was able to offer any guarantee about anything especially air-tighness and they never want to discuss anything technical eg sole plate condensation risk, vapour permeability etc and didn't seem to be offering anything different than offered 5 years before. Now that I eventually have planning, and want /need the house asap I'm after assurances that the frame/house will perform as expected. Maybe this is where MBC could have the edge over the competition. The next 2-3 weeks will tell, I have my search narrowed down to 3 (and maybe one other) and I'm now even thinking of pricing a straightforward block build! as I need to be able to afford to live! (but that adds to the time problem)

My parents recently replaced a gas boiler that had 30 years of reliable service, could an ASHP last as long? A gas boiler+connection +some form of 'renewable' to comply may cost the same as the ASHP but maybe is more dependable? But before deciding they will have to get firm cost of installation and running costs of each. We will likely be using an ASHP simply because we have no chance of mains gas and I don't want to sell my soul to Calor.

I thought about starting a new topic but my query fits well here; Giving Up?? 18 month war with planning, council committee meetings combined with family illness seems to have taken its tole and when we eventually did win that war I didn't feel as elated as I should have as all I could see were more battles that I'm not prepared for as the planning was so frustrating. Build cost: For various reasons our planned house has grown to become a monster, about 390 sqm +garage. What will it cost when finished? Northern Ireland so some costs lower than England. Hoping for passive levels, good windows (Alu PVC) current favourite, streets done patio finished. We are fortunate in some ways that we have a house to sell to fund the new build but that will likely pay for less than half. I wonder have I gone mad??

What brand? We were pleasantly surprised with our initial quote and asked for the utility room to be included.

We are planning on installing a Leicht kitchen (German manufactured) ordered through a local dealer. I'm sure that there must be a German based dealer who could process the same order? I'm not sure if there would be much saving, a local dealer does provide a service.