PeterW

I'm watching this too ..!! Thought the sunamp could only store 5kwh so will be interested how much this would stand before the temperature dropped and you needed the inline heating to bring athe water to a reasonable temperature.

HSE advice via CITB here : https://www.citb.co.uk/documents/cdm regs/cdm 2015 - qa 3 self build projects.pdf Construction Plan is detailed here - doesn't need to be war and peace http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/cis80.pdf

We had a 45m loop of 28mm in a commercial building I used to manage and I put a bog standard 24hr mechanical timer on the pump so it ran 15min/hr from 6am to 11pm. Just doing that (from 24x7) saved around £70 in electricity per year and I've no idea how much LPG as it was on a 300l UVC that definitely cooled overnight. Pipes were insulated too but in a cold roof space. The timer cost £15 ...

No EPS needs more - so 2-300mm vs 140-170mm PIR

Don't understand the working floor comment - you can walk on the tetris system as you lay it, and you take out a step by laying the floor and insulation in one go. Or are you saying you want to go with B&B until you have a shell then put UFH and screed..? If so you don't want EPS as its too thick as you'll end up with an additional 200mm or so depth to work with...

Yes - mains through the coil and straight down the drain but as its clean water it can go to rainwater or soakaway. I've also seen a thermal store for connection to a stove with a similar arrangement.

Is that two standard units @TerryE..? Have you run the numbers on how much it will store per day..?

Armaflex will squash as its nitrile rubber and soft - poly would be fine but you will end up with 22x19 or something similar which is 60mm thick so you will only have 40mm of concrete and that will cause a weak point and it will crack ..! Better off below the slab in the insulation if it was me

Only downside is depth - on top of beam and block it would be very thick. If you are still going that route look at the Tetris or Jabfloor solution for EPS beam infil. Much lighter and easier to work with than blocks.

Going for EPS 250mm - only because 300mm with the weird PA ratio we have gives 0.01 difference on the uValue which equates to 37p a year on heating ...

Expensive way to do it Run it between layer 1 and 2 of the EPS and it will have around 100mm of insulation - just remember to work out how to bring it through the wall properly insulated ..! Nitrile Rubber (Armaflex or InsulTube) conforms better than polyethylene insulation and then just need a cover plate to stop the beasties chewing it.

The "New" Autonomous house is just up the road from me - clever in its design saying it was built in a conservation area too !

Ok you need to firmly ask where in the regulations it specifies that as a mandatory requirement as it's not in the green box. Be firm but fair with the BCO as he's not playing by the rules....

Yes for two very good reasons ..!! 1. To check for leaks before you encase them in concrete 2. To monitor they don't get damaged or crushed during the pour. Fill and pressurize to a couple of bar and then watch and wait. When you pour, keep an eye on the pressures gauge so that you know if there is a problem. Post pour the pressure will rise as the curing concrete warms the water in the pipes so don't panic ..!

So both of those listed have odour control, first one is with exhaust air. Check the Geberit product catalogue as all of them should be listed but they look pretty similar

So this is from the Part Q Regs Design of secure windows 2.2 Windows should be made to a design that has been shown by test to meet the security requirements of British Standards publication PAS 24:2012. NOTE: Windows satisfying other standards that provide similar or better performance are also acceptable. These standards include: • STS204Issue3:2012 • LPS1175Issue7:2010securityrating1 • LPS2081Issue1:2015securityratingA. Further advice is available in Secured by Design’s New Homes 2014. So basically you can use any standard that is similar or better to those listed. This is the link to the New Homes 2014 document. http://www.securedbydesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SBD-NewHomes14-lowres.pdf What is also interesting is that the legal requirement is this : PART Q SECURITY Unauthorised access Q1 Reasonable provision must be made to resist unauthorised access to— (a) any dwelling; and (b) any part of a building from which access can be gained to a at within the building. Reasonable is the key here - using a non UK security standard that has elements the same as those above would be difficult for a BCO to turn down as there is nothing prescriptive in the regulations.

But it's always the result when an organic element meets an inorganic element ...! Pick your industry - it doesn't matter which - and because every human is unique then anything that is designed is a compromise. There is no mass market for an AI house as it would be permanently confused as it tried to align to the needs of the occupants as they interact with the house - some have tried to "automate" however it is playing at the edges as there is no way the systems could cope with the multitude of variation that occupants and nature would throw at it.

If you look at a BRegs document the stat decs are the bits in the blue boxes. The rest is guidance on how to meet it

Key there is you have to "conform". I think we've discussed previously that BRegs are only guidance, the stat decs are the law. If you get the manufacturer to sell you the windows on the guarantee the design will be certified by date x, as long as date x is before the sign off by building control is finalized. Notification from them that the design hasn't changed prior to certification should be acceptable to the BCO.

Friends with a new house reported a "drumming" noise when the wind blew with their new house - builder assured them it was not an issue (!!) and it go so bad they took part of the ceiling down in a built in wardrobe. PIR between the rafters had been cut very cleanly into panels about 25mm narrower than the rafter spacing - the drumming was the ends of the insulation panels moving in the breeze blowing up through the roofspace !! Cue the builder having to replace a lot of ceilings.... PIR is fine when its fitted properly - mineral wool has lower thermal efficiency but better noise attenuation but tends to fit better if the cutting and rafter spacing is correct.

JTM for Climaflex which is the poly one - decent carving knife to cut and fit it and then tape the joints with duct tape.

You can now get some wood stove boilers that will fit into a sealed system just to confuse things .... this is one example http://www.fireplacestoreonline.com/aarrow-stratford-ebw12-woodburning-boiler-stove/?gclid=CjwKEAjwm_K_BRDx5o-sxq6ouXASJAC7TsFLp3F-ZoexXs8MmaMhLk9unC7BoPxEsav-X4dssj-3pBoCLo_w_wcB

Go onto Pears Stairs and you can price it up yourself using their online stair builder. You can choose infinite variations of oak, glass etc ..!

Copper ..,.?? Get a decent Rothenburger Pipeslice and you won't need it as it will go through 15mm and 22mm like a knife. I always clean up with a piece of 3m green scourer as it's cheap and doesn't scratch the pipe the same way sandpaper or emery paper does.

Pretty much the same build up I have specified apart from I will get 180mm between the rafters. Airtight membrane is belt and braces on case the adhesive fails on the tape I would expect.