Gone West

I don't think there's that much wrong with it. I would probably do something similar with a 110mm AAV in the loft on top of the stack and a 50mm AAV where the washing machine is. I did go a bit OTT here fitting several AAVs to build in a bit of redundancy is case of failure. The green is 110mm and blue 50mm pipe.

Do you need the roof windows? If they are poorly fitted single glazed and you have enough light without them then remove them and insulate the whole ceiling. Without knowing how the roof has been constructed it's a bit difficult to recommend the best way to insulate. Maybe use a small metal detector and magnets to find fixings in ceiling so you can find rafters and noggins then blow in beads?

+1 If possible removing the stack and reinstating the roof is a good idea.

Both links worked for me.

'Escape to the Country'? possibly. I know what you mean. They've always got to put their stamp on it. Don't know how you could redesign a certified PH easily.

We're hoping to do that one day. Welcome to the forum by the way and good luck with the project.

We've found that we are now looking at tenths of a degree differences whereas in the old bungalow we were looking at several degrees difference. I think you are right that we are being too fussy but it's surprising how quickly the body adjusts to 'requiring' constant warm temperatures.

Looking back at what we spent, the TF with insulation and installation came out at 25% of total build cost.

They may look the same but is the glazing the same. The new ones may have different coatings or better gas.

No vacuum, most likely air or Argon.

We didn't have that problem in the old bungalow with the single and poor double glazing but we do have the same problem on our triple glazed windows in the new house when the weather is still and cold. It's worse on the north facing windows. As soon as the wind gets up it disappears. It's possibly worse for you because the stream could raise the humidity around the house. It means the windows are working well and it should only be a problem in certain weather conditions.

Wendy used to do a similar thing, with twigs from the hedge, every Christmas when we were in the bungalow.

I just produced a spreadsheet with tabs in build order for each aspect of the build and a breakdown of estimated costs and actual costs for each tab.

Welcome to the forum. Last year we dismantled our old bungalow that we had been living in while we build the house in the garden. We missed the caravan stage fortunately as it took us eight years to build the new house. Good luck with the build.

We've always found Sennocke to be helpful and they said we could convert to a different type of cover when necessary. They are more expensive but as they seem to be able to cover most situations it's easier for the first year.

For several months between site insurance running out and full house cover we had uninhabited buildings insurance. This is usually used for renovation works on unoccupied rental properties. Ours was with Sennocke Insurance and was a couple of years ago.

Exactly, we've appealed three times and won each time.

They replaced all the poles around here last year and IIRC, in the orchard behind us, they used a Land Rover with outriggers and a lift on the back with chains which they wrapped round the pole.

We did that in our last house. I took them off, put them in a metal bin and let them down on a rope to Wendy who cleaned and stacked them. Around 6000 IIRC and I have a lovely picture of Wendy sitting on a crate surrounded by them all cleaning them.

The timber framed bungalow, that I dismantled last year, was built in 1920s as a temporary house for homes for heroes after WW1. It was stick built on site and made of 4" x 2". It was still standing and the only localised rot was due to later 1950s modifications.

I have an accidental borehole, it was meant to be a deep bore soakaway, don't ask. We already had mains water on site so we only use it for watering the garden. It's 47m deep and I bought an IBO pump and suspended it on 40m of stainless wire and it pumps through 32mm hose to an adapter then garden hose. It delivers about the same sort of volume and pressure as the mains. The borehole cost £3000 in 2010.

I used Soudal Flexifoam which claims to be airtight. Air permeability (DIN 18542) a < 0,1 m³/[h.m.(daPa)²/³]

Is the UK a 'cold climate' region, the same as Spain?

Our bath is 1700mm and because the venetian plaster ended up thicker than anticipated we had only 3mm leeway and it was very tight.

The bricks from the chimney breast in the bungalow I dismantled didn't have frogs and they lasted ninety odd years and the chap who took them on Freegle used them for a garden wall.