Gone West

We designed our own house and submitted the planning application ourselves. After we got approval we employed an architect to draw up the building control drawings and liaise with the timber frame company and structural engineer.

I bought a Jokari for doing all my T&E around the house. Wouldn't do the single 4mm2 and 10mm2 cables I have, but did everything else. https://www.jokari.de/en/Flat-cable-stripper.htm

We have fitted Schneider Lisse sockets and switches and they are very good. I like the connector on the light switches for connecting the neutrals for loop in at switch.

Could you use a single sheet of cement particle board such as http://www.euroform.co.uk/versapanel-cement-bonded-particle-board/

Welcome to the forum Diane and good luck with the project.

We have Lindab and found it easy enough to fit, if a bit different to plastic. I like it because you don't get the cracking sounds as it expands in the sun.

Someone told Planning Enforcement that we hadn't demolished our bungalow within the allotted three months after moving into the new house. He wouldn't tell us who it was, but he wasn't really interested. He said if we might have problems taking it down before the end of the year to give him a ring and that was in the summer.

I would say it was repair work to an existing entrance. The tree removal in not part of the repair work and I would not mention the widening work.

You could look at these materials, I should imagine not cheap though. https://uk.foamglas.com/en-gb/homepage http://www.compacfoam.com/index.php?main=1&item=0&sub=0&lang=en https://en.puren.com/construction/

A central vacuum system was one of those things we saw when visiting a self build show. We quickly discounted it and now are very pleased as technology has moved on and a Dyson stick is all we need.

We had the asbestos removed professionally and the electricity disconnected, other than those we did everything ourselves. I detailed the process in my blog.

Not true. Wendy doesn't like islands in a kitchen so we designed a kitchen without one.

No, not to my eyes. If it's the actual room layout, then I prefer the first picture. It's very subjective, I don't like staircases in the living space and functionally it looks like there are potential thermal bridging issues with the roof windows in the second picture.

Welcome to the forum. We've just completed our first self build and am approaching seventy and we definitely won't be doing another one.

Good to hear from you again @SteamyTea, thought you had gone for good .

Would it be possible to fit something on the inside of the ventilation unit where the intake duct enters.

If there is a way to fit a fine insect screen, which is easily accessible for cleaning, it might help reduce the larger crud on the filter. There does seem to be a lot of what look like weed seeds trapped on the filter.

Do you know if you have insect screens in the air intake to the F7 filter.

I have a TF PH and I use electric towel rails in the bathrooms, supplemented with warm air heating from an EASHP through the ventilation system, to heat the house. If my house was at the higher end of PH heating requirement I would rather use skirting radiators than UFH.

Does your system give alerts at irregular intervals or do you set a date for the alert for example in 3 or 4 or 6 months time. My first filter change was at 3 months and since them I clean them at 3 months and change them at 6 months so I have set my alert to 3 months. My filters are G4 and F7 and I buy mine in bulk from Filtershop. I tried Jason Envirocare but they were only marginally cheaper than Total Home Environment. https://www.wtw-filtershop.nl/c-1862769/combi-185/

Yup, Wendy is happy that she knows how everything works. We have a straightforward heating, DHW, ventilation system with nothing bespoke. It was one of Wendy's must haves, agreed before we started on the build.

We didn't have a written contract with our scaffolders. We had a fixed charge open ended arrangement which turned out to be fifteen months for £2560 which included three alterations. This was back in 2010/2011 though.

Knauf Supafil Frame insulation is blown in behind a membrane. It's the system I would have used if not Icynene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le1MDxtEej0

Yes we fitted one on our bath because it was in the regs. but the BCO wasn't interested.

IIRC it's 1.1kW for space heating when it's very cold outside, but it's not a large house. I don't know what I use for DHW.