Gone West

Are there any thoughts about the different methodologies used between PH and BR ventilation calculations? Please.

We have standard glass Eclisse pocket doors. Eclisse do telescopic pocket doors. http://www.eclisse.co.uk/telescopic-pocket-door-system-single/

Too true!

@RichS and @willbish The cost of the removal and the replacement works were borne completely by the company laying the slab. As I had video evidence of the work being done and the time taken they accepted liability and in that respect can't be faulted. There was some half hearted vibration work done but the concrete was going off before it could be laid properly. The cost cutting included not pumping and using a concrete supplier whose depot was too far away. The weather being quite warm didn't help matters. After ultra-sonic testing showed cavities, core samples were taken to verify the fact. After that there was nothing to do other than complete removal.

I also had problems with my passive slab, details in my blog, although not the same as yours. The slab is 200mm thick all over and the second attempt, which I had pumped with C35, was fine. On ours the DPM was on top of the polystyrene and held down by the steel and the concrete was pokered. When I had mine done self compacting/levelling wasn't really an option but I would have used it had it been available.

@James H It looks great. If you've got time it would be good if you could do a blog showing your progress through the build.

Well done, you should be proud of your achievement.

I paid £140 for as built SAP and showed them my PHPP output for the design.

If you are having a heating system then you can adjust that to suit your construction. You could reduce the size of the sliding doors. I would have thought they would need a heating system in Canada whatever the thickness of the walls so there isn't a saving to be had in not installing a heating system. Our walls are 500mm thick but living in the South East of England allows us to not have a conventional heating system.

Thank you Moira. Yes the Genvex is working fine. Looking at the specifications for the Combi185 I think the small one 'S' would only work in a well insulated flat and the larger one 'LS', which we have, would only work in a well insulated small house like ours. I did look into using a Sunamp PV and separate MVHR near the end but the ventilation and DHW side of the build were too far advanced to change things.

@Onoff The council have recommended a band E and I have suggested a band D. The other two cottages in the area that have three bedrooms are band D. The original bungalow was a C.

Let's hope you get a refund without any problems. I'm sure if it was a private company doing this sort of thing it would be illegal but local government can get away with it. The local council tax department recommends a band to the VOA hoping it won't be challenged and mostly seems to get away with it. A new bungalow built next door to here has had a ridiculously high band assigned to it and the owner is selling it and doesn't appear to be worried. We'll tell the new owners that the banding is two above the original so they can challenge it.

Looking at the U factors you've since supplied I would say the level of insulation is poor and presumably only meets, rather than exceeds Building Regs. By increasing the levels of insulation in all the areas of the house you would significantly reduce CO2 emissions and the space heating requirement.

The BCO said I just had to fill in a Section 80 form, which is only one page, and it doesn't cost anything. Mind you taking it down will cost a lot more.

We looked at AM Profiles years ago when we were looking at windows, they looked good, they quoted for us but ceased trading before we placed an order.

Welcome to the forum Ralph. Has it been designed with a good level of insulation? Adding more insulation would reduce CO2 emissions and ASHP would be better than biomass IMHO.

Not for me, it'll give me more garden.

Our new house, built in the garden of the bungalow we are living in, is a replacement for the bungalow which will be demolished. The Council Tax Inspectors have been around several times over the last couple of years and finally told us it was to be deemed habitable from 2nd Jan 2018, which we agreed to. We received a council tax bill for the time from 2/1/18 to 28/2/18 for the new house with an estimated band higher than the one I suggested to VOA. From the way the bill was laid out it gave the impression that the bill was due to be paid by 28/2/18. I phoned the Council Tax Office at the local council offices and found out that I didn't have to pay the bill until the VOA had banded the property officially. They really are the most cunning people I have met at trying to extract money. Their excuse was that it was often better for people that bills don't build up. Why aren't they made to print that information on the bill?

To get the house signed off I set up our MVHR for Building Regs. PH ventilation rates are very different to Building Regs so I am thinking of resetting the MVHR to give PH ventilation rates. Is that what other low energy house builders have done?

The BCO came yesterday for his final visit and to let me know what remaining documentation he wanted. He couldn't believe the air tightness of 0.47m3/m2.h as it was the lowest he had seen and that he usually saw results around the 4m3/m2.h. I didn't think it was especially low, but it was a point in my favour. Today I received the completion certificate, so now I can insure it as a normal house and start the VAT reclaim. I can only praise the experience I had with Building Control.

Hi and welcome to the forum. Good luck with the renovation.

Yes I did much the same with a free copy of, I think, SAP2005 in around 2010. It didn't help a great deal and I found using PHPP much easier. Back then they really were like chalk and cheese. I still don't understand why they don't use ACH.

Maybe it's an urban myth. I've always heard that said, but never seen any evidence to support it. We have a compact unit, Genvex Combi 185LS, which provides the DHW, ventilation and warm air heating.

A friend converted an 18th C. barn in Kent which just sat on the earth. Building control just wanted it underpinned, which he did himself by hand. Lots of work mind.

So would I, think of all the other things I could have done with my time. Good idea.