Gone West

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.

I think that after nearly eight years of building the house I'll be happy with a shed that just doesn't leak.

We didn't have a SAP target because I used the PHPP to design the house and main requirement was to not need a heating system. It's supposed to need 1.14kW to maintain 20C inside when -10C outside. It hasn't dropped to -10C here yet, although it got close last night.

Yup, we're hoping to to take it down rather than knock it down. It's a 4"x2" frame and the timber looks good in the loft, unlike Mike's @MikeSharp01, although I expect de-nailing it might be slow work. Wendy will do that, she said it's in her skill set.

Yup, we move into the house and then we start to demolish the bungalow.

Thank you, that's very generous. We'll move in when the oil tank for the bungalow is empty which will probably be around the end of March. We're still hanging doors, fitting skirting and painting woodwork upstairs at the moment. The BCO is coming this morning for his final visit and to tell us what paperwork he wants.

We received our as built SAP documentation yesterday and the EPC is A95 without any renewables. Apparently if we install 3.2kWp PV system it goes up to A102. We were going to do that a bit later this year, so I suppose I have to have the EPC calculated again when the work is done.

We aren't living in the house yet, soon though I think. We have three electric towel rails running at around 200W each for eight hours a day and that keeps the house warm.

@Onoff doesn't look like I'm afraid. If you've got draughts from what they've said 11.6 will seem balmy in comparison.

I would pretty quick based on the weather forecast for next week, now saying blizzards with wind chill -15C in Kent.

I didn't know anything about borehole drilling before we had ours done. This is the kit they used, IIRC it was a 150mm hole with 110mm sleeving. It was eight years ago, so might affect the price. It was the drillers who told me about the wonders of Bentonite which I have since used around my sewage treatment plant pipes. Sorry, a bit off thread.

I can't believe the costs quoted for borehole soil tests. I had a 47m deep borehole drilled and sleeved for £3000, and my soil test, which was for plasticity, cost £50.

Welcome to the forum Edward and Rebecca. @Rebecca Lewis there are a few of us in Kent.

Wendy thinks we should all hire a charabanc and go up there so we can pass the spanners, make tea etc and see the action in real time. We wouldn't be able to offer any useful advice just moral support.

I've found if they're any good, they will be booked up in advance. If some one can come round straightaway I always wonder how good they are!

When we moved into our current bungalow there was a very small wbs fitted. Someone said it was from a gypsy caravan, it was no more than 400mm high, we sold it for £50.

I'm no expert but that doesn't look right to me. I would have thought all that white pipe should be 110mm and under the slab not running through it.

I had this type of problem because a pipe moved after the slab was replaced. It was 110mm ducting for the water supply pipe and I used one of these to offset the entry a bit. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110mm-x-40mm-Waste-Pipe-Adaptor-/291514309082?item=291514309082&ViewItem=&nma=true&si=U4LuuKCsZavH%2BzIQ7TlciRWA2Z4%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557