Gone West

We had full plans building control with the LABC. The build started in 2010 and was completed in 2018. We had a few emails and phone calls at various times enquiring about progress but we weren't asked for extra payments.

I had 89mm x 38mm CLS studwork, and where the TV bracket was to go, I just glued and screwed a load more noggins and studs to take the bracket. Mine was only a 48" though and Wendy thought it was quite big enough.

There is nothing wrong with your heating system, in fact it's very similar to the system I designed for my Passivhaus. I had three electric towel rails and an EASHP built into the MVHR which provided warm air through the MVHR ducting. We also had a solar gain area to add to the heating when suitable. Once the house was warm, the heating was never turned off during the cold months. We kept the house at 23C 24/7 with very low electricity bills. The house had very good airtightness 0.47 ACH and the U factor for the walls and roof was 0.095 W/m2K. Without the high insulation levels and airtightness there would be no chance of keeping the house warm.

Amazingly I found the old Rehau Geneo PDF. Page three shows the optional insulation that was available with the version ten years ago. REHAU Geneo Energy Efficiency.pdf

We had the windows installed in 2012. We visited the manufacturers to see the profile and a window being made. We saw the lengths of insulation for the each of the chambers which was just slid into the cavity. The insulation was optional but we wanted to have it to minimise thermal bridging. I'll see if I can find an old PDF describing the construction, but don't hold your breath, it was a long time ago. It might be worth contacting Rehau to see if it's still an option.

Physically insulated.

There is a large variation in types of uPVC window profiles. In my PH I had triple glazed Rehau Geneo frames which were insulated. The standardised figures were Ug value = 0.5 W/m²K Uf value = 0.77/0.78 W/m²K Uw value = 0.67 W/m²K

I've had two cards in the post and a phone call in the last two weeks asking me to have a smart meter.

A while ago I was thinking about an LPG generator, for heating and lighting only, for when we have power cuts. Honda make small dual fuel generators that would be suitable. I was going to have a seperate circuit just for the heating. https://www.geargb.co.uk/search/LPG-Dual-Fuel-Generator

Another one. https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/home-grants/article/insulation-grants-aGAZv8p9hGkY

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/home-grants/article/insulation-grants-aGAZv8p9hGkY Might be worth a look.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/find-energy-grants-for-you-home-help-to-heat Might be worth a look.

Brick and Thermalite with 75mm batt in 150mm cavity is coming up as U=0.28.

I used it on our fence and it was dark brown. I'm not sure if they do a lighter shade.

Agreed. I semi-retired at 45, fully retired at 54 and since then I designed and built my own PH. I wouldn't say doing your own self build isn't hard work though, and a lot is tied up in building it. The satisfaction came when I completed it.

It has for domestic use, but is allowed for commercial use. I found their creosote substitute to be good, in the short term (six years) at least. It has the same reassuring smell. https://www.creosotesales.co.uk/

I did it twice, once for SAP and then the real settings for PH, which is what we kept. The BCO wasn't interested in the SAP results, so for me it was a waste of time.

Yes it worked well. It sends the reading via bluetooth to an app on the phone and then I printed them out. It's just time consuming going round every vent and then repeating the process until it's all balanced.

I've often thought about that. The Romans had it sussed and then the Victorians came along and set us back two thousand years 😉.

I would hope not. Mine only cleared when the sun came up or the wind started to blow. If it clears when the house is heated, the glazing isn't keeping the heat in enough.

What type of ground floor do you have. Is it a concrete slab or suspended timber. What was the thickness of insulation fitted under the UFH. Does the carpet have a low tog rating. It could be that, as @SteamyTea says you may be losing the heat to the ground.

There aren't many true prefabs left anymore. Could be very interesting to research it's history. I worked with a chap, many years ago, who wrote a book of his childhood, growing up in a prefab in Kent. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prefab-Kid-Postwar-Childhood-Kent/dp/1857701755

Welcome to the forum. I'll start by asking you a random question, how old is the prefab.

@Angelheart I used an asbestos self test and found the whole inside of my old bungalow was lined with Chrysotile panels and the roof tiles were also Chrysotile. I had the panels removed professionally and removed and bagged the roof tiles myself which were then removed by the company. They did a clean air test inside but not outside. I would always do my own test as I do not tend to trust companies like that. That is further backed up by the fact they are asking for an outside clean air test. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Asbestos-Sample-Testing-Instructions-Postage/dp/B0862B9JZB/

I looked at the Hotun dry tundish when plumbing my last build. https://hotun.co.uk/