Gone West

We used strand woven bamboo in our newbuild. It was advertised as twice as hard as oak and horizontal or vertical cut bamboo. It was click together and easy to lay and we preferred the look of it to oak. We got a large number of samples of many types of flooring before deciding.

We could have patched ours indefinitely but having inherited it we thought we would dismantle it and replace it with a newer timber frame building. It was over eighty years old and originally built as temporary accommodation, so about time.

It wasn't a turn off when we sold our house last year. We had three people bidding against each other at significantly higher than the asking price. We had an EPC of A95 without renewables which is what people seemed more interested in.

IIRC we calculated a heating requirement of 1.14kW for a 30C temperature difference in our PH. We designed the house so we wouldn't need a conventional central heating system with UFH and ASHP. We heated the house with three electric towel rails in the bathrooms and a 585W EASHP providing warm air heating through the MVHR system when required. We heated the whole house to 23C. In order to compare what level of comfort you would like it is necessary to know the temperatures others have in their properties.

In 2017 I paid £200 for a half day which included finding leaks and doing the test.

Nice house, shame it was orange.

We had a triple glazed Fakro roof window, which we got because it didn't have trickle vents.

Yeah, we used a 2kW fan heater when we worked in there in the winter and it used to be comfortable. Don't remember any magical figures, but I guess if 1.14kW is correct then that is close to half an electric kettles worth.

I remember the space heating requirement was 12kWh/m2a in PHPP and I've got a vague recollection that with a temperature difference of 30C it required an input of 1.14kW, but that might all be BS knowing what my memory is like these days. It's a pity we have to grow old.

I agree, and I live out in the sticks with a maximum of 10Mbps if I'm lucky, but I wouldn't change where I live just to have faster BT broadband.

Yes, it was the first Isoquick installation in England in 2010.

We had Internorm entrance doors which were aluminium on the outside and pine on the inside.

Yes the drill bit should be at least as long as the fixing.

As @joe90 said you have frame fixings so they should be fitted as frame fixings. They are not raw plugs. Drill a hole of the appropriate size through the frame and into the wall and knock the fixing in.

@zoothorn As I posted three hours ago, I can't think of a different way to describe how to do it, sorry.

Put packers between the frame and the wall, above and below the hole, so the window frame is not bendy. The packers can be proper plastic packers or just pieces of wood trimmed to size. As in the video imagine there is a gap between the wood and the wall.

Try this video.

The whole frame fixing goes into the window frame and into the wall. The type I used many years ago went in with the screw halfway out of the plug and they were knocked in with a hammer and then a final tighten with a screwdriver.

Not stupid, but not something I would do. I am going to replace my 70% efficient old Rayburn with a 90% efficient Grant condensing oil boiler.

Welcome, and well done on the completed build. We started in 2010 and moved in 2018 so the same length of time. Got any pictures of the build, we like pictures on here.

Himalayan Birch may be good place to start.

Struth, you're a difficult person to please, 870mm of Celotex and it's not enough for you. 😁

That's not 30 minutes to fully set, just you should'nt be using it after 30 minutes. Explained in the document. Edit: https://media.wickes.co.uk/is/content/wickes/B3182_133770_TECH_0

It's a mix of sand, cement and 10mm aggregate. https://www.wickes.co.uk/Blue-Circle-Multi-Purpose-Ready-To-Use-Concrete---20kg/p/133770

I've used the Hanson stuff before, it's good. Just follow the instructions on the bag, it does set quick. Have everything ready to go rather than going off to get water or open bags.