tanneja

@NSS what is the guy smoking?! It must be a different product, despite me saying sage glass specifically. Thank you for the clarification. I have asked about an integrated tint (SKN 176 II) but that comes with the dull weather drawback, I want to see how they price relative to each other. Even with Sage Glass, and presumably good insulation throughout the house (and MVHR?), do you think active cooling is necessary for you to feel totally comfortable?

@canalsiderenovation yes please if you are happy to share it would be reassuring

@NSS, I spoke with an internorm distributor this week, and asked about sage glass. They remarked that when when clear, if you try to look through the glass at an angle (i.e. not perpendicular), then view starts to get obscure, to the point of totally obscure as you get closer to parallel. Is this your user experience? His stance was that it was a product not suited to house external windows.

Hi all, In another thread I got good feedback regarding the value of provisioning for active cooling in our full house refurb. My hope is that we don't need it. We plan 35m2 glazing for our total floor area 180m2, 2 story house, 1930 semi detached house, with 4 additional skylights (probably with built in low solar gain finish). The back garden is approx North facing, so the main sliders shouldn't be problematic for solar gain. Also likely to get EWI for our solid block walls. Solar panels are hopefully in our future to generate and also reduce solar gain through the roof. Still, I like the idea that we have a solution should the house overheat during warm spells, if the planned MVHR isn't able to do very much for cooling. It seems like the ideal would mean provisioning for: - all 4 bedrooms, - the snug at the front of the house, - the main seating at the rear, and - the garage (will be a play area primarily, within the thermal envelope of the house). That seems like at least 7 splits. I have shown my attempt at these locations on the attached house plan, using the orange lines (and circles to help make more obvious). I guess the pipe run would go centrally down the middle of the house, through the joists between the ground and 1st floor. That seems like it would service the upstairs and snug really well, with a lateral runs needed to get to the garage. Would anyone position the indoor units differently, to perhaps require fewer units, and/or be more effective? FYI the house length (north to south) is approx 17m. Then there is the outdoor unit(s). Related to how many internal units are needed, will be how many external. Multi splits typically go up to 5. And where would I locate these 1 or 2 outdoor units? We are a semi detached, and a corner plot, where a neighbour front garden is north of our garage. It feels like the most convenient place for the run would be on the flat roof outside bedroom 2 so to limit the run lengths. But that will be close to my adjoining neighbour bedroom (attached by our West wall). Alternatives seem to be: - the back of the house (i.e. the north of the property) at ground level, but given the vaulted garage and entrance ceilings, it means for long and not simple runs. - the front of the house, where the bathroom steps back from the snugs principal elevation, but even if hidden by fencing, could draw attention from the street users. I'm wary of the requirement for planning permission for cool-able units. We don't live in a conservation area, but the threat of needing an expensive acoustic report and likely neighbour objections looms (especially for multiple outdoor units, if needed). Still I feel I would sleep better through the build knowing the wiring and pipework (or just ducting) is in place to fit should the house suffer from hot weather overheating. FYI purple rooms indicate vaulted ceilings in those rooms. Semi transparent wide red lines indicate structural steels. My sincerest thanks for any assistance JT

Thanks @Russell griffiths Thanks @bluebirdnick My builder has told me the existing joists aren't level, and have be hacked at in places, so with what we are doing, he sees fit to replace them. Anything that would let us cut access holes through them for services would be deeper than the original joists, perhaps 50mm more he says. While not liking that thought, as ceilings aren't that generous here already, the more I consider it, the more it seems essential we can run bits through there. This thread is very useful, but I am still trying to digest it. To confirm, the duct work that goes around the house is 75mm? The builder wanted to know what kind of diameter her would need to provision for. The other diameter ducts you refer to are presumably between the plenums and the MVHR or MVHR and external in / out? That's very helpful on the soffits, its probably something I should raise with the builder, as we are having the whole roof replaced. Ours will be grey tile, so perhaps the metal wouldn't look out of place if painted, still covert would be best. Perhaps unrelated, but since it is such a similar house, do you plan any active cooling either with the MVHR or other system in the house?

I've read at least some of your posts from your install thread a few years back. How do you feel they perform in keeping the house cool summer and the spring / autumn sun angles? Is the tint overkill on bright days to the point where the views out are unfavourable (but I guess you accept that in exchange for comfort)? Do you also have active cooling in the house? Have you had any maintenance issues since install? Do you know whether I ask any internorm dealer for their sage glass quote, or would one just order frames and deal with sage glass separate? Think the purchase costs have come down at all from what you quoted as the likely retail? Currently provisioned for motorised internal blackout blinds, but appreciate by that point some or all the heat is inside the building. Looking at 1st fix piping of active cooling such as a multisplit aircon unit. Any advice appreciated!

bluebirdnick, as the owner of a 1930s myself, did you replace any of the joists on between the ground and first floor, perhaps with ijoists, so to allow the extract and supply ducts to reach your downstairs rooms? It sounds like you have a stud wall / void where they travel down, and so presumably shoot out to various rooms within the ceiling. I Imagine you had to cross past some joists to get to everywhere? If you did replace any joists (with either posi or ijoists), were they taller, and so meaning you had to drop[ the ground floor ceiling slightly?

We are fond of the aluclad internorm as well (windows and a 4.5m slider). We canvassed for prices from 4 localish dealers, one with a good reputation for fitting is far higher (like 30%). We are currently unsure what to do about overheating. Fortunately the sliders are north facing, but we have some east facing windows that will get morning light, and some south facing that will get spring / autumn daytime sun. Wondering whether to go with a film (either with reactive or permanent tint), or ask for the glass to come with an embedded permanent treatment to reduce solar gain. I may, for a laugh, ask them about sage glass for the east and south windows. For the windows and slider separately (as they are different animals), do you have either your pre or post VAT £/m2 number you have been quoted, and whether that included install?

canalsiderenovation, what windows have you honed in on?

Oranjeboom, are you able to share this seller from the continent? Did they install for you? How confident are you in their enthusiasm and cost to address any future issues with them that you (hopefully won't, but) could have?

Can anyone say where they would place AC units on my house design? How many and where? Or are ceiling fans in bedrooms and living spaces the right approach? Many thanks JT

Thanks Ferdinand. Interesting to hear about your neighbours. Have they shared with your their reason for not closing the gates when home as well? In their same position I feel I would have them closed all the time. For the avoidance of any doubt the main entrance is the labelled porch area, its set far back by the garage. The hedging is mature leylandi, no chance of anyone getting through those. The front lawn area is an additional garden bit, which threatens to be a forgotten wasteland with the set back version of gates. I like your thinking of potential BBQs and such out the front, but we do still have a nice back garden too. I'm not sure how comfortable I will be with the kids being out the front with just a 1m fence / gate, the front lawn area is likely to be either a food growing garden or a rose garden for nice views from the snug. The (not yet planted) hedging row that divides the lawn from the drive area is to keep people away from the windows. My wife has been crashed into once while coming onto our drive, it is a busy road, so given she does multiple child drop offs and pickups, for her sanity it would be ideal if she didn't have to wait on the busy road for a gate to open, the incremental stress could build up over time. Doesn't mean we are convinced the set back is the right thing, there may be another solution. We do really want the car port, best thing for keeping a car in a nice usable condition irrespective of the weather.

Thanks SteamyTea, The UFH was planned to be heated using our existing combi boiler, as only a year old. Certainly plan window glass with reflective coatings on those elevations (FYI the sliding doors are facing North, to give you a feel for orientation). The PV tip is something I didn't think of as acting as insulation, thank you, further reason to want to install. Having read many posts from this forum, I'm aware home builders say comfort cooling isn't effective, I was just spooked where a consultant said it could be good for nighttime cooling (assuming you need relatively little cooling so low air flow perhaps fine). That then fed onto thinking AC in bedrooms wasn't necessary, and so what positions would be best (for example, in the vaulted upstairs corridor as tallest place in the house (although there is a skylight that might fight the cooling), vs the downstairs living areas). Agreed that British weather usually doesn't require AC. A month long heatwave in the summer each year could happen, I guess no one knows, but when we have had them previously,, life isn't fun here. I would want to plan that the house could be comfortable during that time. Presumably it is inexpensive and minimal mess to install the pipework for any AC system during the refurb, we can then live in the house and see if it is required, discovering through living in the house whether the other measures to isolate the the internal climate from the outside are sufficient. I don't hate the look of the indoor units, I'm most focused on where the most effective locations would be relative to windows, room heights and function of the spaces. Thanks MikeGrahamT21, I have seen Tado online, I wondered if that would be a good alternative to EvoHome. Do you have AC or just aware they have a module for it? I would assume if you set the thermostat to a temperature below the outside temperature, it would engage the AC, but not otherwise? Do you have thermostats throughout the house (if so a zone per room, or fewer than that)? EvoHome seems to support 12 and is reasonably priced, so planned one thermostat per room. Regards JT

Thanks Ferdinand. I suppose trying to focus my question, would you or others think a gate would best serve us at the land boundary with the footpath, or set back to the principal elevation? Either way we can use a cheap gate approach, obviously less cost at the boundary given the small span to cover, however I had my list of reasons why I thought set back might be ideal. Thanks again for your time and any additional advice. JT

Hi all, We are renovating our 3 bed 1930 semi detached (will become 4 bed). It is as I bought it a decade ago, is a single thermostat driven central heating system. The house is too warm in summer, cold in winter (varies by room). Renovation will include solid floor with WFH, double/triple glazed windows, perhaps EWI, hoping with a precise builder and some air gap hunting from me we end up with a close to airtight envelope that I have the opportunity to manage. Plan is to have MVHR (BPC have recommended a Vent Axia Sentinel Kinetic FH (310m3/hr) for my 180m2 footprint (130 downstairs, 50 upstairs)) for our fresh air requirements. Have read most posts remarking that, should you be building an insulated home with a decent amount of glazing, piping for an air conditioner seems sensible. I have seen single and split units, but I can’t find much advice for where to place the internal units so they are most effective. Would just one upstairs and one downstairs be sufficient, or really is a split unit per bedroom and living area advisable? If a unit per bedroom is overkill (certainly expensive), are circulating ceiling fans worthwhile at night for when bedroom doors are closed, as then presumably they not getting access to the air con in the hallway. I assume there will be nights when the window being open won’t necessarily bring in cool enough air for a comfortable in-room environment. Perhaps my children may begin to suffer from tree or pollen allergies as they grow up perhaps making open windows undesirable at night. Plus the foxes scream in the streets most nights. I would like the flexibility to have cool rooms without opening windows if possible without substantial cost. The direction I am being persuaded by a tech friend is that comfort cooling with the MVHR would at least handle the night time cooling requirement to bedrooms, does anyone think this is accurate? If it were, I might only have to provision for AC downstairs i.e. the daytime areas. Also, for any air con solution (perhaps something like this https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/iqool-3ms9k9k9k/tcl-iqool3ms9k9k9k-air-conditioner), what home climate management system do people use? I have been recommended Honeywell EvoHome, given you can thermostat 12 rooms / locations, but don’t think it is able to manage AC for you, you would have to do that yourself manually, or perhaps something like Home Assistant IO can manage your climate heating and cooling? On the floor plans attached, please note the purple areas are vaulted, and the image of the main roof is not to scale. Many thanks JT

Thanks AnonymousBosch. Yes I plan to make small inconveniences to deter people. Regarding a gate of some kind, do you have one? On balance, do you think they are effective for security, or too expensive and garish relative to the protection they afford? This is the kind of style I was thinking, a gate next to doors (imagine the large gate span was two leafs that hinged, and the small gate was a pedestrian access). The taller the better for security I suppose, if on the boundary with the footpath I'm sure 1m would be the tallest you could go, but I wonder if taller would be reasonable if in the set back front of carport position, behind the principal elevation of the house. Last night, 2am, we had someone parked over our drive (not a single other car in the street, there is far more curb area than driveways along the road, yet elected for precisely over / blocking our drive), seemingly eating in their car, even left their trash on the floor. A gate anywhere won't help with that, but when I was thinking about what to do such as confront them, I was paranoid thinking another one could already be out of the bar and in a hidden area on my property, could come at me from behind. Feels like a sealed off property (or as best as you can) would make that kind of scenario easier to deal with? I turned lights on, ended up going out the house which made them move on, but got my adrenaline up at 2am, didn't sleep much after that.

Hi all, When we bought the house it had a 1m tall, approx. 3m wide farmyard style hinged wood gate bordering the driveway and public footpath. It was monstrously heavy, and eventually rotted. At the moment we have nothing and recently had items stolen from our front door area. While going through the process of renovating / extending, we are wondering about fencing/gating to make it difficult for unauthorised persons to get close to windows or doors of the house. We obviously need to provision for the postman, so were thinking an externally mounted postbox, plus a doorbell (perhaps a CCTV version). Our options seem to be to reinstate something at the public footpath boundary, or set it back to the house main elevation (approx. 8m). I am leaning towards the setback version thinking; 1) it might meet with less local opposition (although he have had plenty so far with the build, so maybe that is unavoidable), 2) perhaps with it being setback it could be taller than 1m (ideally 1.8m to be less scalable) 3) guests cars could get onto and park on the front of the driveway immediately without needing to notify us, 4) we ourselves could get onto the driveway (off the road) in our vehicle, then trigger the carport door for access, rather than trigger on our approach, and 5) the bin men can get to the bins on the driveway without me putting them out the front on bin day. Our thought is to use a fencing style gate for pedestrian access, and perhaps powered hinged front gates to the carport (with other three sides of the carport open). The carport itself doesn’t have planning permission, we are hopeful due to its position that we can have it under permitted development (FYI we calculate that with the carport, 40% of the property land would have buildings / covered areas, under the 50% threshold I seem to read about). For what it is worth, the area is nearly all open driveways, little to no gating. There was a case a couple of years ago where a neighbour built 2m high metal gates on their boundary with the footpath, they were denied retrospective planning permission. We are sympathetic to matching the vibe of the area, but we do want more security. Also know we plan CCTV, alarm and external lighting as additional deterrents. You would have to be unlucky to be targeted by violent crime, but given we may go from the worst to the best looking property through this refurb, I still want any would-be criminal to think our house is too much hassle to try it on, and prevent them wandering up the drive, checking on occupancy, testing windows, and the rest. After all of that, what would you do? Many thanks JT