Trw144

Just had a provisional price back on timber frame - £85k (for a wall U-value of 0.15). Need to try and calculate what this would be if we were to go for block and block, and decide if the differences is worth it.

Does anyone know if James Hardie supply their "Stria" cladding in the U.K. I've emailed them and asked but no answer (although they have sent me some samples of what appear to the the normal planks). https://www.jameshardie.co.nz/products/cladding/stria-cladding

Thanks. We've got lots of samples on their way so I ll take a look at these also.

We're on gas here and in the same position on the next plot. Gas is 1/2 mile away and they have said it will be tens and tens of thousands so. I agree that when it comes to heat pumps, the COP difference between ground and airspirce means the extra expense of gshp isn't worth it.

Do you have a heating system that will work with 50 degree water? As for gas prices, they are way off and personally I don't see them rising significantly - it would put an awful lot of people in fuel poverty if they did. I would also imagine that should their be any future increases in gas prices, we will also see similar increases on electricity.

Would you even swap from mains gas to ASHP. I wouldn't imagine much of a saving even in the best case scenario - and that's assuming the house is well insulated and has the low temp radiators/underfloor to make it suitable for a heat pump.

Do you have the sales guys calculations? If you are on mains gas then I wouldn't even consider it.

Yes, it's definitely something that needs to be seen in the flesh

I remember looking at the okoskin a good few years back for our current house, just looking back on their website and the concreteskin panels are looking like the finish I am initially drawn to. Did you get a rough £ m/2 price for the okoskin or swisspearl? I would have quite a lot of building to clad. For reference, a very early stage of our design is attached (we're happy with the gable, but have some work to do on the rectangular structure to add some interest to it architecturally)...

Yes some could be zinc, I assumed there could be some composite versions too. The second one is from this website, but as I said - probably far more common on the continent. Swisspearl Largo Nobilis – Swisspearl Swiss Premium Façades (who do appear to have UK office/installers)

Does anyone have any experience on contemporary cladding finishes in the UK? Probably seen more on commercial properties than domestic in this country but we like the clean modern lines they can bring (we are currently thinking a mixture of timber and this more modern cladding). I can imagine it could be one of those areas with only a few suppliers and therefore horrendously priced. Image attached for example..

On the subject of legionella, our biomass boilers are programmed to raise the temperature once a week to kill it (70 degrees from memory), the rest of the time we tend to keep lower temps.

or a bit less of a budget and know a friendly buildhub member who supplies them again ?

What sort of COP are you achieving (and what electric tariff)?

Yes, I doubled up the plasterboard but would do more next time

Upstairs is timber clad so TF, PIR and cedar. Downstairs is render on cement board and I think this adds that bit of extra mass so it isn't an issue.

My other memories from 4 years ago are a forum member (cant remember the name) who had about 450 page thread on a bathroom revamp, someone who had an issue with newts, and @nickfromwales diet basically involving bbq's and tins of beer each night. I assume little has changed?

Yes I remember "decrement delay" being the buzzword of this forum 4 years ago, along with thermal mass! We have installed automated blinds which help reduce it significantly, but you certainly notice it otherwise. We didn't install solar PV in the last property, but pretty certain we will in the next one (along with a bank of Tesla Powerwalls), so I can look at running air con cheaply in the summer.

Yes, I think if I did go timber frame then this is something I need to look at. The second slight downside to my TF (and again the warmcell probably assists with this also), is that it can get quite warm in the summer (we have a flat roof and lots of glazing).

I sell a similar product, and assuming it works the same then it only runs the immersion as a last resort (instead of exporting to the grid). If your heat pump is in use, it is unlikely to have any excess to divert to the immersion so is only really likely to occur in warmer/sunnier months.

This is the choice we currently have. A lower ground floor needing to be block/concrete as its built into a bank, and either continue in block for the next two stories, or put a timber fame on. Having done timber frame for the current build, I do like the speed of build, ease of obtaining high insulation and air tightness. for me. The one downside of TF for me has been sound insulation - the one corner of the house nearest the road does pick up more noise (fortunately it'sthe spare bedroom). PS. I forgot how much I enjoy this forum for knowledge building and thought provoking

Thanks. I have just submitted an application to see how much a mains gas connection would be as its the first choice, but as far as I can tell from the maps the mains is several hundred meters away so will see what kind of figure they come back with. So, roughly an average of 65 kW a day - presumably the gas boiler kicks in several times a day to keep the water to temperature constant 24/7? I have distributor pricing for solar thermal so an oversized system should allow for much of the summertime use to be covered, it's finding the solution for the darker months that is my current quandary. The real life COP of heat pumps always scares me, although as you say the lower temps required by a pool should help with this.

@AliG Can I ask what size your pool heating demand is in terms of boiler size and annual heating requirement - I'm planning a 5/6m x 10m pool and deciding how I heat the pool has a big effect elsewhere in the build design. The site doesn't have mains gas (and I haven't as yet looked to see how far away it is/would cost), so current thoughts are either biomass or a heat pump.

Well this will be number 3 (4 if I count one I built and sold next door) so hopefully I get it somewhere close! It doesn't feel as if I ever left - skimming a few topics and it seems all the same faces are still here (although I haven't seen one from the Welsh wizard plumber?)

Well it's been just over 4 years since we completed and moved into our self-build. This forum was a great resource for information and ideas and we have been so pleased with our home. We now have another self build project in the offing. We have some initial design ideas and are only at the early stages of pre-planning advice, but I still thought I best get back on this forum and researching how/what my build will be!