Andeh

One we are looking out for, having originally planned to install a Samsung Gen6! Seems to have been released last week, so frustrating few details out there. Anyone else in a similar situation? EHS Mono, R32, High Temperature & Low Noise, Heat Pump | AE120BXYDEG/EU | Samsung Business UK

Yeah, had it in our last Bovis homes new build, I thought it was guttering/plastics that were black expanding & shrinking with the heat.

Thanks, that looks lovely! What wood did you use, how did you get that colour?

£180/sqft sounds pretty spot on to me for an average spec, we had £186sqft quoted this time last year for our Bungalow, for an average spec. We did have a 'keen' builder due to a large cancellation he was recovering from. No fees included (add 10%...) but that is for full turnkey project management and a small demolition & clearance. Middle of England. A lot of people on this forum do a lot of work themselves, so take it with a pinch of salt when people quote their own prices. I would assume £2000/sqm for a straight forwards two story place, and any saving from that would be impressive. That is for an average spec, so high end windows, steels, MVHR etc will add to this. Sorry to hear about the Knotweed, self build is always a long game & one that does require more resilience & patience then you are told....

We have family with Ufh, spread plates, 22mm hardie floor, then 15mm engineer wood and they also need to run at 50 degrees for an effective heating solution. Over 80mm PIR. Renovation property so insulation is only 'good'.

That looks OK That looks good, have you got any more pics of that timber cladding on the underside of the apex?

What slips are you going with?

As long as there is an uninterrupted barrier for damp blocking, you will be fine.

Thanks all, got the architect and builder looking into it, the storage platform angle is a good one I'll be trying for.... I will report back! Thanks

Watching with interest, though sorry I can't help myself. Why the neutral wire?

Thanks for the feedback guys!

MVHR are not 100% efficient so do reduce things, they are just "less bad" then trickle vents and extractor fans.

Reminds me of offering a dozen thick paving slabs via facebook market place, insisting buyer collects - easy way of getting shot in urgent fashion. What I failed to clarify was 'buyer to load'...... I was not a happy bunny as the walrus of a women watched me load. Fool me for being too nice.

That's an interesting idea, class it as a storage platform/loft space? Would this just be a call to BC in advance to seek their approval of it? Thank you very much!

There are some bits I want to do to the house with the builder, but avoiding building control's scrutiny (!!). Some tiny bits like removing a banister off low steps, installing a door to garage that doesn't meet head clearance heights etc etc. Bigger though, is i want to install bedroom mezzanines due to smallush bedrooms which have very high ceilings. These will have staircases that don't meet building regs. This will mean cutting back the plasterboard to the brick, and installing "mini" staircase (from Stairbox) before recarpeting and replastering the Mezzanine in. Ideally I would prefer to do this before the builder installs plasterboard and carpets, but after building control sign off. To save cutting up brand new board and carpets!! What is the trigger for building control to complete final inspections? Could they do it before Carpet and plasterboard is done? Any other unforseen consequences, namely builder & VAT exempt build?

Due to the nature of our 240sqm bungalow, and all ceiling heights being average of around 3.5m+ and it being ''H'' shaped with kitchen, lounge etc on one ''wing'' and bedrooms & bathrooms on the other ''wing'' our builder's initial thoughts are for two MVHR system. He is out seeking quotes, with a request from me to try and make it work as a single unit. Has anyone else gone through a similar challenge? Did you go for 2 x smaller or 1 x bigger unit? Anything worth being aware of in making the decision (other then 2 x energy costs and 2 x filters)? Ducting looks to be 75mm semi rigid pipes, what is a good safe ducting to look out for in the returned quotes to ensure best performance? Thanks,

Sorry for reviving an old thread, but we are in the same boat here. Being recommended two small systems, when I would much prefer one larger system. How did you get on in the end? Did you go with two smaller systems?

I guess because a very large portion of electricity is generated from fossil fuel power stations which keeps the prices linked, bur electecitiy has the mark-up due to converting fossil fuels to electricity. Long term though, with new nuclear and more renewables should soften the link, and eventually the UK gov will load up gas prices more so then electricity to force people to convert. It's all a good long term strategy, and the right one for the country....but I'm still going mains has boiler over ASHP because mid term it will still be cheaper. We will just design it so an ASHP can be installed at a later date.

Has anyone heard of this in the UK?

We are looking at cladding on an otherwise whit rendered, black windowed, bungalow. Wife doesn't like wood cladding & i don't like the idea of it fading in time. We are therefore looking at ''slate'' cladding. We have found Z Stone we like, but it is slightly too 'light grey' when I want something closer to 'black' - i think. Z Stone is in the build spec, I just want to make sure we dont overlook something else out there. Has anyone come across anything worth suggesting please? thank you,

nod - I think you need to be clearer when you tell people you came in at £800psqm - because you did a huge amount yourself I believe? Far more than even the most enthusiastic DIYer would be able to do. Otherwise I agree with your statement, - £1500 if you are very hands on & involved with a low-mid spec, otherwise assume closer to £2000+ psqm for a more standard contractor led build with limited ''hands on'' focus yourself. We are at £2300psqm for a large bungalow to a mid/high spec (though mid spec bathroom/kitchens). Bungalow being prob 25% more to build then normal house. Brick/block, MVHR, very big aluminium windows, floating corner, high ceilings, upgraded insulation (though not extreme).

Fit a solar diverter as has been pointed out, but if you have multiple ovens running for prolonged periods....your electricity bills are never going to be great. Try running your house synced to the solar. Cloudy day today, but clear sky's and sunny tomorrow? Delay the dish washer and washing machine until tomorrow... etc etc

Thank you again all! John - really interesting to hear about your challenges, this is something I am aware of & wanting to avoid...low energy house & sizing heating input accordingly. What kW is your boiler out of curiosity? We would go with a System boiler & large tank, but would be interesting to know all the same. Builder suggesting a 12Kw ASHP for the 240sqm of UFH - pre plumbed package deal from Joules, supply & fit. We havn't discussed gas boiler, and i'm not sure what the equivalence is for a 12kW ASHP unit. Agreed on insulation being the priority - but for us its more of a desire to be top 5% not invest to be top 0.5%. Law of diminishing returns is something we are aware of, but the walls are fixed now (ie built & roof going on) and the wall/ceiling are already up to a good standard. Walls I do regret not upping (didn't know enough at the time) and will look at PIR Plasterboard, but one of those things...too late now!

Thanks Tony, yes one thing I am considering is savings made going from ASHP to Gas be used for insulated plasterboard on inside walls.

Thanks very much John, out of curiosity what are your bills with that setup? Any PV?