craig

I personally prefer tilt & turn over outward opening windows, top hung, reversible etc. shop around and check the quotes are on par with each other. Check installation, aluminium cills and so forth are included.

That is correct, no penalty exists when 3rd party certification is produced. However, when no 3rd party certification is available a penalty is applied until the documentation is received. Doesn't need to be certified but a 3rd party certificate,proving the claimed values must be or the penalty stays intact. All values must be proved and I'll double check the actual penalty on Monday with our certifier.

It doesn't penalise small places, it's just harder to achieve due to issues such as heat loss, airtightness etc. It doesn't penalise a smaller house, it's just "easier" to achieve on a larger build.

If your being charged for certification and going down that route, then the consultants should be directing accordingly. Use a non certified product and the suppliers / manufacturers cannot verify the claimed values, of course you'll be penalised. How do you know and how does the PHI know, that the product does what it says on the tin? The numbers / values / certificates, are very important.

I need to double check the actual penalty but let's say the claimed values for the glass are 0.52ug but can't be proven, they would apply a higher ug (let's say 0.6ug as an example).

If the product you are using claims a certain value to you and you decide to use that but the supplier / manufacturer cannot back up that claim with 3rd party certificates, proving the claimed values. You'll be penalised on those particular products (i.e windows).

He has a couple of cracking builds in the pipeline and done a few crackers in the past.

Yes, specialises in para 55 builds.

Richard Hawkes, we were responsible for the certification ?

Whoever told you that is talking nonsense, you can use any product you want that meets the requirements and has 3rd party certification. If you can't prove the values, you will be penalised.

Respectfully I disagree with you and just because you have ran the house through the software, it doesn't mean it is a PH or better. All the PHPP is telling you, is from the data you have entered is that it either passes or fails. Where's the proof to show the as built details, thermal bridging evidence supplied and so forth. I don't doubt for a second that it will be built well and may pass an actual certification process. How do you know? Because the PHPP says it is?

Yes, very nice house and family to boot.

Spot on. I've seen, I've read, I've been involved with projects that are planned as PH, built as PH and failed. Every bit of data entered into PHPP, on site checks, air tests performed and so forth. It's not as easy as you think @JSHarris to achieve the standard. Only one house I know has achieved certification, that was not planned as PH and was tested and certified after it was built.

You'll always have your naysayers but facts are facts and the simple fact is, PassivHaus buildings have been proven to work as designed and in the real world. Our most recent entry in the Passive House Plus magazine is one example, one we did the entire feasibility study, certification, tool box talk etc. on. In my view the certificate isn't exactly necessary but you may always live with the question "is it really Passiv Standard". The standard has certainly moved building efficiency and building standards forward dramatically, unfortunately not all builders grasp the concept. Even when building towards the standard.

From memory triple can give you 44db + with the right glazing. Double glazing can perform better than triple, it's down to the glazing and space the sound has to travel. It's also down to numerous other factors around the glazing and how the sash is sealed around the frame (how many gaskets) and how it is installed. No point in sound proof glazing if the window and installation are not up to the job as well. You should be able to get the details from the supplier.

It comes down to numerous factors and is hard to tell without seeing the quotes. However, Internorm are a high end Austrian product and a lot of differences exist between the two. With Internorm, it also depends on which retailer you have had a quote from. Prices vary between retailers. Look at the supply price excluding fitting, is it comparable or £4K / £10k different - possible the end figure including installation may have been used when comparing figures?

@Triassic it comes down to several factors / powder coating will generally be 70/30 split of matt and gloss. RAL paint is usually a different mixture not sure exactly.

Well done, looks a great property and the colour on the windows works well with the brick, not to long before moving in now For me, after doing thousands of quotes/orders in whites and greys. It's a joy to see someone use different colours for the windows. I've personally had many orders with different colours over the years, in particular, Pink RAL 4003, Olive Green RAL 6003, White Aluminium RAL 9006 and others but few and far between. It's usually grey or white. I like to see a little bit of adventure with colours. RAL 4003 actually looks really good against a white render. I've done a few doors with the frame being RAL 7016 and the door sash being in the red RAL colour range & they look stunning - in my view, don't be feared to mix and match colours if you can get away with it. The frame can be a different colour from the sash - I would urge people to consider different colours. The problem is, RAL 7016 tends to work so well with so many different finishes.

Compacfoam will do the job.

Advice? I can offer opinion as it's down to personal preference at the end of the day. Performance - generally speaking uPVC performs better than timber/ timber alu. You can clad uPVC in Aluminium and you can foil inside/outside. Timber can be lacquered in many different finishes, different timber types etc. and colours externally with any RAL colour and that applies to internally as well. Not a lot like uPVC, I don't mind it, as long as the majority of the system is recycled. The parts you can see, tend to be new. uPVC can and does bring artificial light into a room, it can brighten up a small room. Using uPVC you'll need strengthening in the frame, which is usually obtained by steel tube inserts. Some profile suppliers use glass fibre inserts to stop thermal bridging within the frame. At the end of the day it's two fold, preference and budget and thirdly in your case. What the conservation officer allows. Personally, timber aluminium but if budget didn't allow, I'd have no concerns using uPVC. As long as the hinges are concealed, I don't have much of an issue either way.

Open plan is all the rage these days ?

Best people to go to in my view. google magicman

Oh I agree Jack but order checks shouldn't just be about the window order, sizes, handles, finish etc. This should involve the supplier checking and detailing the sections and ensuring the installers know how and where items are fitted. There is no excuse for a poor installation.

When I raise the actual order, I don't sign it off until we have went through item by item and clarified everything. That the client agrees and they have signed it off. If they haven't agreed, I'm not sending it to production. No paper trail, no production. You can't help things being ignored, that's just incompetence.

There is no reason why they can't and get it right. We are not perfect either but it's why checks and signs offs are in place. I personally don't order anything until I and the responsible person for ordering has checked everything and signed off. We explicitly advise, ask if you don't know before signing anything.