Alan Ambrose

Well pressing on I think these are the main 'use cases' if you'll pardon that term: (1) (Packaged) Client uses one main company for nearly everything (MBC for instance). Company is principal designer and contractor and has full CDM responsibilities.. Client ('domestic client') may still be expected to "take all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that the dutyholders are competent..." (2) (Architect & Main Contractor) Client uses a single principal designer and principal contractor. Architect sub-contracts SE etc to third parties. Principals run CDM between them. Client is still 'domestic client'. (3) (Architect & Client Project Manages Sub-Contractors) Client uses a single principal designer but not certain who the principal contractor is - presumably the Client. Who has CDM responsibilities? (4) (Client Designs & Project Manages Sub-Contractors) Client is principal designer & principal contractor - presumably also runs CDM. Actually (4) is my case, so I'm keen to get clarification on that one

Ply or OSB behind the plasterboard in kitchen and anywhere else you expect to hang heavy stuff?

>>> Have you done any manual calculation that include the solar elevation and azimuth? @SteamyTea You've done it again - how come you always have the right calculation at hand - any books to recommenced? Thanks for the link, and no, let me try that though. @Dan F re: Our solution to get the best of both was: - High-g triple-glazed windows (higher solar gain) I'm guessing you mean low G and less gain - or were you deliberately allowing a lot of solar gain and heat through and then using the external blinds where necessary? Also that means either ensuring the windows are closed before using the blinds, or using inward-opening blinds?

>>> Not as if householders only want to walk or travel by bicycle. My LPA think that's their preferred transport method (for the owners of new homes that is, I'm sure they'll still want to use their cars themselves) (:

>>> I have built up a collection of pre-used sockets and switches etc and am now thinking about the best way to give them a spruce up Yeah no problem doing that, but I'm not sure it'll be worth your while by the time you've bought the solvents. It'll get rid of any dis-solvable contaminants but probably won't take off the paint and not the scratches. You can probably put them through the dishwasher (they do that with PCBs using DI or distilled water - from memory, I think the former). You obviously need to leave them to dry out properly.

I’m imagining that brise soleil are most useful for midsummer S facing when the sun is high but allow useful solar gain for the other months when the sun is lower in the other 3 quarters. Outer blinds as an out-and-out sun block whenever needed. Internal blinds for thermal control in winter. My train of thinking is - what’s to stop us having smartish window coverings that control solar gain and heat loss as and when we need it? ‘Windows don’t just have to be dumb bits of glass’. The other thought I was persuing is - maybe we want to balance solar gain so we get useful gain in winter, not too much in summer i.e. there’s some optimum in the middle there somewhere.

Interesting - have an indicative cost and/or a recommendation for TM59 supplier?

Yeah that and the paperwork delay - would be good to see some comparisons of UK with other countries.

>>> I'm having terrible trouble with one of my three Neostat v2's (connected to the old style wiring centre WITHOUT reset buttons) and a Neohub Gen 2. I might just restart the wiring centre (probably a mains switch) then the hub (remove the power lead) and then remove and reinsert the battery to the stat. I once had a problem where the hub got its time confused - something to do with my internet vanishing for a bit I think.

I'm juggling with our windows, part O simple method & PHPP. I'll also go to TM59 if it'll help get what we want. My objective (I think) is to get a set of windows that are OK for heat loss and make the best out of solar gain in the shoulder months while alleviating mid-summer gain. The windows are nearly all West & East with very few North & South. So, I'm currently modelling automated external blinds & low G glass for protection against overheating but allowing us to benefit from positive solar gain when we can. My questions are: + is there a better way to optimise shoulder months by using brise soleil in addition to automated external blinds? + can I realistically reduce heat loss (in PHPP or real-life) by using automated internal thermal blinds as well? + is there are sensible way to include (in PHPP or real-life) a conservatory-type structure in all this?

>>> I've had power jump about 10m from a cable to a crane mast. Good point - worth verifying with the DNO (if you haven't already) whether these or 230V 'low voltage' cables or something more tingling.

Welcome - we always welcome experts There are many on here from lots of different disciplines and they are generally very generous with their knowledge. These two threads (below) summarise the current state of our hive mind on CDM. It would be interesting to see whether you agree... We have a few different build set-ups depending on how much bought-in skill we're each using on our self-builds. Some pointers on how each of those should work and the gotcha's involved would be very welcome.

>>> Omega Seamaster watches, pre-war Leica cameras, Umbrian villas You forgot Riva launches... @sunflower - congrats, there are not many oak frame-style people on here, but there are a few. Me, for one. A couple of drawings / images of the plot for us to be jealous over?

Yeah, not sure, we have not fully optimised our heating schedules yet, but we had an average price on the bill of 24.07p. p.s. this is Octopus's own analysis:

I've just noticed that Octopus give a proper breakdown day-by-day on the bill in 1/2 hour increments, also a monthly average of the daily use (blue line). One page per day. Well done octopus:

>>> Below is a part of one of my designs for a glass balustrade Hi Gus, just to understand - are you saying 'the profile manufacturer has done the calcs on the profile, we just need to ensure the bolts don't fail before the profile does'? Presumably there are there some standard stair loadings that you are using e.g. the 0.57 shear load? Is there some rule of thumb on what is required to be SE calculated and what isn't? ... In principle you could calc the loading for every fastening used in a build, but I guess we don't have the time and energy for that?

>>> Surely working and living in the same place is the most environmentally sound approach? No need to travel. I think it's just that you're sort of slipping between the planning cracks. The rules we have are largely based around simplistic 'use-cases'. So there's residential, there's commercial and there's industrial. It sounds like you're looking for a mix of residential and commercial. Not so much artist or artisan, which are often accommodated within residential (on the basis you won't be doing much of anything to annoy anyone) but a bit more industrial - think fumes, noise etc. Now there are some rules around 'live/work', which I don't pretend to know, but which you might like to investigate. You also may find some cracks between the rules that you can use to your advantage - but you'll need to know what's available to buy and why the rules are in detail. So, either a place with outbuildings you can use carefully so you don't tee anyone off or some kind of farm arrangement where mixed business and residential are the norm or even easier a house and a nearby space in a mixed studio. If you were in Suffolk I might suggest Jet for instance: https://www.oldjet.co.uk/about-old-jet-arts-centre/ In the latter case, you have the added advantage of a community you might enjoy.

System taken over by prehistoric monsters? Weird bug in software?

Yeah, understand the position re London studios - stupid expensive and often not great despite that. And often used as LPA bait until a developer figures they can make a bunch of money. If you buy a place with a biggish garden then you can probably get what you want - maybe over time with a couple of buildings. An even easier route is to buy a place with barns or and existing outbuilding and convert those - probably with no oversight by anyone. Planning departments are fairly OK about artists and artist studios - particularly if it's your livelihood. Good idea though to keep talk of "fumes / contamination / noxious / dangerous things / potential neighbour problems" to a minimum to avoid triggering the locals .

>>> I wonder if these stats have an accelerator (heater/ some AI copy of) that's massaging the sensor to improve response? The whole Heatmiser tech set-up is fairly dumb old-school tech although it does have wireless to the hub and an app - otherwise it's a simple set of desired temperature profiles held in software and a relay in each sensor to switch the load. There are settings for each sensor to control the switching (time between call and non-call changes and temperature difference to ignore) - those stop rapid switching. There's also a frost setting and a setting to allow 'pre-heat' warm up to reach desired temperature in advance of the schedule. That's it. This kind of thing (below)... @Andehh - as the designers suggest it's a HP cold weather / defrost thing - can't you get them in to diagnose and fix? Is your house well insulated? If so, the general advice here on BuildHub is to have your heat pump run consistently for long periods to deliver a more-or-less constant internal temperature rather than have it bounce around trying to fit the 16-21 degree swings that it's programmed for right now. Actually a useful experiment would be to change the profile to a constant 20 or 21 degrees for a day or so and see whether it settles down.

OK I've found the answer (not really). But PHPP does have a bunch of calcs for: + standard slab + unheated basement (i.e. basement outside thermal envelope) + heated basement (i.e. basement inside thermal envelope with interior temperature assumed to be the same as the rest of the building) + US-style suspended floor above crawl space + some way of coping with combinations of these. They include ... adjustment for soil type / perimeter losses / ground water depth & flow / seasonal ground temperature and delay! I'm not sure how anyone measures ground water flow rate in the typical soil investigation? Exactly what methods PHPP uses I have not determined yet. But if you accept it as a black box, then it would seem to do most of the necessary calcs. I'm not sure yet if there's a workaround for 'partly heated basement'.

>>> Not sure where the original input for the "need" of a new regulation like Part O came from in the first place though. Yes, it would be interesting to know. To pick an example, here's the spiel from Future Homes Hub: In September 2020, the Future Homes Task Force was set up to develop a long-term delivery plan for the sector in line with the Government’s legally binding net zero and wider environmental targets. The Delivery Plan is divided into four areas with a goal and roadmap for each area. The Delivery plan also set out the specification for the Hub. The Future Homes Hub has now been set up as a non-profit making company limited by guarantee. We are an independent organisation bringing together the homebuilding sector with the wider circle of supply chain, infrastructure, finance and government organisations that need to collaborate. Over 40 of the largest homebuilders committed and many other related organisations committed to working together through the Hub to achieve the goals on publication of the plan. Here are the steering group members - now how did these guys get selected? Adam Graveley, Element Four Professor Kevin Lomas, Building Energy Research Group, Loughborough University Simon McClelland, Story Homes Danielle Michalska, Barratt Developments Clare Murray, Levitt Bernstein Neil Murphy, TOWN Anastasia Mylona, CIBSE Oliver Novakovic, Barratt Developments Richard Partington, Studio Partington Martina Pacifici, AHMM Dale Saunders, Taylor Wimpey Michael Swainson, BRE Victoria Tink, DLUHC

>>> I don't think I'm being misled. I hired him because he does a lot of groundworks for council and schools. OK then, that implies that he decided not to notify or maybe he did without wanting to bother you? Ask him maybe?

>>> My builder re-routed it in our garden to avoid the foundations (back wall). Is there a chance you're being misled by your builder? Did you see the work?

Some examples: (1) Electrically heated kitchen floor with floor sensor following programmed morning cycle. Yeah, it's bang-bang (i.e. on/off) control with a 0.5 degrees dwell and 10 minute 'output delay'. (2) Wet UFH on frost standby (will heat if temperature drops below 12 degrees). Log fire keeping the place warm - each bump is someone adding a new log or two. (3) Electrically heated area following program. (Outside temperature is quite cold and therefore takes ages to warm up.)