Bramco

Well that note to self didn't work did it! We moved in on top of the slab a couple of months ago! @deancatherine09 We ended up just digging to the depth the TF Co specified and now have a mighty bund down one side of the plot. The whole process with the TF Co. stalled for what seemed like a few months while their SEs didn't seem to be able to give us a straight answer. Somehow it seemed as though they normally would make the decision as the foundations were being dug, i.e. based on what the actual site conditions were. To cut a long story short though, we had to dig down about 1m and lay down 500mm of compacted hardcore onto which the TF Co put their 150mm of hardcore, the sand blinding layer and then the EPS basin for the slab. Weirdly, they didn't put the drains in until the sand layer was down, so everything was dug out along the line of each drain and then re-laid. We'd have thought that they would have put the drains in place and then done the 150mm and the sand blinding layer after that. If it is the same TF company (I've DM'ed you about who we used), they will also have specified land drains - ours went in some time after - when our groundworkers were doing the rest of the drains (rainwater and foul). I guess they could go in as you are doing the 500mm of compacted hardcore that you will be responsible for. Off topic, I would insist that the team erecting the frame are not a subcontracted company - ours were and they created a lot of problems. If we'd known that the erection would be subcontracted out, we'd have employed a project manager to make sure that the work was done to spec. Although having said that, even though there were some mighty hassles, we're very pleased with the end result. Simon

Funnily enough after all the idiocy of the pre-planning on the full application, when we did submit, the 'real' officer came out to see the site and said it's actually great to have something more contemporary (we have a 2 storey block clad in black corrugated metal, the roofs are all black corrugated metal. And there's a one storey block and garage clad in larch and render.) Mind you, it's a bit marmite in the village - traditionalists are 'eugh!' the majority though are 'brilliant! - when's Kevin coming?' Simon PS Good luck with the application, sounds like you've done your homework by reading up on what the planners envelope of acceptable is.

Nope - by the time it got to that part we were on top of things. All and any minor tears, tiny holes all taped up and the proper MBC guys did the final taping up around windows doors etc. Plus we've got a fantastic guy from the main contractor on site who is a perfectionist. Simon

Our architect said that pre-planning gives them a chance to have their say - but pre-planning enquiries like all planning like all planning applications depend on the authority and also the officer. Both our pre-planning applications (outline and full) were both a waste of time. The one on the full application caused us major grief by asking us to make one part of the plan shorter front to back which made the layout we wanted impossible - I think if we'd just put the application in, it might have gone through. The outline reply was a joke - we ended up going to appeal and won hands down. We used MBC - at the time we were getting quotes, most of the companies we approached were comparable price wise. The great thing about MBC is that they take responsibility for the insulated slab as well as the frame. In our opinion, they were taking on too many contracts when they took ours which resulted in the using contractors for the actual erection - our mob were cowboys. They sacked the company off soon after our build. So I'd ask for a clause in the contract that the erectors are MBC employees - that way you're more likely to get the Irish team who know what they are doing. There's lots of issues with our build under the skin that we know about but now we're living here it's a great house. Airtightness result was 0.7, so just above the PassivHaus standard and that was with the standard TF, not the double skinned PH system they do. I understood btw that any double skinned TF is inherently difficult to get square with flat walls - if the timbers in the frame twist warp, the skin which is osb can't really fight against this, so the standard system is probably more stable in that respect. Would I use MBC again - probably yes BUT I'd employ a project manager for the erection with experience of TF builds and have them on-site full time for the 5 or 6 weeks it takes to finish the build. Just to make sure everything is done to plan - it would have saved us a lot of effort rectifying issues caused by the subcontractor that did the erection. Simon

It's just a small wetroom - what's the issue! Simon

Phoned today because we are in the same situation and they wouldn't entertain quoting until the house is signed off. So back to extending the site insurance. Simon

Exactly. Our plumber ordered a 300l tank from Newark with 2 immersions and an ashp sized coil. The PV diverter goes to the upper immersion until it is satisfied and then to the bottom immersion. So ridiculous amounts of hot water in summer when you need a cool shower BUT in winter an optimum solution giving half a tank on a duller day and 3/4 on a sunny day. ASHP folks are so pushed, they can simply take the mugs money and not bother learning about real eco houses. Simon

Try Express bifold in Leeds. We have sliding patio doors from them and pricing was reasonable. It will of course have gone up in the meantime. Simon

Our groundworks contractor's digger man got excited cos he saw his man arriving with diesel and he was running short. Forgot to lower the arm and snapped the neighbours overhead BT line. Openreach have a 24 hour service for things like this and the line was duly re-instated within the time. Cost - a fridge pack of Thatchers Gold and a bit of a lul in income on the kind of sites retired single men frequent. So basically get on with it and Openreach will fix any issue in 24 hours. Simon

2 months ago we had them fit a smart meter in a couple of weeks from initial contact. Maybe depends where you are? Simon

Agree but as per my post, in a normal house, why would you wan to monitor individual appliances - it's not going to really tell you a lot, except what's already on the back of the appliance. I found that with one CT on the main feed, I could seen what our base load was, could see the fridges turning on and off at night and also see when the washing machine went on etc. - although of course I knew full well when I'd put the kettle on or the dishwasher on. So actually base load was the only information that helped me to reduce our bills. You can attach it serially or with a cheap esp board via wifi - I have to admit the RF link is the weakest link ;-D You need to be a heck of a lot faster for PV divert and there are diy instructions on the open energy monitor site with sw to accomplish this. I've had one based on Martin's sw running for several years without a hiccup. If you bought a commercial diverter, then you could still have a CT on the PV circuit to monitor generation I thought they'd fixed this? But I don't use an emonPi, only the sw - and to be honest, it hasn't been updated since it was installed - but it works, so I'll only change things if I need to. Yup - but then again, if you've got a functioning interface why change it? Well don't then, it's east enough to redirect it to something more suitable. There was a lot of discussion about SD card wear on their forum a few years ago and the solution they found seems to work as there haven't been any problems related to SD card wear for a few years. The Pi isn't overkill although the emonPi might be - just set up a Pi zero - our system has been running on a Pi zero with a usb drive for ages. We're about to move into our new build and I'll just repurpose all the old hardware, Pi zero, emonTx etc. but rebuild the system with the latest sw. Although I'll probably get rid of the RF interface between the pi and the emonTx - that wasn't the best solution. Btw have you seen the latest developments - more along the lines of iotaWatt - https://community.openenergymonitor.org/t/avr-db-emontx-v4-new-hardware-in-progress/20209 Simon PS I have nothing to do with these guys - just a customer - but found the openness of the hw and sw a great feature - as well as not being in hock to some cloud.

Just out of interest, what underwhelms you about the emonpi? I've run the open energy software on a home baked system for quite a long time and haven't had any issues with it. Of course if you want to monitor individual circuits then you'd need something else - but the Emporia system seems to be a less useful system than emonPi or the emoncms software on your own system with an emonTx. On monitoring individual circuits, I can see the need if you suspect your Ecodan is using a lot when idle but for everything else, read the back of the device and understand what each item you turn on uses. Regularly monitoring your washing machine is like expecting to save energy because you have a display attached to your smart meter - it doesn't. Simon

@laurenco Hi Lauren, no photos I'm afraid. However it did strike me that you should be able to see the detail of the frame from the Site Pack. The Site Pack contains all the details about the structure. If you didn't get this from MBC, you should still be able to get hold of a copy. Below is a snip of one of the structural openings. You can see the build up of 5 studs on each side of the structural opening to take the steel which is there to ensure the 2mm deflection at the centre of the opening. In addition, the windows suppliers normally have a 10mm gap to allow them to actually get the windows in place, so actually there's plenty of tolerance - at least in our case. Simon

@laurenco Hi Lauren, the 2mm deflection is I think more about the centre of the structural opening and was a stipulation from Express doors for the sliding doors iirc. A sag on one side would surely indicate that the side of the opening didn't have enough support? In our case, the steels sit on top of some chunky side supports. If anything is still visible, I'll take a photo tomorrow. No photo tomorrow, means nothing visible. Your design looks much more difficult than ours. Our doors are all sliding doors within a wall, so nothing jutting out. Simon

I looked at the Octopus heat pumps but had the feeling they were intended for retrofit, i.e. high temperature HPs. If you are going for UFH throughout, you only need a low temperature heat pump. These can heat your hot water OK but can't deliver the temperatures needed for radiators. Take a look at the Cool Energy ASHPs -> https://bit.ly/3sfBf6L. We have just had our electric supply connected and have Octopus electric only tariff. Once you are connected and on their tariff you can switch to Octopus GO which gives you 4 hours of 7.5p/kW at night which can run the ASHP, or can be dumped into your hot water tank. Simon PS There's plenty of info on the forum about all of the other questions you've asked as well as some blogs from members that have been through the design process explaining how they made their decisions.

Partel do a tape specifically for these right angles - makes it much easier. We didn't have an issue finding a UK company that didn't charge more. But really important that all windows have no trickle vents.

Think ctrl C ctrl V is stuck...... @ToughButterCup - do you want to give it another try.

Not a mottled grey - we have porcelain mottled grey polished porcelain tiles bought really cheaply from B&Q and they've been great. Don't show any dirt. Found some similar ones for the new build. Simon

On heat recovery...... Although by a weird coincidence Mark will be starting the install of our MVHR tomorrow!! Simon PS Any chance you could edit the post with the correct link? We'd also be interested.

We got ours through planning easily and we're in the Green Belt. Find some examples to reference in the area and write a short planning statement referencing all the 'green' policies in your council's Local Plan and all the 'green' policies in the NPPF. Simon

Thanks for the reminder, I'd forgotten about them. Did you get a regular plumber and electrician to do the install and then get them to do the MCS sign off? Simon

If you want to collect the £5k grant from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme you'll be on a lot longer than 7 years. We're planning to run our system like yours, immersion heaters in the DHW tank and UFH system on Octopus Go at 7.5p/kWh for the four hours overnight and top up when needed. But on reading that the Gov £5k scheme will now cover self builds, I asked around for some quotes for an ASHP installation. It has to be MCS so you get on the renewables ripoff merry-go-round. You provide them all the details, professional heat loss analysis, the fact that the DHW UVC and UFH buffer tank are already installed. They come back with a daft price - latest was £14k for a 7kW Vaillant ASHP that you can buy on the internet for £3.75k..... they'd estimated 72 hours for installation!! Then they say they have to do a full heat loss analysis themselves and an EPC (the government website says specifically that it isn't needed for self build. I managed to get one company down to £8.3k but even then it's a ripoff. Surely installing an ASHP is as labour intensive as installing a gas boiler. Gas Safe is probably more onerous than MCS. And a new gas boiler is about £2k of which say £750 is the boiler. It's madness!!! The double glazing and conservatory salesmen are making hay again... Sorry - rant over. PS If anyone knows an MCS accredited ASHP installer in the east midlands who won't take the p*** I'd love to get their contact details....

Is that there to isolate the metal plate from the back box? I had to replace some metal fronted switches on older wiring with plastic ones for an electrical certificate because the metal fronts couldn't be attached to an earth wire as there wasn't one on the older wiring. The ones on newer circuits were fine. Simon

Builders/window fitters/groundworkers/you can complete the list.... like cake..... If you can't bake, or didn't marry one that can, get round the local cake shop and provide... Simon PS my other half can - thank goodness PPS no tips for delivery folks though.......

'Garden' is a loose term. 'Curtilage' might be a better term to use. We have an acre plot but the actual curtilage is what was highlighted by the red line on the planning application - which is often, especially in cases like ours made smaller than the actual owned land to reduce the cost of any planning application. We'd say our garden though is all the red line plus the land to both the front and back of the plot, which I don't think would wash with the PD section on outbuildings. A neighbour recently had planning refused for a PD development of a garage which was in the obvious place to put it but it fell partly outside the curtilage in the green belt - he reapplied and called it an agricultural shed and the plan was approved. So also take care with the description of what you are intending to do. Simon