mike2016

I'm hoping to build this year and a rainwater harvesting tank is in the plans but I'm not fully convinced I'll go ahead with it. A proper tank and pump would need to be installed just as the groundworks gets started as the build will block access to the rear of the site after it commences so I have to decide really up front. I could plan to add one to the front garden at a later date but my house is two storey at the front vs single storey at the back so the best roof area is at the rear but it's still an option. I like the shallow tanks but if there's any flooding they could move about. A nice deep concrete tank is better in my opinion for housing water and in laws...... The pump is the weak link, they can be expensive, I'm not a fan of water tanks over my head but if you have pressurized pipes everywhere a leak anywhere is going to be bad no matter what you do! I was thinking of a hydraulic ram pump but that runs continuously so you'd need a gravity tank, overflow (which runs continuously) and a cutoff above that again to avoid flooding the house. The missus will love the constant sound of running water, if it can be made to go that high? Maybe the loft tank should be filled once per day via a timed switch on the pump with a cutout for low supply water? Just size the tank for x flushes and washes and have a low water alert for the gravity tank? minimize the cycles anyway. The tank itself - you can get all the gubbins off a dedicated seller. Someone a few years ago here suggested a concrete ring on a pad that you tank yourself and would cost a LOT less than a precast dedicated model. In a way you're diversifying your water source like you do with mains electricity & solar PV. Both are excellent methods to reduce dependency and you can always upgrade filters to go off grid down the road but that's a different topic. Rain here in Ireland rarely stops, there's only been the odd dry spell lasting 7-8 weeks so unlike PV in the Winter, it's more available all year around. Will water become scarcer due to supply issues / more demand / periods of drought in places like SE England, probably. I can always plumb my new house for rainwater by adding an additional manifold and running mains to it for now. This would feed all the W.C's and Washing machine. I would have a line run out to the garden I could tap into and align the drainage accordingly. Then it's just a mater of dropping a few shallow plastic tanks I can carry through the wide passage, dig a hole with a mini digger and plumb it in and add electrics for the pump, not a big job at all. I'd keep the options of mains into the rainwater manifold with a double check valve to ensure no back leakage into the mains water supply / manifolds then. Can flush it out then for holidays / get some chlorine through it to keep smells at bay.

There was a video about it on YouTube recently: https://youtu.be/zBUvPaY3YOA

My current house living room is sub 9oC tonight (below 0cC outside) but I rarely use it. I heat an hour in the morning, and another in the evening with possibly an occasional third hour somewhere in between on demand with a gas boiler. When working from home I use an oil-less radiator to top up heating in my bedroom/office. That often drains the 6kWh Battery which I fill each night in winter using off peak. The Data above is really inspiring as I'm hoping to build my passive house next year and having those comfort levels in a 24 hour period is my dream! I try to warm the person as much as possible rather than the room but I find that if my feet get cold at all I find I come down with a sudden headcold for the rest of the day. I can only dream of being in a house that isn't frigid for parts of the day anymore!! My house is 25 years old. Anyway, thanks for sharing!

My last Rationel quote was 0.88 U value, looks like they've improved since. My 0.8 U value on my current house came from Palladio - made in Limerick, Ireland. I got a quote from NorDan this week and they list U value of 0.8 too. It's harder to get better but I've two more quotes due in. I'm sure Internorm are great but I've found them expensive.

I'm going for U value 0.8 outside doors - pricing is bundled so don't have separated costs. Got 2 x Composite ones in 2020 for €4850 for my old house. They have similar U values although it wasn't a requirement for that project. Very solid & warm!

Suppliers will always do it for less if it meets the specification / performance values. Advances in spacers, coatings and glass have help keep triple glazed as the best balance of cost/performance. Some double glazed units aren't half bad in some cases too (modern ones). I'm getting a few Velux windows and they are quad glazed but all my others are all triple glazed to meet the PHPP U value requirements. Even finding some triple glazed with low U values can be harder where the area / ratio of frame to glazing is large (1m x 0.275m for example has a U value of .99 and .5m x .1m has .8 from one particular supplier). There are several performance metrics Ug, g, Uw, Uf all measured in the passive house specs to give an overall value. Very detailed!!

If it's a Mr. Cool pre charged system and you can comfortably run the condensate drain and electrics to the unit then it might be two hours. A mate did one for a converted garage he lives in. But installers are assuming they'll need an electrician and possibly a plumber in addition to their services, travel, call out charge and any other physical obstacles that might delay them and require returning to site to fix any issues. And insurance, pension etc. Lots of overheads for even a small job for a single A2A unit. I always start out thinking a DIY job is simple but am regularly surprised by how much detail and effort it actually takes!

I think the vents should face down as they otherwise would clog up with dust. You can purchase a humidity measuring device and move it around the different rooms to get an idea where it's highest vs time of day. I use a small sensorpush and just download logs to the app on my phone every few weeks. You can always open the windows for an hour after you get up if that's possible to purge the bedroom. Any drying of clothes indoors is going to increase moisture / humidity levels, I wonder which way the natural airflow is inside the house? You should remove all the vent covers in each room and check it's open to the outside, sometimes they are blocked / fake / barely working. A dehumidifier would be worth researching - check this video out:

Rented a few for my patio & driveway. Mostly went with same unit, had it delivered and picked up. Fixed handle so wouldn't fit in my car. They did have a smaller one with collapsible handle but it was too light I thought. I did rent a heavier diesel one once. All the ones I've talked about are pull start. The Diesel one was horrendous. Was shown how to start it but after the guy left spent 30 minutes trying and pulling my shoulder every time the pull cord pulled back, gave up and returned it!! So get one you can handle comfortably. There are roller ones but these are overkill unless it's a long driveway. My preferred one was a 18"/24" petrol compactor. Have a drive around to your local hire place and get a look at the models. Weekend rates, especially over a bank holiday might be very economical if you're ready to use it. (Rent for a Saturday, then ring in @ 4pm saying you're finished and the fee stops apparently, pick up Monday) Pavingexpert.com has some more info on types / weights: https://www.pavingexpert.com/subbase See "how much compaction" for a good read...

That's the problem alright - especially smaller players. Great while they exist, crap when they exit / change terms.

Can't get the damn thing off the wall. I'd break it trying - the power shorted so it rebooted, don't want to lose it yet. There was an ordinary analog clock timer there before. I'll have a chat with them as they haven't responded to any of my emails but if there's a cheap replacement out there let me know. It's an Irish developed device which took advantage of grants but not enough to cover their operating costs after 4 years now they've dried up. Oh well, time to switch or pay.....

I have a Hub Controller for my central heating (gas boiler) which is a locally developed system. It has a local LCD control screen and an app. They are moving to a paid subscription at the end of the year and only offer subscribe or return options. I can turn on and off the heating from the LCD but not change the schedule. It's a single zone for al heating/hot water. I assume I'll lose app access in 2023 if I don't pay. What are the alternative options (no subscription) if I want to rip this out and retain local control, even if I lose app options on my phone? Any recommendations? Thanks!

PIR is a lot cheaper too - I'm just wondering about the pipework under the slab though? I have a fixed ridge height (in a line of existing houses) and min room heights to meet so driving down is fine but doesn't that mean you have to go deeper with the drainage pipeworks under the MOT? I've to connect to the start of a drain run so it's at its highest at the back of my garden - there are two shores there. Or can you still dig down but keep the drainage at the required level to meet the fall required? Thanks.

Hi, What is this in relation to my heating system? I've a gas boiler but wondered where the air vents out if needed. There is one in the boiler, you have the radiator bleed vents but then what is this used for? Thanks!

I can go for thicker insulation, just not mad about PIR in the floor although both my sheds use it extensively! I must be an insulation snob! Surprised of supply issues as I thought we were past that point. Aerogel is too expensive and I won't miss an extra 10-20mm in the floors and walls to be honest!

PHPP for a smaller passive house requires much lower U values than normal, one of the oddities of that approach. It's a simple box shape but size vs occupants is a challenge. There's an article about it below: https://passivehouseplus.ie/magazine/insight/the-small-passive-house-problem-a-solution

I've been repricing the floor insulation for my strip foundation - 2 x 140mm Kingspan K103 kooltherm phenolic insulation (u value 0.19) to get a floor U value of 0.07. The supplier told me they have none and to use K3 PIR instead (u 0.21), they also have a Mannok PIR product that's a lot cheaper. Kingspan confirmed they have no supply of the K103 anymore in ROI, this may or may not change in the future. The supplier heard it's only available in the UK for now. It is mad expensive though so maybe this is a good thing? I've not been a great fan of PIR, especially when it gets wet but I'd need to increase the depth to keep the same floor U value. Are there any other options with low u value for a floor? At least I plan for the house to be air / water tight when I lay it down so it shouldn't get wet. I'm also talking to Kore to determine the extra depth beyond the standard 300mm of EPS for a raft foundation but the local rep hasn't been enthusiastic to say the least about my enquiry! My preferred groundworks contractor isn't mad about rafts either. How much do you push uphill before giving up and just getting on with something?! Finding good contractor is hard enough, getting one that builds your preferred way is a lot harder! The walls & Roof are 220mm climawool & 50mm kooltherm for the wall buildup u 0.1. Preferred Builder doesn't do cellulose / twin stud, wish MBC was over here!! At the end of the day as long as I can get the house built and it meets the U values I'm after, it will all be covered up and I won't care how it was built at the end of the day. If it was easy everyone would be doing it!!

Well, found a THIRD pipe behind the first one and cut it open as I was sure it was empty like the others...wrong!! Found a black cable, 3cm diameter. Rang Electricity Board Emergency line and they sent someone out who I'd hoped would confirm it's not electrical. Nope, it IS electrical, a three phase supply for the estate! Now, this wasn't live, it's off the bus bar but was put in for exactly one reason, if someone like me wanted to build a house at the end of the estate! There is a mains Box a few doors down and all the houses are fed directly from this box in a hedge beside the street. This spur was just in case a new house popped up! So lesson learnt, expect surprises! The Board will look at what action to take to protect the cable before construction starts (re lay it deeper with tape over it or place a steel plate over the pipe) but at least I don't have to go digging to find the wire now! It's on my doorstep!

The cycle lane is fine for most bikes but scary when a bus passes by. There is a 50km/hr speed limit but it's more regularly 60-80 in reality. e-Scooters tend to use the footpath, joggers the cycle lane and anyone who wants to undertake, the bus lane. The big problem is a 3.5T limit was raised to 12.5T with school kids crossing from one side of the town to the other across the length of the road, makes it very scary, seen near misses but thankfully no impacts...yet! A wider cycle lane would be nicer but that's one of the few in the entire town!

Well, borescope revealed the pipes were empty of all other cables and no water, just cobwebs/debris. Rodded each end and the top pipe is 5 meters long, the bottom is 4.2. I suspect now the builder dumped them there and then concreted over the driveway when the estate was being built. The end house tends to get all the crap dumped in the gardens from what I'm told. Might still run a borescope down down one end of the shorter pipe but plan to sever/cut these at the boundary now so I'm free to dig them up on my new site side later. Should I plug an end cap into them or leave? I am pouring k-post so don't want that wasting into the pipes - so might need a strategy to allow me to move forward and secure the last concrete post into this hole.

Mine detect grid failure and switch off to protect line workers making repairs. I have an essential load function on the DC coupled battery but it's not hooked up - that WOULD work in that scenario. Without a battery you would need a changeover switch to allow the inverter to work without bring grid tied (if it supports this, some don't) and then either a generator or battery to carry the load an ensure minimum line voltage / current maintained when the panels get shade / clouds / voltage drops to avoid damaging your electrical appliances and maintain frequency. Harmonizing frequency and start up load and otehr issues need bigger brains than mine! So, it's possible but on their own - best you could hope for is to charge something, not run something without more kit.

The fence is front to back - acting as a side boundary down the middle of what was the old driveway (it's changed since this pic was taken, sold the drone!). Thanks though - there is a wayleave for the sewer/wastewater shores at the back of the property which was good to discover.

Sure - best I can do with my drone...!! They could be heading off to the main road to the right, carrying old telephone/co-ax cable from years gone by.....

Yep, no sound with the Stethoscope - a builder who dropped by said he thinks there might be a cable inside it - might be in use, or maybe not. I'll have to ring around the get a few views to see what this might be. One pipe might be rubbish but two together is definitely something, or was at some point!! Thanks.

Thanks - sounds thin walled / hollow when I tap it. Local utility think it's water too. Good idea about the Stethoscope. Have logged a case to get the mapping updated. Just hope its not looping around the estate as then it could bisect my planned foundation dig and be too shallow to deal with! Might have to prep part of the new driveway in advance with some reinforcement. Be interesting to see where this ends up. In Ireland we have a Irish Water & the local Council and they are playing football with this so far! Great fun!!