LnP

Very helpful thanks!

I'm interested to learn more - what are GGR guidelines and where can I find them? Thanks

@Bramco would you mind sharing what blinds you chose, what were the criteria in your selection, what other ones you considered etc? Thanks

Maybe he meant lower pressure drop. Even though the pressure in a Venturi drops as the velocity increases, once the flow leaves the Venturi, it won't recover to the full upstream pressure, i.e. there's a pressure drop across the Venturi which increases as the flow increases. But I'm curious though, is Bernoulli and Venturies something we need to consider when designing MVHR systems? I've read this thread with interest as I will be installing an MVHR.

There are plenty of timber frame houses with wood siding, plywood sheet roofs with cedar shingles in Canada and the US which are more than 100 years old. There's nothing wrong with this method of construction if it's done properly and maintained, which is true for any building system.

I'm coming into this thread quite late, but this demand calculator might be useful.

I was curious about what an anti-freeze valve is, and found this useful explanation in case anybody else was wondering! The decision on the best way to protect the external unit from freezing seems to be quite complicated. One aspect not much mentioned in this thread is reliability. Dosing the system with anti-freeze is inherently safe and if you want to, you can test it by taking a sample and putting it in the freezer. Anti-freeze valves are an active protection measure so have a probability of failure on demand and can't easily be tested. I've had a few temperature sensing cartridges in shower controls fail and I suppose it's similar technology. What do they do in Norway?!

Is that an extractor to the outside? Does it affect the air tightness? Thanks

I spent my first 11 years in a prefab at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell. My parents moved into it just after the war in the very early days of the AERE. They were very proud of it. The kitchen had a built in fridge and a clothes boiler/mangle contraption. The hot water was heated by a back boiler behind the fire place in the living room as well as an immersion heater. There were built in cupboards and wardrobes throughout (steel doors). Unimaginable luxury for my mother who had been bombed out of the East End of London. My father used to say it had been designed by engineers, but he was an engineer so he would say that. They were manufactured by the Bristol Aeroplane Company and erected by Italian prisoners of war who had decided to stay in the UK after the war. We talk a lot about timber frame on this forum, but shouldn't forget that there have also been unsuccessful attempts to introduce light steel frame construction into the UK residential market. And yet we are still building houses using the technically inferior bricks and mortar system.

What’s the best way to manage removing cooking fumes, smells and steam in an airtight house with MVHR? is there a way to have an extractor vent to outside the house? Is a venting hob the only solution? I assume it’s not a good idea to extract directly into the MVHR? Thanks

The attached article mentions some modular house builders going bust or closing factories. The article is about volume building rather than self-build, but I wonder, are the self-build timber frame companies experiencing similar financial challenges? Should we be any more worried than we were before about a deposit being lost? The companies mentioned are Ilke Homes, House by Urban Splash, Legal & General, Modulous, Lighthouse and TopHat. "the government's approach to modern methods of construction in disarray" ....? Surely not. https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/government-rethinks-volumetric-housing-support

Just curious that Potton don't get a mention in this thread. Any particular reason? I think they might be the biggest self build timber frame supplier.

We refurbished a Victorian coach house which is in our garden to live in when we demolish the main house and do the self build. Since we were creating habitable accommodation from what was a derelict building, we involved building control. The coach house is finished but I haven't got them back yet for the final inspection. We appointed an independent approved inspector and will get a Final Certificate which I think conveyancing solicitors will likely ask for when the house next changes hands. It wasn't a big deal and the building inspector was a useful source of information to make sure it was done right. Having building control involved might also put your builder in the right frame of mind when making construction decisions.

Thanks @nod, but I only see barge board verges in your photo.

Interested in some thoughts on this design... I'm especially interested in how to make the front elevation look more interesting. It faces on a bearing of 190 deg, just west of south, so perfect for a large array of PV panels. I have 3 phase so planning for an 11 kW array. Unfortunately though the large plain roof could result in a rather uninteresting design. We're in a conservation area, but our planning consultant has told us this is more about the leafiness than any particular look to the houses, so contemporary would be fine. The street has a mix of late Victorian, 1970s and recently renovated modern houses. The owners describe the Victorian houses as Arts and Crafts, I'm not so sure about that, but they have interesting hanging tiles which is not a look we plan to imitate. Contemporary would be fine. We have been thinking about ways to address overheating from the sun on the front of the house, and looked for ways to design in overhangs, but our architect didn't find a way to make that work. We think we'll have to install external blinds instead and a probably a heat pump with air conditioning. The angled external wall on the kitchen dining room is to get more natural light into the north facing elevation. On the first floor, we're going to switch the master bedroom en suite and dressing room so that we don't have the bathroom with a big window at the front of the house. The views are to the rear. Interested in your thoughts 🙂