Happy Valley

Thanks, so being a new build we are required to extract outside. I think a cheap ceiling fan with ducting will hopefully do the job if powerful enough. Time to check the specs. Something else to put through the ICF!! I hate holes in walls

We will be having a good sized kitchen approx 20' x 18' with an island containing an induction hob. We hardly ever use the extractor fan in our current kitchen. Question: Is it a Building Regulation requirement to have some form of extractor fan? If they are a requirement we don't want anything hanging down from the ceiling and don't want an in built extraction hob as takes room our of storage and they are expensive (another £1000 on top of std induction hob). If they are required what ceiling based units are recommended that don't break the bank. I have seen this but it weighs 120kg!!! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cookology-CEI1100BK-Ceiling-Island-Extractor/dp/B07HGF9M5Y/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=ceiling+extractor+fan+kitchen&pd_rd_r=3e986a9d-526c-4186-a33c-44b93dec1267&pd_rd_w=1pRax&pd_rd_wg=hQt7T&pf_rd_p=7c89f663-1851-4f5c-ad06-b2fd7b71af3e&pf_rd_r=5P80WM00SHJ3KSAF11WK&qid=1634218924&qsid=262-8854865-5889033&sr=8-5&sres=B07HKNNYSL%2CB01DAG7QWK%2CB07HGF9M5Y%2CB089QPX8QN%2CB098K3H36S%2CB01DAEZB7E%2CB08V92BLXC%2CB01CIIAI4E%2CB0813W5WRM%2CB00NOUF7V0%2CB07HC5FKY4%2CB07HMK5VGL%2CB07X9HNV2C%2CB07Q83MN1K%2CB07HN18ZSH%2CB00IUNBEI6&srpt=VENT_HOOD

The services might not be far away but that does not mean that they are going to be adequate for 4 more properties or expensive to install. The utilities might want substantial funds to "upgrade" the infrastructure for 4 new properties as they may only just be suitable for the current farmhouse. If I was the vendor and they had been on the market for 5 years and the utilities were going to be simple I would put them into each plot, up the price and then they should sell. This eliminates any doubt/uncertainties over this massively important aspect of these plots working. As others have mentioned I would first be contacting the utility companies to get an idea of costs and viability of connection before you go any further. Alternatively would the vendor consider an offer subject to them providing the connections.

If none of the four plots have sold and have been on the market over the last 12 months I would personally avoid. Either the plots are massively overpriced or there is a serious issue maybe related to the utilities as discussed above. Alarm bells ringing as basically they are still for sale in the biggest sellers market for decades. If one or two of the other plots had sold and you could discuss with the owners the various costs/issues involved then you have some comfort/knowledge as to what to expect.

Can only echo most of what has already been stated. We budgeted at £1500/sq m and it looks like it's coming in at around £1800/sq m at present. We have an excellent builder on good rates but the increased cost of materials is the main reason for the increased build costs. Do not underestimate how much time effort and emotional drain that a new build places upon you. I am project managing the built as am self employed (part time) from home and on most days you are going to have to make key decisions - some of which you may know or others you will need to research before coming to a conclusion. I am not hands on (build labour wise/construction jobs) with build other than tidying up and moving things around the site. We are building in our garden so lucky (or unlucky) enough to be on site all the time and living within an existing house.

I want the space above the door hence a roller. There are plenty of manufacturers who claim to have insulated rollers (aluminium with foam between) such as Hormann but just wanted actual experience if there is any.

We have a 60cm AEG induction hob for 4 pans. Been in for 10 years without any issues. Well it was replaced once with the same as one of the kids dropped a pan on it and cracked it. Excellent value in comparison to some others.

We have an integrated garage on our new build and starting to look at roller doors to fit early next year. The garage is/will be fairly well insulated with ICF being block worked faced and a 100mm insulated warm roof. Whilst the house is designed to be well enough insulated without the garage it would be a shame not to be able to use it in the colder months. With that in mind am seeking recommendations for a well insulated roller aluminium door manufacturer. It's a single garage opening.

A simple answer is no. Material prices have increased dramatically and I would have thought that at least another £100k would need to be added today. The budget did not include the plot which was around £850k iirc

My builder had never used ICF before this build. He is doing a brilliant job. He had a few hours on site training/discussions with a seasoned local ICF builder. It is more down to the builder who has 30 years experience and has a positive "can do" attitude imho.

Doesn't sound like you have any other option unless you are willing for the build to stop and wait for someone else. How about you go back and attempt to negotiate an agreement for 10% on own sourced materials from this point onwards.

We put them in (Triton waterbar) even though we have waterproof concrete rafts. We questioned their necessity as they are expensive but both professionals stated that we should use them.

Thanks for the responses. I think I will check with the utility suppliers as to what they recommend or if there is a precedent with this. As stated in the initial post the minimum notice is the one we are seeking.

We have the absolute right within our deeds to connect to all services over the access driveway owned by our neighbour. This neighbour has been difficult to say the least so.... Question is what is the minimum notice that we have to provide to inform them that we are going to dig up the driveway to connect the water supply and surface water drain?

Just found this on an installers website: Four kinds of ducting are compatible with a whole house Mechanical Ventilation & Heat Recovery (MVHR) system; flexible ducting, rigid metal ducting, rigid PVC ducting, and semi-rigid (bendy) ducting. Ducting can be installed in either a 'branch' configuration, where one pipe or branch services multiple rooms, or it can be a radial system where every room has it's own dedicated air pipe, all fed from one air distribution box or manifold. Flexible ducting in a branch configuration is frowned upon by BPEC, the body that certifies our installers, as condensation can pool in the internal spirals and can potentially become a health risk. Its fine if it's insulated and used in short lengths to connect the unit to atmosphere, but is best avoided in the rest of the property. Rigid metal ‘spiral’ ducting in a branch configuration is difficult to work with and is susceptible to heat loss, so even if the MVHR is 90% efficient, up to 50% of the warm air inside the pipe could be lost on the way to and from the heat exchanger. Large diameter spiral ducting is typically reserved for commercial air handling systems which don't generally recover heat. Rigid PVC ducting is certainly the most common domestic system, however it’s difficult if not impossible to clean and requires substantial boxing-in making it tricky to retrofit. A ‘branch’ ducting system with flexi, metal or PVC pipe is also prone to acoustic issues, either a whistling from the supply/extract valves nearest to the fan motors or 'cross talk' travelling from one room to another. The last thing you need is TV noise in your bedroom from somewhere else in the house. By far the best kind of ducting in a domesitic or small commercial property is the new semi-rigid ‘radial’ ducting. The benefits radial ducting include: Flexible enough to thread through joists, between stud walls and other tight spaces (it's ideal for retrofit). Eliminates the risk of cross talk between rooms as every room has its own dedicated air pipe connected to a sound-proof manifold. The manifold also eliminates any motor noise from the MVHR fans. Can be cleaned in the future as it has a smooth internal bore and there are no sharp bends. While advisable at the moment, this feature is likely to become a requirement under building regulations. Incredibly low air resistance meaning the MVHR fans have less work to do, making the unit quieter, more energy efficient and (in theory) extending the life of the motors. Far easier and quicker to install as it clips together with no gluing & taping. One continuous length runs from the manifold near the unit to each room. The pipe can be cut neatly with a blunt knife rather than awkwardly with a saw. The install time is normally a lot less than that of rigid PVC ducting. It’s ideal for DIYers or builders new to MVHR work. The risk of boxing in a leaky pipe is almost nil. Partially insulated to reduce heat loss through the ducting. It can also be lagged with mineral wool without the condensation risks associated with PVC ducting. Extremely durable with a higher tensile strength than any other ducting

I presume it is sold as an upgrade option for a reason by most suppliers.

There appears to be a number of options from plastic radial ducting to spiral steel ducting. Which ones are best to avoid - thinking the minimum I should have is an antibacterial plastic radial. There are 6 air supplies and 5 extractors in a 160 sq m house (none on landing or in entrance hall). We have 125mm between the joists to run ducting to the ground floor rooms and over 150mm for the exhaust and inlet which will be on a flat garage roof.

I ordered some (on a credit card) back in May from Tzur Steel. In the end cancelled the order as they lied about when they said it would be delivered. Delivery date came and went and turns out it wasn't even in stock. No problem getting my money back. Used Collins Rebar of Wigan instead. First order came through within days in May this year. Second order in two weeks ago for 1st floor raft and H10 bar is not currently in stock although they say they are working to our deadline of the 15 Sept.

We have used AEG induction hobs for about 10 years - on our second only because the kids broke the glass in the last one about 5 years ago. Great value and power button boils water quicker than any kettle we have used.

It came across as being the architects dream more than the owners. Some of the details such as unframed windows were totally unnecessary in my opinion as it would have made no difference being enormous. I said to my wife at the first mention of the budget is that it have to be doubled - well I was wrong. Trebled!! At least it looked like they could afford it. It was such a big and complex building it needed another hour imho. Loved his Lexus LFA in the garage! Certainly a bold building.

I presume that you are Austrian......with a cellar? ?

That looks like an expensive mistake.

Yes - all the designs I have show 125mm ducting for each. Likely to be Vent Axia Kinetic. 160 sq m property. Design has two flow and two exhaust on the ground floor and two exhaust and three flow on the first floor.

Thanks - we have used smaller plastic pipes up to 80cm diameter as ducting for ASHP, plus flow and return pipes etc on the first pour with success.

We need to put ducting through our ICF for the 125mm exhaust and supply ducting before we pour the concrete. I have two options for a pipe - one is has an internal diameter of 124mm being reported as a 125mm pipe but external dimension is 127mm. This is the type of thing we are looking at: https://www.screwfix.com/p/manrose-125mm-round-ducting-1m/245gy The other option is a 150mm internal diameter pipe which could just run the whole pipe through without joins but will leave a big gap around it which will need heavily insulating afterwards. I don't have the items from the supplier yet as not needed at this stage so don't know the exact size of pipe that they supply. Does anyone have any experience with this and recommendations as what size?