garrymartin

Never let me be accused of not bucking a trend... 😉 I put in an insulated slab without UFH, but there are no load-bearing structures on it. The superstructure sat on strip foundations / blocks / bricks and the bifolds sat on strip foundations / blocks. See the attached for info, but feel free to ask any further questions. This was 7 years ago, and I'm not saying I'd do it exactly the same again, but I've been very happy with it and even in the winter, the tiled floor remains a reasonable temperature. Zero issues.

Absolutely this. If we get planning permission on our plot, it is in the grounds of a country estate with a couple of Grade II listed properties and a handful of cottages and converted barns nearby. We'll almost certainly end up with a more traditional exterior look but it will have a very modern interior and will be a timber frame Passivhaus.

Not necessarily the standard, but it's acceptable. I initially went for OSB on my garden room build but I wasn't happy with the variances in thickness from board to board considering I would be putting a nice flat EPDM membrane over them. Switched to exterior grade plywood.

Nothing wrong with simple forms 😉 Extra points for simple forms and Passivhaus 🤣

There are "no nails" picture hanging thingies if you want to go there - search for "no nails picture hanging" on Google or Amazon; there are plenty - 3M do their Command stuff, Velcro have versions etc. As @Iceverge mentions, there should really be no issues with the curtain pole. The first rule of thumb with Passivhaus and airtightness is not to penetrate the airtightness layer. The second rule is if you do, don't remove whatever caused the penetration. So if you put a nail or screw through your airtightness layer, it's taking it out that causes the problems. With the curtain pole, you're not going to be taking the fixing out so you should be fine. Think about those service cavities in timber frame builds - the battens are nailed into the studs so those nails have penetrated the airtightness layer... We have to live in these homes we create and sometimes we get just a little *too* paranoid. 😉

Prior to this thread (and therefore prior to considering how I would make sure it wouldn't be stolen) I had the Belle Warrior 100L with 4-Ply Tyre (02204) @ £180ish incl VAT on my list of purchases if we ever get planning permission... It seems to be one of the most highly regarded.

I did say "it would be against electrical regulations unless (like the EV-Ultra cable) the power conductors and data cables are rated to the same nominal voltage". So long as your two SWA cables are rated to the same nominal voltage, then sure, it would be acceptable. See https://professional-electrician.com/features/ev-charging-installations-why-two-power-and-data-cables-has-now-become-one/ for further information. BS 7671 and BS 6701 are the guides.

If you go that route, just bear in mind that there are multiple types of EV-Ultra cable and you'll want the 4-core CAT5 version preferably, not the 2-core. It comes in 4mm2, 6mm2, 10mm2, and 16mm2 from an electrical perspective so should be fine for a garage. Also, you'd potentially be pre-wired for any future electric vehicle charger! 😉

On the original ask, here are some of the fundamental things that can cost large amounts of money; * Poor plot selection (sloping, poor soil, orientation etc.) * Poor access to services (electricity, water, etc.) * Easements affecting the plot (we have a water main through ours for example) * Access to the plot (highways safety) * Making changes during the build * Always going with the cheapest quote * Selecting technologies/approaches that are new to the market with limited trade experience

It's also for all types of development, not specifically for self-build one-off housing. Using all the data from the various pages on the costmodelling.com site (where the chart comes from), a one-off detached housing of 2 storeys would, on average, be £2290/m2 - £2550/m2. Factored for the size of my project and my location (West Midlands) that comes out at £2286/m2 - £2546/m2 for a main contractor build so I'm happy with my budget guide of £2000/m2 for my self-managed, some DIY, getting in trades approach. And yes, of course, my labour isn't *technically* free and is likely to extend the time taken to build, but they're the choices we make and I'd hate not to be as involved as I can be, even though I can probably afford not to be...

If you only have one duct, containing power already, I wouldn't run a CATx cable through it. If nothing else, it would be against electrical regulations unless (like the EV-Ultra cable) the power conductors and data cables are rated to the same nominal voltage. EV-Ultra is also a single cable, so depending on how much space you have in your duct, you'd have to pull your existing power cable back out. It's also not cheap... Powerline-type adapters that use electrical circuits to carry the network data can work in some circumstances and may well be the cheapest option. You could probably order some off Amazon and return them if they didn't work. Personally, if I couldn't run a physical cable, I'd turn to the wireless point-to-point bridges, but in the first instance, I'd just test an external WiFi Access Point. You'll probably find you can get coverage in a garage at 20m away quite easily from a decent outdoor access point.

Our architects suggest in the current market, in our area, we budget for £3000/m2 for a main contractor build Passivhaus; we're using a £2000/m2 initial budget on the basis that we'll be project managing ourselves, getting trades in for some things, and doing a lot of work ourselves. We expect to come in under this, but it's a figure I'm comfortable starting with from a planning perspective to see what our budget can deliver in terms of design. We can afford to spend more, but we'd rather not if we can avoid having a mortgage at the end of the build. Our brief for the architects is very clear though that we'd rather get the superstructure the right size and design even if that means we finish some things off at a slow pace over an extended period. For example, we'd like a sauna for the health benefits, and we want to make space for it from a shell perspective, but we may not put it in initially if the budget doesn't allow it. However, we'll also be considering whether various things attract VAT savings and will be offsetting those decisions against the cost of finance and the period over which we think something might complete; e.g. if we can't initially afford a sauna at £10K from our savings, but it would attract VAT at a later data (and inflation) and therefore cost £12K plus, then the cost of finance over three or four years might be less than the VAT costs and inflation making taking the finance and doing it anyway the sensible course of action. Hope that makes sense!

One of the key interior designer mantras - spend money on the things you touch and feel.

Yeah. That and the cost of cable for running two cables to everywhere will likely be less than the disruption of trying to get a single additional cable through to a location where you subsequently find you need another! You don't need to fully terminate both of the cables if you don't want to; you can just coil it up disconnected in the backbox/cabinet until it is needed so long as you label them well. Personal recommendation; minimum of two to every location, four to locations serving TVs. CAT6a U/UTP for everything. Shielded F/UTP or F/FTP where necessary or desirable due to any potential environmental interference.

I'm going to the MBC Timber Frame Open Day / Factory Tour on 13th July - I'll ask them the question 😉

Not everything connected to the internal network will require Internet access, but having a network cable provisioned for things like solar and heat pump controllers allows for future automation/control of them, or just gathering stats and data.

Not sure they'll work. As I mentioned before, I think these will be the type that need something to be fastened tight to the plasterboard to work, i.e. you fix a batten to the wall. You just need a screw sticking out and unless I'm really wrong, I don't think those will work for that... EDIT - just watched a Youtube video. They *might* work I guess...

That's my normal method for things like heavy TV mounts, so should absolutely work for your needs.

https://mbctimberframe.co.uk/mbc-open-day-tour-13th-july-2024/ Anyone going? My wife and I are booked for the 10:00-11:30 slot. OR... if you can't make it, anything you'd like to know or questions you'd like me to ask? I'll try to take some photos and put anything I learn in a post when I return...

Missed that! 🙂 Nice one

I've cut holes in more walls than I care to remember to run cables and fit TV mounts etc. It's always possible to make it completely invisible, but it may require a few goes at filling, sanding, and painting before you are happy. If you want to minimise the hole you are cutting, then rather than a noggin, you could cut a circular hole and feed a small piece of wood in that overlaps the sides of the hole. Then while pulling the piece of wood tight to the plasterboard (use a screw in the middle to grasp it) use plasterboard screws to secure it to the plasterboard. Given you're not looking to put some kitchen cupboards up, that sort of approach may be enough strength for what you want. Hope that makes sense. If not, here's an example of the sort of thing I'm writing about...

The problem with most of the plasterboard fixings is that they require something to be fitted flush to the plasterboard to hold the fitting in place, and you just want the screw to be poking out. Not an easy fix. You might be able to try something like a Rawlplug with the setting tool as they have a shoulder that will hold the fixing in place, but even that I'm not sure will work too well over time without anything hard up against it. On the subject of marking out, the best option I've found is to take a long enough spirit level and to mark in pencil where the two holes go. Then you can use the level to a) make sure it's level (!) and b) transfer the exact placement to the wall.

I used to use the matchstick trick then saw someone on Instagram fold a small cable tie in half and push that into the plug instead. Works much better and you can "tweak" the size of the cable tie accordingly. On another subject, another vote for the Fischer plugs - they're the only ones I use in both SX and Duo flavours.