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Merlolly

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  1. Hi Steve, I've just posted our project and there's many similarities with our build! We're just about to put walls up so you are a few steps ahead and like yourself, avidly reading through the forum before posting too many questions GSHP vs ASHP we're also gas free on our site and after much knashing of teeth have finally decided to go Air Source. We were absolutely gutted to move away from the ground based (we'd commissioned all the surveys etc) but personally it made a big difference to our stress levels, not trying to cram everything together in order to get certified before the end of March - however, as you may be aware there is a replacement scheme for which self-builders are eligable to get £5k towards a sustainable heat source - link to info on Clean Heat Grant here UFH - I've read that you can design your own layout for free but we managed to get a free design from a company tilting for our work. C MVHR - we've some designeds commissioned by ADM Systems that seem great - over this weekend I'll post up what we have as we have a few questions and would be happy to compare notes Solar PV - similar story to yourself, we put it on the back burner due to cost but have just been recently encouraged by the saving of using integrated system to elevate that idea to the forefront, less tiles to buy. Unsure whether it works out financially feasible but hopefully so! Best of luck and I'm sure we'll cross paths in this awesome forum Cheers, Merl
  2. Thanks for the thoughts and insights there John, all ideas and opinions welcome we're often finding it quite tricky to get like-for-like quotes so thanks for the reminder on how important that is to keep costs down! UFH - the planning has been done on that one, free of charge! We're considering installing it ourselves as the labour cost seems extortionate but we're trying to weigh up that cost saving versus a guarentee from a certified installer. As I understand it, there could be future resale questions since repair/maintance is so costly? If you had any guidance on risk/benefits there, that would be gratefully received. ASHP - I've seen a few articles on here, will get busy searching through threads! MVHR - We've commissioned a design from ADM Systems which seems pretty decent - I'll drop a post in the MVHR discussion topic and would be keen to discuss further. And yes, trying to enjoy it among the pressure of making 100s of decisions I never knew existed. Sometimes overwhelming but massively exciting when I remember to step back take it in!
  3. Thanks Nick, glad to see so many people in the self build community! Good point on the integrated design removing cost from the roof covereing - I'd discounted getting PV when our materials cost jumped up a big chunk last year. Worth looking into again and putting back on the table, thanks for the idea
  4. Hi all, My partner and I are just about to have our walls go up on our ICF low-energy (not quiet passiv) three bedroom, two storey family house with a habitable attic. It's been a long haul to get to where we are with mistakes made, architect input both good and bad, lots of lessons learned. Found this forum a while ago but re-found it recently! Basically, we're trying to achieve a decent sized house in a restricted plot within a village out of our price range to buy. Key drivers for our decisions were to build next door to the kids grandparents, keep running costs low while future proofing the design to accomodate our four young kidlings growing up rapidly in an evolving world! A quick rundown on the systems we've got on the table: ICF build system - Fully committed to the build system of expanded polystyrene blocks to be filled with concrete. The insualtion levels and zero drafts were a seductive choice early in the planning. Using a Scottish/Polish company to supply and install ICF walls while contracting the inital groundworks and future internal woodworks to a local reputable building company. Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) was our second choice of energy systems behind a ground source heat pump when we realised in October we'd never complete the build in time to qualify for the incetive ending in March. We'll take the boiler grant gladly instead Not confirmed which model yet but have some in the running. Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery (MVHR) - our mechanical venting system is fulfills two roles, keeping the houses escaping heat within the building envelope and cleansing the air for my allergy prone partner. System designed but not yet finalised on exact model. Intending to fit it ourselves with a little help from the manufacturer Underfloor heating (UFH) - Wet underfloor heating on the ground floor. Something we'd always dreamed of! Plus it fits well with the other systems to keep the overall low enery input. Not sure on whether to use a anti-cracking matt, read many conflicting opinions. Photo Voltaic panels and battery system - would love to have but our build budget just won't stretch that far. A real shame as we'll miss an opportunity to have integrated system but hey ho, you can't have it all. As we've hit a few pitfalls in our journey, it's likely we'll be close to running out of money somewhere between being watertight and 1st/2nd fix so getting some advice and help around how to make our final budgeted funds go as far as possible would be awesome while we see our walls and interal woodwork go up over the coming months! Looking forward to posting some situations and reading more from the members here! Also, more than happy to share our designs, ideas, trials and tribulations to those on a similar path or thinking about it Cheers, Merl
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