Ferdinand

Ask them about how many versions of their integral blinds have been gone through in the last decade. ANy why !

It sounds that Internorm need to be selected on the basis of visits to intallations that have been in place for as long as possible. Ferdinand

JUst as a 'data point' this is a approx 1m overhang over south facing full height windows that has been in place since 1970. This photo was taken in October 2018 and the overhang is clearly blocking the sun at this time, which must be in the late morning period of the day as that wall with the shadow line faces East. The experience here is that high sun is kept out which helps with overheating in summer, but low sun penetrates, as designed back then. Last summer there were overheating issues at the height of the summer, but the room has 2 roof lights on the back which can be opened for thru ventilation. The house has a PIV fan fitted as the fabric was upgraded to be better insulated and more airtight, without imo sufficient thought to the ventilation, and the T remarked on the difference. For a passivehaus or near-passive with the higher spec designed to operate more precisely, I think I would not rely just on this, and would want to know what I like and do some calcs, and design in something with significant extra capacity to manage the potential issue. That might be provision for blinds, or for later fitting of an auto pending skylight for stack ventilation. But it would need more precise consideration. Ferdinand

All useful, thanks. In my setup suggested above I would probably think about 2 layers of PIR on the inside with the lower on taped, so that the membrane is on the inside of say 50mm of PIR and therefore warm (may need a calculation), or indeed one could put some insulation on the outside with a rain screen, but that extra complication would defeat the whole point. My current restoration approach has been to dry line and insulate, usually with 50mm PIR, put a membrane inside the insulation under traditional pb, then install a background ventilation system to manage the internal humidity in case there are any problems. So Traditional Drylining with belt and braces. (Add: I have done this mainly on solid walled 1910-ish properties; when I have done the calls on cavity walled properties say 1960-70 it has not been cost effective to do the dry lining as cavity injection plus other efficiency measures reduces bills such that the dry lining then becomes unviable.) F

Fairly random thoughts on this. In my continued thought experiments in search of an inexpensive high spec way to build a rentable bungalow, we considered another factor when thinking about block built walls with Built to exactly fit 8x4 sheets of insulation. We liked the insulation on the outside because it meant that it would be safe from damage ... even if a T is deliberately trying to wreck a breezeblock and plaster skim wall, it is relatively easy to repair, and things such as picture hooks are less troublesome, with less rigorous instruction needed. But the equation is different in a home. THat prompts the thought - Can your proposal be done using either thicker PIR-backed-IPB glued to the wall, perhaps with a counter-orientated layer beneath? PErhaps the lower layer could be taped for airtightness? FOr rally thick iPB, one could even use EWI type mechanical fixings if desired. In a home environment you can be surer that the surface is not damaged e.g. Surface fixings and if needed physical fixings are now available that take heavy weights from PB. In my most recent refurb and ran all my rewiring and plumbing under a floating floor inside the thermal envelope using short vertical chases, and it seems to have worked Ok so far. So a lack of service void in the walls is potentially manageable. I think in principle that is one way the Americans do it, but they use cable duct on the surface. For areas with heavy attachment needs, they could be studded or frame-and-fermacell-ed. Or we could go for the new age disabled / old people / short people friendly kitchens where wall cupboards are simply abolished. I would say that could be made to work, but certain compromises would be needed. Ferdinand

Good point. It emphasises homework-in-advance and designing out problems. When you are doing a new build an extra 3.5k may look relatively small compared to the £xxx,xxx you have spent overall even if being careful, but it is still two months of salary after tax at average wage. OrI had a month in Australia for about that incl. Bus Class, or more practically that is roughly what I paid full central heating or replacement double glazing including doors for the Little Brown Bungalow. Ferdinand

That sounds ... er ... expensive. Does that mean it is 4 panes of glass? Checking I see that they have at least two versions. https://www.internorm.com/uk-en/products/sun-protection/ (Pity the kid who puts a ball through that). F

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IS it identified in tire landscaping scheme? (Is that relevant?)

I am a fan of floating, but I put my services underneath the floating round the edges of the room. For floating floor I draw 2 lessons 1 Do not skimp on underlay, and think about your required bounciness, 2 The only floor known to me that will relay is Quick Step uniclic. Others may agree or not. I have done several of these floor, but they were all laminate. And they murder saw blades. Ferdinand

@Lift span Just rewatched the very first episode of Ugly to Lively, and I think it has a lot of things relevan to your next thinking bit. F https://www.channel4.com/programmes/ugly-house-to-lovely-house-with-george-clarke/on-demand/59068-001

FOr 1m or less gabions sound a good solution if you have the filling and the width available. There may cheaper ways to do it, or the lower parts of it, but it looks to be a shortish wall, so I would say get what you like. There are various options around the site, including iirc some interlocking systems, if you dig. F

WHat material do you want to retain, and what is your height required i.e. Max depth of retained material? F

i think the are potential grid capacity issues ... like with solar connections and electricity. F

I can send you a piece of string to provide the answer to that one ?.

I am still learning to drive my presets ! F

Looks good. And because there is a change of direction at the door, people will look before changing direction. THought you had done this, based on the avatar, and that they had been knitted from ganja, which would explain a lot. Good job.

I think you now have one house, not two, in the looks, and it is a good stripped back basis to consider what you actually want to do. The facade is simple enough to be unified, and that dormer is now a unifying element as a subsidiary echo of the other one, even though I do not like it very much personally. IMO the cladding on the LHS would be better down to the plinth. I would now say park the exterior, and think about the inside and what you want / how you live, and how it relates to the surroundings and the back garden e.g. View axes and so on. E.g. Consider new windows, or moving existing ones. I have already pointed out a dozen possibilities, but also consider your intentions for the windows, and think about the performance of the fabric. IMO it may well be worth a full new set of windows, and eg dark grey upvc might work well. THat means you can change their sizes and shapes. Also consider how you will get light into all your shared spaces at different time of the day e.g. Put a tall narrow glass panel in the hall to the sitting rooms near the front will give you angled sunlight there early in the day. (Update. That little bit higher change is a second level elaboration ... the thing you will want to play with once you have done your first lot of thinking about the interior. The exterior is at 70-80%. Leave it alone and think about the interior. Come back to it in 10 days when you have made some progress on the inside. Ps IMO the central element wants to be at one height or the other, and not in the middle .. unless there is a necessary reason at the detailing stage ... at this stage it is just adding the Knick-knacks back on that you just got rid of to make it simpler. Do not pfaff about detail when there are still big things to work on like your interior and in-out relationships.) F

WIth this posh new car the number of things with heaters is ridiculous. IT takes a little time to switch them all on ... windscreen, rear screen, mirrors, steering wheel, seats. There is even an ice scraper inside the fuel cap cover, which works well except when that is more frozen up than the doors. MInus five degrees here. F

As for a self install, I think the possible required maintenance checks and certification are one area where you may have an issue. I have a sense that there may be some kind of enforcement bureaucracy attached to this. The presentation I linked may have more.

This was introduced under a Private Members Bill type procedure in about 2007-2013 by an MLA called Ann Jones. Fire deaths And injuries in Wales were averaging 17 and 502. Clearly at that rate it will take two or three decades to save even 5 lives per year, assuming sprinklers save all the pot Niall lives they can (which they probably will given the record), as in this country we only renew at most 1-2% of housing stock per year. I expect that for te first 25 years at least there will be no detectable change, There was a Report from BRE pointing out that it was not cost effective at iirc 6.7m per life saved, but the decision was presumably made on principle and influenced by Fire Brigades who usually support the measure. See this piece from Wales Online https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/new-homes-fitted-automatic-fire-2051716 I am not sure how that perception changes after Grenfell. There is a fairly recent monitoring report presentation here, which has an installation cost table on page 67 http://www.cewales.org.uk/files/8614/8163/8572/Llandudno_Sprinkler_complete_presentation.pdf Personally I think there should be potential significantly to reduce the cost of these systems by perhaps 50% or more over time, so I am agnostic about the measure (though quite happy for somewhere to be running a long term experiment). At say 1-2k per house I would be a strong supporter. At 3-4K, not so much ... spend the money on a different Ill in society, such as impact of drones, insulation/ventilation programmes, or houses on corners that get lorries in the front room depending on research. F

A quick one for @JSHarris. Jeremy Has your idyllic valley suddenly turned into a frost pocket? Asking out of genuine interest. I suspect it may be big enough to avoid it if you have decent air movement in there, or are not right at the bottom. Ferdinand

VIdeo or it did not happen. I think big snorkelling or worm charming are more our style.

If it for a room in the new house, then imo your extras for working around it, risk of differential movement, managing the joints etc, will be more than the money you will save. IMO do not bother unless you can see a very very good reason. F

Scotland has some excellent timber, which can be sourced in site, kiln dried, and visually strength graded. eg this bloke sourced some local hardwood last year that he wrote about on Monday. Scotland also has a brilliant line in slightly over-generalising giraffes ? .. as does elsewhere. (Apols for over generalising in that last comment). F