Ferdinand

One further observation I would like to make. Two reasons for loss of innovation and trying out ideas are imo that: 1 - Local and regional developers have been decimated. There are not developers building say between 25 and 500 houses per year. There are some left, but it is tough. The site I sold is for about 100 houses. I would eventually have found someone to buy a 50 plot site, but much below that and it cannot support the sales / marketing infrastructure needed by a large developer. There are not many developers out there able to take on a normal site (ie one without a killer benefit such as getting it nearly free or getting very high prices) of say 10-40 plots and having a profitable "normal" project with "normal" houses on it. By "normal" I mean houses of perhaps 900->1800 sqft. Such builders would be able to do trial innovation in collaboration with eg small research organisations, or to be places where eccentric inventors could find space to make a living as well as indulging their imaginations around the edges. More variety would be an additional benefit. If they are acre plots with gin palaces that sell at 1m each that has more leeway, but it is like the tighter control needed to make a supermini to sell at 12k vs a Jag to sell at £70k. But that is not where we need new ideas. 2 - Such profitable niches have gradually been eroded. One reason is that the full panoply of planning gain has been applied to smaller developer in most places. Think for example that Segal started with a small bungalow in his back garden while he built his house, and Span Developments (Eric Lyons) only built around 2000 houses in nearly 20 years, with an average development size of around 30 (2134 houses / 73 developments). What we have left at the lower end are builders doing developments at a couple or a few houses a year on plots as they come up. That is too small. I would like to see some Planning Gain only kick in at say 12 houses. IIRC it used to be 15 in most places. The overhead of reports and phalanx of oar-inserters is now many times what it was only 20 years ago. Are TV programmes the main drivers of innovation now? Ferdinand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Span_Developments

Thanks all. I will also need pipe insulation because one boiler is in the attic with about 10m run of uninsulated hot pipes. But they are in a sort of mounting plate which holds them close together and parallel so it will probably be the normal not thick stuff. The insulation plus the pipes plus an insluted loft hatch should knock 25% off the energy bills, however. Ferdinand

I would concur. It is a filler not a seal. Unless there is a special sort. Ferdinand

A quick one. I am insulating or extra-insulating three lofts between now and Christmas. Unfortunately none of them qualify for the freebies, so I need to obtain rockwool insulaiton. Where is the current best price? I reckon I need about 100-120 sqm of the 100mm under-stuff, and perhaps 200 sqm of the top layer, which could be 170mm unless I skimp and I hate skimping on basics like this unless the expense is eyewatering. Can anyone recommend a supplier, or a half price / opening / closing down / seasonal offer? At Wickes it will be a little over £1000 I estimate with 4 for 3s and a Trade Card and 5% cashback on the Amex. I hope to do better than that. Ferdinand

Um. Remembering my de Bono, can you dig it back to 595? (this may be a silly or impossible idea)

I forgot about "subject to Planning". Yep on that Boston one. Worth 15-20k once it has PP and the tenant has gone? Maybe?

Thinking about this particular point by @Sensus. Slight apples and oranges here. Of course any plot that does reach the open market will have at least Outlne PP, and at least part of that extra price is due to the reduced risk. While any Plot that is found for me will not have that priced in, subject to a "get me PP" condition, and I will have to pay Mr Sensus some significant amount of £££ plus potentially lunch for his services plus someone more £££ t o get me planning, and a barber to dye my new grey hairs the correct colour . The plot which I posted on the thread went for 22% or so below asking, which strikes me as relatively usual. Ferdinand

It won't be a void any more so you take the ventilation away / block it up and make sure it stays dry to prevent rot. There have been rather extensive discussions on this idea at the other place going back to about 2011, so I would suggest some reading over there, and quie a few houses done. @SteamyTea has a longer history than me there, and may have a better State of the Debate perspective. This is the most recent thread I can find but debates on GBF are a little like a querulous MENSA dinner in a pub sometimes, but very illuminating. You may want to read others too. http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=13524&page=1 If it was me I would fill the insulation to the top or nearly the top probably with a liner if possible, blocked up the ventilation, put in a perimeter French drain at the bottom of a trench outside, filled the trench with LECA for coldspots (or gravel) and the top 6" with pea gravel, then loose lay 3'x2' Council Slabs on top as a path so I can get to it all if I needed to maintain it. Even better, combine it with EWI. The outside works could probably be done in bits. There would be a case for leaving a small void at the top for electric cables etc as they may degrade over decades in contact with polystyrene balls (I am told). I would first have checked that this was all above the water table all of the time. You also learn to be good with a minidigger by digging a trench 1" from your house all the way round without destroying it. Surprisingly easy to do. Ferdinand

I thought the other approach here was to line the void with a damp proof something to keep it dry and fill it entirely with polystyrene beads like a beanbag, then no need for PIR pfaffing. Possibly with a french drain added at foundation level outside to make sure it stayed dry. There are probably other details. I think that the approach proposed by Jayrock is quite normal but rather a lot of work, and you need to worry about doors, proportions, ceiling height etc. Ferdinand

It is interesting that a few years on the 2009 the GD IoW "TreeHouse" had mellowed quite a bit. These pics are late 2012. http://www.planetpropertyblog.co.uk/2012/11/13/grand-designs-treehouse-for-sale/ I like the face/edge plank mixture, but would prefer it to be vertical orientation. The Tower cladding is gorgeous. What does it look like after a light sandblasting? Ferdinand

Postage cost is £4. Those will either come folded or the service will vanish as that us below cost imo.

@oldkettle I would define it as the ability of the occupants to create their desired environment, but tempered by reasonableness / practicality.

Surely it is a BALANCE not a choice since get varying amounts of both. And the balance point needs to be adjustable e.g. Someone with asthma may prefer a different level of r.h. whilst someone with bad hay fever may want more heavily filtered air a la Saab. Superinsulation means we start from heating bills of say 100 £££ a year rather than 600 £££. Ferdinand

"If it works for your setup" covers many multitudes of sins. Ferdinand (who happens to have a 27" monitor, an A1 archive quality printer and an A1 trimmer in his study :-) )

There is currently an active thread over at the other place (Green Building Forum) on this subject, which references this paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268098972_Passive_Houses_What_May_Happen_When_Energy_Efficiency_Becomes_the_Only_Paradigm_CH-12-032 Thread:http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=14342&page=1

I thought this process was relatively easy to DIY. IIRC the chap with the bungalow-in-the-woods on the IoW in GD did so. F

How about doing a ring of planks with each type up the house, then you can give us a definitive conclusion in 10 years time for when I'm ready to start my self-build? (Gets coat)

What a lot of possibilities. My thoughts were around marine products, or scorching it (itching to see someone on here do that), or even something like Tar Varnish as used for the bottom of boats. https://www.promain.co.uk/black-tar-varnish-for-narrow-boats-6886.html But then you said "no blacks" :-( . Perhaps as it is a rough surface you might actually spray it on? Ferdinand

If it works for your setup, any decent printer driver will have a scale or fit option that will reduce A1 to A3. Ferdinand

@Sensus Yes there are perhaps some obvious alternatives to improve the distribution without adding much cost, perhaps applying the principle of the Leaky Hose to air, even controlled by WiFi if necessary, perhaps with holes getting larger away from the source. People on here could self-experiment with that using normal ducting and holes every 0.5 to 1m and some 'corks' i.e. Adjustable hit and miss vents. Circs permitting it might be interesting to put all the services under grills round the room periphery as in a Victorian church. Best of luck. I think the key thing is what we in software development call Maintainabilty, in this context the ability to change all the services without destroying the fabric. I try to do that in my small way when renovating. On the books, I just spent £50 of my book budget on a study of houses built by Peter Aldington from the RIBA, which is superb. So SPONS will go begging for now. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Houses-Created-Peter-Aldington/dp/1859467008 Ferdinand

Is there a season for buying plots? Rather like one season for buying houses being the next 3 months if you can find what you want :-). Ferdinand

You get a big wall and screw them in. Innit.

Luxury is relative and some economies are false ! For the record, A3 laminators start at about £20 and A3 pouches at about 20p, or less than half that if you catch an offer. Get some wipeable markers for doodling on your plans, while you are at it. Or permanent ones if you are willing to sacrifice a 50p print/lamination in your discussion with your £10k architect. So really it is cheap enough for you to do whatever you want. Your £100k+ build budget will not be decimated. You might even be able to afford an A3 ring binder, 4 hole punch and cellophane presentation bags without losing a bedroom. Don't skimp on the punch as a decent one will last 20 years. A decent 4 hole or 2 hole punch will have a capacity of 25+ sheets which should be double what you will need to do at once, and will cost £25+ (2 hole) to £40+ (4 hole). But if you punch a laminated copy through teh drawing it will get wet. Ferdinand

This may be helpful. http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/screws.htm