Post and beam

During a conversation with these guys this morning, when i questioned the flow temp and pipe centres i was told that 150mm centres might result in too much energy going into the floor resulting in cycling. They dont appear to grasp that that would be true if they stuck to their 45 degree flow temperature but would not be true if the flow temperature was reduced to a suitable value!! If i can find a company that will just install the ASHP/UFH and ignore the grant i think i might do that. Easier said than done though.

I have looked at it again and it is indeed as you say a calculated figure and not a slip of mine on the keyboard. I have to assume its correct. Yes. And yes i am. But i used 1 in case my score is not actually any better when i get that far.

Then that is clearly a mistake i need to check. The wall value is .16

I need to look again at my spreadsheet because the house is 201 sq metres, storey and a half.

I found and have updated with some missing windows i forgot last year. Would anyone that understands the spreadsheet please look at these numbers and give their views. Heat loss - Caxton j DG 5 Sep 24.xls

Some time ago i tried to do my own heat loss calculation using the spreadsheet on this forum. I dont really know if i have done it correctly though and therefore have no confidence in the numbers. They may or may not be valid. But now i also dont have confidence in this proposed solution. I have a full design SAP calculation from Potton so it should be possible to generate a good set of data via the spreadsheet.

John Mo Well, there are other questions that i did not include in the original post. I have consistently said i want a flow of <35 degrees and ideally no more than 30 on 150mm centres for the ground floor only UFH. They have designed for 45 degrees flow on 300mm centres which is beginning to make me worry if A: they know what they are doing and B: have taken into account what i have asked for. In fact, also C Have they understood the design of this Potton house. Yes i have written back to them asking for clarification. I do not expect to need radiators upstairs at all and certianly not large ones. I have also always said i want single zone

I have just had a heat loss calc done by our proposed supplier of UFH & ASHP. With regard to the emitters, they have a term '3.1 (HEG) ' . Quite apart from not expecting to need emitters of the size they specify which is a question i have raised with them. Can anyone shed light on this please?

I am looking for any recommendations for an Alternative to the DNO in north hertfordshire. If anyone has first hand knowledge i would love to hear please. Keith

I managed to get Selfbuild zone to split out the 'inspection fees' bit and its £2850 for the Building control inspections. So i have dropped that from their offer and engaged the local authority building control becuase they are £1000 cheaper. However Selfbuild zone also want 'a Plan Check and up to 5 Technical Audits to be carried out by a surveyor nominated by BZSS'. This, to cost about the same as getting the local authority building control inspections. It appears to me that i am paying twice for the same service. Unless any of you knowledgeable people can explain what the difference is between a Technical Audits and a build control inspection. Confused and feeling slightly bent over by this

quote is in their pipeline, curious now to see the numbers.

Following on from my other post about costs of warranty and inspections. Are LABC a good choice to provide the 10 warranty? I am going to use my local county building control for the inspections. So i wonder if its a good idea to get the warranty from them. Any thoughts. I also only heard yesterday about 'Technical audits' that i need to pay for which appear on the face of it to be a duplicate of the building control visits anyway. This has come about because of a legislation change late last year.

Thanks guys. I know that HMRC have their info but wondered what real life experience others had.

Our preferred Kitchen supplier agrees that VAT is not to be applied to their cabinetry. But they insist that they are correct in applying it to the appliances that we buy from them. As these will all be built into the cabinets and cannot be removed without the use of at least one tool ( not including me) then i believe they are incorrect. What experiences have you guys had with this part of the build please?

Is one of the build warranty provider a standout recommendation above the others? or one to avoid

I have just filled out a 'buildzone' application form and the numbers they have come back with are as follows.... Based on the information you have provided so far, we can offer the following products. ProductSite Insurance (12 months) Premium (inc. IPT)£1,605.10 Product10 Year Structural Warranty + Inspections Warranty Premium (inc. IPT)£1,321.19 Inspection Fees (inc. VAT) £3,222.00 Is there anything else i should provide like location or house size that would enable anyone to offer a reasoned opinion of these figures please. Thanks in advance as always keith

Thinking a little more about this whole recirculate or extract thing. I get that opinion is divided about the airtightness hit bit. But, in a highly airtight building, if large amounts of air are being extracted it will have to be replaced from somewhere. The MVHR will be calibrated to a balanced configuration.

Thanks, this is the most sensible bit of advice. I will make the approach . How long ago, or did you do everything yourself. As i said my TF company are insisting on running hot water under the welfare provision.

Yes but i am reluctant to ask, self sufficiency and all that. I did discover that metered water is billed by the cubic metre at £1.20/ m3. So that is .12 pence per litre.

Agree and hopefully this wont be an issue. The Brickies will need a lot of water though i guess. My TF company insist on running hot water for welfare though.

My in experience has landed me with an issue with water supply from Affinity water. Their date for a road closure is early November which is much later than i was led to believe when first talking to them. My Timber frame is due to be delivered 7th October, and obviously the groundworkers need welfare water prior to that. I guess i am not the first person that this has happened to so what options do i have to get water in sufficient quantity to site in the interval please?

So the follow up question is.... Recirculating or extract outside? I have been thinking that with a new build and highly airtight that external extraction was a bad idea. I am sure i saw a comment yesterday in this part of the forum that in practice this is not a big deal.

Thanks.

We are at the stage of specifiying the Kitchen, and Extractor hoods are on todays agenda. I have never considered downdraft extracting Hobs before and thought they were very expensive. However, they compare well with a seperate hob and overhead extractor on price. Question is what about the hot damp air venting behind the cabinets. Is this an issue or am i overthinking this. It does appear to be a reason for concern

No