Post and beam

I wish i had taken a picture yesterday. Visited the farnborough Self build show on sunday and had a look on the Rega vent stand, they had a cutaway of the MVHR unit. It is very difficult to understand how you can justify charging what they do for what is inside the box. I doubt its only them actually. A plastic heat exchanger unit, some cheap looking fans and what looks like an Arduino to control it all. Oh yes and a plate filter, that must be al of £20

As PeterW says. Part P and the plumbing version which i forget for the moment.

For supply only that is about £4K over the odds. I need to balance the installation cost on top, then subtract the £5k grant or do it myself( as much as i can) and forget the grant.

Guys, thank you so much. I dont even think i need heating up stairs but am happy to take advice from anyone that knows for sure in a well insulated house. Their rational was that if the upper floor is not quite hot enough the UFH has to work harder. This has a ring of ' that sounds plausible' to it. I am anewby at this and doing my research.

Hi Guys Monday question. Getting closer to , hopefully, Planning permission. Quote for ASHP is in( first one) and i notice that it is apparently 'notifiable works' . This appears to imply professional installation. I have read a number of posts on here where people have installed their own, forgone the grant money and just got on and made a good job of it. The same appears to be true of the UFH quote i have also received today. basically ' dont install it yourself'. What is the truth of this ? I dont want to name the company on here today. They might be brilliant and its not fair yet to criticise but i need to understand the value of the thing. The house is a 200 metre new build, not passivehaus but well insulated with a target 1.5-3 airtightness value. They have quoted for UFH upstairs as well, see spreadsheet. I dont know if this is required. My numbers are UFH= £6700 Suply only. ASHP = £13000 supply only What do you think? UFH parts list per quote.xls ASHP Quote supply only.xls

Thanks dude. Yes thats sort of my view of check a trade.

You might have been expecting a slightly different subject. There does not appear to be a single sub heading here for the trades. I am at the stage where i need to start understanding prices and availability for the various bits of the build that my timber frame company dont do. So, brickies to start with. Plumbers sparks etc. What is the best resource to tap into the reliable guys? Obviously i could go to checkatrade and the like but i have not found that site very good in the past. Many thanks in advance keith

Thanks Nick Build Criteria A: New Build B: Cold Roof Construction 😄 Stud Walls 😧 254mm Metal Web Floor Joists Nervous about upsetting the build company unecessarily. Edit: I wont put the cost up in a public forum but i am interested in a competent alternative option. The plot is in North hertfordshire.

Duct sizing requirements will depend on whether it is a branched or radial design then i guess ? The quote i got today is branched with 125mm semi rigid aluminium.

I could do with a knowledgeable dude to look over a quote for MVHR install i have been given for my project. A 200 square metre 4 bed house. Via DM preferably Regards keith

Thanks Nick. Useful.

Apologies for jumping into this thread. When you say 'double up' does this mean 2 outlets in that room or is there a 2 into 1 junction box just before the outlet? Thanks in advance keith

Thats sort of the reason i jumped into this thread. I saw numbers being mentioned here that appear to be at odds with what i have learned so far. I need a breakdown, itemised line by line of the elements that are lumped into my 'weathertight package' phase of my build. At the moment i have an opaque figure for the package as a whole. It might turn out to be great value but as of today i dont have enough info to determine this.

Apologies dude, you are of course correct

Hi Craig Ambiguous, How so? i would have thought per square metre is as close to objective as we are likely to get.

Thank you so much and cool. I have approx' 32.4 square metres of Rationel aura plus double glazing to compare and get the best price for then. Do any of you wise folk know if the Aura plus and forma plus are the same price. It appears to just be a style thing so i believe they should be. I did pick up a hint when i spoke to the Rationel guy on the phone that they were thinking of moving towards just offering triple glazed

A recent conversation with Rationel for my potential build had the person i was talking to say 'about £700/square metre for double glazed'. This was for their ALU clad windows. I had been asking about what premium for triple glazed and was told plus 15%, ish. When working out your square metres is it glazing only or the full window opening? I think its time to get a little more specific with them and also ask whether its fitted or supply only of course. Thanks keith

MVHR is indeed on the quote and yes it is an expense i was not expecting. However, reading about the benefits i am content with its inclusion. My only real concern is the potential increase in spec of the insulation, liberally spread throughout the quote, towards a target not of my choosing. If that makes sense. I live in a house that was built in the mid 1980's. Even a developers mass produced estate house would be much better insulated that what i live in now. And to be honest i have never previously thought of it as a cold or draughty house.

Agree. The point i am trying to get across is that i did not specify the value for air tightness. It is in the quote but it has nothing to do with me. Hence my subsequent question, am i being led towards an airtightness value and a U value that i did not specify? I am not trying to build the cheapest house that will scrape through the regs nor am i trying to achive passivhaus. I am trying to get a house from the frame builders catalogue. I was, until i noticed this value in their quote, confident that they would deliver a comfortable and well built home to the budget i nominated.

I get that better airtightness means less heat loss. What are the min and max values range. Is there a value that planning or building regs require? I did not specify the value attributed to me and therefore am intrigued as to what the consequence might be. I have also been told that increased insulation thickness and Triple glazing might be required. Am i being led towards spending money to achieve a value that was not my chosing ?

Hi Guys Todays question is, the frame build and weathertight package quote from my frame builder has this line in it..... Air tightness requirement: You have advised a target of 1.5-3 is required. Apart from the fact that i dont believe i have actually advised this value, what is the consequence of a higher or lower figure and why should i care? Of course, i know a more airtight house is a good idea in general but why this value. Thanks in advance again keith

Thanks dude. Since posting i have done some more reading of reviews that i can find. I think this will be a good choice and am content to keep this in the build B.OM Regards keith

As always i value the input on here so today i am looking for opinions of the Bifolds i have been quoted for.They are 3.1 metre 3 panel. Thanks in advance Regards keith

To be sensible for a moment, the 7 watt laser would not cut anything of substance. It might be useful for learning new skills but it sounds like you lad is a number of useful steps ahead of this already.

You need this then, a proper laser cutter. E bay link = 115639993259. Sorry i could not resist it. Its mine by the way.