Mr Blobby

Indeed. Our SE has looked at this and we have a ridge beam going in. As well as the two purlins. I think we probably needed a ridge beam all along anyway because we have a section of vaulted ceiling. 🤔 Anyway, moving on, our ridge beam will be supported in two places near the centre of the roof as well as at the gables. Its a long roof. Our builder has suggested steel columns in the loft to support the ridge beam instead of building two walls of blocks up into the loft to the ridge. We do have existing horizontal steel beams at ceiling height to support either steel columns or a wall. The cynic inside me suspects our builder has suggested the steel columns because it is easier to schedule roofers and go forward quickly. I can't see a downside of a steel column but then I generally have no clue about such things. Is there anything wrong in using steels to support the ridge beam? Is a block wall in the loft (with an opening to walk through of course) a better solution? Structural Engineer is happy with either option.

Peak demand in the house will be less than 100 amp on a single phase so its looking increasingly likely that everything in the house will run off a single phase. The three phases will run out to the EV chargers. The problem with three phase inverters, as I see it, is getting things like diverters for Zappi EV chargers and immersion heaters. Three phase appears to be poorly supported and not well understood by installers and I can do without the hassle and the cost for little benefit. I think the big question is whether the DNO will let me install an inverter bigger than 3.6kW on a single phase with the export limited.

The plan is for panels on three roofs something like this: SW: 3.5 kW S: 2.4 kW NE: 3 kW Solis have a new 3P hybrid inverters with 3 MPPTs. The problem is its so new that they don't seem to be on sale in the UK yet.

Ouch! Our price was £450 for a thousand, and delivery had to be for a full lorry load. I think block prices vary a lot by region. Here in Northern Ireland blocks are a lot cheaper than the South West. And my builder seems to get good prices on stuff from his various trade accounts of course.

Do you have a local manufacturer? We have a quarry half a mile away that makes and sells concrete products. Our builder got ours from the quarry for 45p per 100mm medium density block delivered. Which is pretty good I think.

We liked the idea of a raised washing mashine until we saw our friends intsallation with a peice of pipe insulation wedged between their washer and dryer to stop them acting like giant castanets. I think if done right and raised like @Buzz then it can be very nice. But it can be done badly which is not so great. If I remember correctly I think some of the German Kitchen manufacturers install a steel frame to support the appliances of the ground. Which is probably the way to go.

ooh, not seen this before. Time for some reading.

UPS function for critical circuits would be nice I just assumed that net metering was standard. I guess it must must be like that for billing, the net import position. I think for hot water and EV charging it would make life easier to get to a zero export position Probably. I'll be talking to the electrician soon to finalise all this hence looking at the PV options now.

Yes I think running the PV off a single phase inverter will be a lot simpler. I think the DNO is ok as long as the export is limited to 3.6kw on a single phase. The problem is the 3 roofs so either a 3 MPPT invertor (which are almost non-existant) or solaredge optimisers.

Three phase power with panels on three elevations. And hybrid inverter with batteries and diverer to DHW and EV. Talk about a challenge 😬 Any advice on her about the best way forward? I think its either solaredge 3 phase hybrid inverter or three hybrid inverters, one on each phase. The problem is the that the solaredge invertor only works with expensive batteries https://www.itstechnologies.shop/products/8-000w-storedge-hybrid-inverter-48v-three-phase?variant=40410089881698 Something like sunsynk can be configured in parallel, as below, but this is a lot more work to set up. And does this configuration mean the inverters work together to avoid importing from the grid or do they see only their own phase load/ battery charge level/ meter position and fight each other. I can't seem to get an answer from the suppliers. What should I do? Any advice? Please?

Just to jump in here, we are also looking to install panels into GSE frames on standing seam. Our architect has done this before but the panels were not as recessed as I think they could be: I reckon the end result could be better with a larger batten under the ply under the standing seam and then a smaller batten under the GSE panels to sink them lower. Just an idea of course 🤔 The S-5 clamps look to be the best alternative because you can omit the rail and install the panels closer to the seams. But then the panels must be installed in landscape mode. If fitting GSE panels then savings in ply and zinc should be possible. @WisteriaMews Please update here with your findings. Any photos post them please.

Tesla (our curent EV) used to support 22kW (32A) but have downsized to 11kW (16A). I think its the extra weight and cost of the in-car charger that is difficult to justify. Saying that, we are going to install two 3P 32A chargers to cover all bases.

I'm surprised you got fed up with slow EV charging. You must do hundreds of miles or have short range. I've been cgarging overnight on a 3-pin plug at 2kW for the last 3 years and never had a problem. But then I rarely do > 150 miles in a day. Even so, we're getting 3-phase into our new build for 11kW EV charging. And we will be getting am E7 3P meter. (Smart meters are not a thing in Northern Ireland yet) With our DNO 3 x 100 amp phases is easy to get. Above 100 amp then the DNO insists on CT metering and that costs loads more, so 100A is the sweet spot here. Don't forget that few cars support 11kW and even fewer can charge at 22kW. A freind of mine just spent thousands upgrading to a 3-P supply only to discover his brand new EV (nissan ariya) doesn't do 3-p charging. So he wasted his money. If you can get 3P for the same price as 1P then go for it. I know a lot on here suggest splitting a single hase off into the house. I think we'll be going full-monty and 3-phasing the CU just for kicks. 😬

The masonry walls on our cavity build will be above ceiling height. To accomodate a cold roof (warm loft) our architect has suggested raising the rafters about a block height (250 ish) above the ceiling joists. Its a cut roof hanging off two steel purlins at 35 degree pitch. Were not really limited by ridge height. As far as I can see, the proposed design has two benefits. Firstly it increases loft space head height. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, this looks a lot easier to acheive good airtightness. With this design the airtight membrane will not be penetrated by each ceiling joist. Instead the ceiling joists are suspended from hangers attached to a wall plate below the rafters so either a parge coat or airtight paint is applied behind the joist-wall plate, or run a membrane behind the joist-wall-plate into the loft. Does this design look ok? Am I missing something here? Has anyone else done this?

Here's mine, made out of spare bits mostly. The structure is only temporary because NIE only allow permanent meters in permali boxes on the house wall. NIE also prohibit metal meter boxes for temporary supplies, they must be brick. If I was in GB I would have bought a metal meter cabinet off the shelf and kept it as a permanent supply. This tmeporary box is right next to where the EV chargers will be installed so routing to the house and back out is infuriating. NIE insist a 3-phase temporary supply requires a bigger enclosure (even though they split off a single phase for the temp supply) hence the two slabs on the top with some silicone sealant between them. Its painted with bitumen paint to give it some extra waterproofing. The big problem I had was getting an earth rod in the ground. I built the box on top of the rock of gibralter and had to get a digger in to dig a hole near to he cabinet to sink a rod. If I were doing this again I would get the earth rod in before installing the cabinet.

Thanks. So 25x100 battens to attach the GSE panels. Are your tiles attached to the same batten? So 25mm ventilation gap is ok. We will have standing seam roof so we need minimum 50mm ventilation gap under the standing seam I think. I think I need to speak to the roofers. And read the instructions 🤔

Just to resurrect an old thread..... do I need to do the G98 application before installing the panels on the roof? I assume not as I see no issues. As with most things, GB suppliers often don't like to ship into half-in, half-out of EU land. So where did you order decently priced solar panels and GSE frames in Northern Ireland? Our roof is going on soon. I'm hoping the roofers can fit the GSE panels and I can worry about the inverter later (assuming no micro inverters). What size ventilation gap under the panels? We were thinking of 25mm batten and 75mm counter batten with the 75mm batten removed under the GSE frame. Is that sensible? Any other guidance here?

Nobody forced me to buy an electric car. I chose to buy one because its better than a petrol car.

Just read my post again, oops bad English. 🤦 I meant of course that kitchen void can't be open to rest of house, we use a glass partition, other barriers are available 🙄

Me too. Chip also. Chip consistently pay best rates. Today they raised their instant access rate to 4.8% and also fscs protected.

Yes. I quite like the golden balls in the picture above. Here's a messy construction pic taken from hallway into kitchen. Dining table to go in void. Island will be off to the right. Small letter box window high above. (and our velux will be remote controlled)

We are building a void in our kitchen. Totally bonkers of course but adds some drama to an otehrwise boring space. Some would say its a waste of space that could have been an ensuite or something, but our dining table will sit in the void and we will be spending far more time at the dining table than in an en-suite bathroom. Its only 2m wide so not massive. The top of our void will have a vaulted ceiling with a velux in the roof to bring in some light and to give stack ventilation if the kitchen overheats. So some practicality too. I think building regs require that a void in the kitchen must be seperated by glass from the first floor. Its a fire regs thing that the kitchen is isolated I think. Ours will have a full height fixed glass pane where the void meets the first floor landing. So smells upstairs won't be an issue for us.

How much do you think the value of your house will increase over the next year? More than the 4.5 % you can get in interest? Or will it perhaps lose more value than the rent you could get? Exactly. Sell it.

I know absolutely nothing about plastering. Nothing at all, except that our build wil be wet plastered for the airtightness layer. But then a sales geezer who came onsite to talk about the roof build up said we should be using hardcoat as a base coat becasue it is more airtight than sand/cement. As far as I can see the hardcoat https://www.gyproc.ie/products-systems/products/gyproc-hard-coat is the same as the Hardwall product in GB but in Irealand its called hardcoat just to confuse everyone. The hardcoat looks like a gypsum based base coat. Should I be using this product? Any other plastering tips? Thanks to the plasterers on here for your help and advice...

... as well as increasing the cavity width, 200mm is very doable, don't let bricklayers install PIR insulation or it will be full of gaps. Blown bead is far easier to get right.