CharlieKLP

wow that’s pretty rude. Kind of typical though.

I thought you said architects spend lots of cash? sorry if I misread that, but it looks like you said it to me.

I don’t really like her stuff either. If you’re hiring Zaha Hadid no wonder you think trained designers are a waste of money.

Well I’ve never seen a novice design a house that didn’t make me wince. Prove me wrong guys!

TEK would be the one for Passivehouse, Ultima is the standard frame. ultima is fine for most people and is better than BRegs. Ultima is between 0.15 and 0.13w/m2k depending on cladding. https://kingspantimbersolutions.co.uk/ultima-build-system/

No, I don’t think that’s true at all. Yes of course I’ve seen a lot of them being built. They also do open days if you want to see one in construction, they are doing a few of mine right now. They are good quality. You mean when they were bought by kingspan? Like +50 years ago? That’s a long memory lol. not sure what you’re talking about, artistic design sensibilities? No I just don’t think you need to live the passive house lifestyle to get a nice house. you can get exactly the same design from sips as standard timber frame, the difference is cost. I don’t find a passive house any more pleasant than Ultima and it’s still well above building regs. To me it’s like buying the latest mobile phone, not really worth it unless you’re a show off with money to burn.

Yes. Not sure where you got this information from. The insulation of a standard frame was always above the building regulations and was recently improved. Standard ultima is 0.13W/mkU. That’s above BR isn’t it. Seems fine to me but choose your own adventure. of course you get better if you pay for it lol, isn’t that a given? I wouldn’t get TeK anyway, passive house is overrated.

I need some fresh newspaper in my cage when you have a moment btw

Yes I see loads of them. Did you get a bad one or something?

If you want to use timber frame with Potton, use your own architect and ask for ‘frame only’ as it’s cheaper, no need to pay two design fees. You will get a kingspan insulated frame which I consider the best value for money. I don’t adhere to the ‘oh architects spend your money and ruin your design with their input’ slander, simply not true. a good architect will improve your design and help you avoid costly build errors. People who say this are know it all’s. @SarahG £2800per sqm is actually a very high build cost.

Over your dining table, you have about 5m span of brickwork that will need to be supported. How are you doing that.

I’d leave them off, you don’t want to make the site look overdeveloped. Even a greenhouse usually looks like a big black box in plan, so it’s not helping your case.

The only reason I’ve ever recommended one is when a customer wouldn’t listen to me that they wouldn’t get planning. I mainly did it so they would go away. in terms of cost you get far more for much cheaper by putting something half decent and considered in for full planning. the planners give you feedback, and probably a free go anyway, so why wouldn’t you just go in for that? Preplanning gives you zero confirmation of anything really, maybe points you towards relevant policies but I can find those for you as a layman.

I don't think you can do better than your first one, even just as a notional sketch. However, its down to the client, and the context. What are you after @hinge and bracket?

Also, I don’t know how anyone can design without seeing the context, it’s so tricky.