SBMS

Have you considered seniors? We looked at smarts but seniors looked better, lower u values and similar price.

What aluminium doors/windows you getting out of interest?

Here is ours. We specifically wanted a mix of red and a bit of buff but not something too modern. Weinerberger Hathaway brindled -71p per brick too!

Are you doing a level threshold? Can you change your facing bricks for thermalite or marmox at the top?

Got you so your threshold sits proud of the thermolite basically by depth of your finished flooring (tiles + adhesive)?

I get you. Your track doesn’t look 215mm deep though so what did you do behind that bit where your screed went?

Does that mean your track sat on a 430mm threshold? How did you get the upstand to butt up against the track - was there not a drop behind the track and the thermalite?

100mm PIR is a poor u value (especially with ufh) and we are aiming to exceed building regs which in itself sets fairly low standards. My primary aim is to minimise thermal bridging across the cavity on the thresholds so less about the overall U value and more about minimising bridging. What makes you say a 7N block is required below dpc??

Is that 2x100mm thermolite on top of each other lengthways (ie total ‘height’ of 200mm)?

We had the same issue and we did find it was too difficult to ventilate a cellulose filled cold roof. But we did have a parapet wall which really made things more difficult. In the end warm roof construction was much more simple in my view.

That’s a good catch yes. Think a lightweight thermalite block is 0.15 thermal conducrivity so around three times more conductive. @JohnMo do you have a detailing you could share? Did you put the block ‘side on’ so it was 100m deep, sit your track on it, pir upstand next to the track and then screed up to the block? Ie the same as nick’s brewdog powered drawing but swapping the marmox for insulite? I’ve got quite a few openings so it’s looking like £850 in total For marmox and that’s what I’m trying to weigh up whether it’s worth the additional cost.

@JohnMo I did consider this. The u value of a thermalite block is about 0.18 and thermoblock is 0.05 so about 3.6x more resistant. But to be honest I have no idea how this translates into real world thermal bridging?? Our current build, the cavity was filled with concrete and you can definitely feel the cold on the floor next to the door threshold. But the thermal resistance of concrete I read was around 0.56 so thermoblock is 10x better and thermalite would be around 3x better. Is it worth it?

Thanks Nick. Makes sense I forgot about the screed but in my defence im into a few pints of Spanish lager.

Ah good point. It’s a 75mm screed but then the track will sit slightly lower as the screed runs nearly level With the top of the track. Are You suggesting that the marmox needs to sit into the PIR and therefore be at least lower than the bottom of the screed?

Am considering using marmox on our door thresholds as others have suggested to minimise thermal bridges. We are doing 180mm PIR that will butt up to marmox thermoblock. Our sliding doors track/bifolds and door cills will sit on the thermoblock. question is: marmox do a 65mm deep block and a 100mm deep block. How would I go about judging whether the 65mm or 100mm block is preferable/ worth the cost difference?

Yes it does for self builders only.

The comments relating to the heat loss and UFH being sufficient to heat upstairs… I think it comes down to what tool the installer is using for the heat loss calculations and whether that tool forces the installer down the route of doing it room by room or not. if asked to evidence heat loss the installer will produce the results of their tool. If tool doesn’t do what we want (ie capacity of GF UFH to heat whole house) then what you are actually asking for is for the installer to source or use a different tool. that’s the issue as I see it.

This is the real sticking point for us with the installer. I know that the UFH downstairs can output more than enough to heat the first and probably second floors. However, it appears that MCS design looks on a room by room basis and as @JohnMo states, each habitable room must have its own heat source. Even if the likelihood is it will be turned off and heated from below, it doesn't appear a room can 'borrow' the heat output from an adjacent or elsewhere emitter, under MCS Sizing Guidance.

Brick and block for us! Nothing stopping you achieving high levels of performance. Readily available trades. No huge upfront deposit and financial risk. Lower cost. Similar timeframes once factoring in design and lead times. Big mass for thermal retention.

My understanding is that a deemed discharge is designed to operate in the event the LA don’t respond. Therefore once the date has passed you can proceed. that being said I would be really nervous without a planning consultant confirming all this - making sure there are no exemptions etc And the notice is definitely valid!

That’s a good price. Was this recent and a contractor price?

How are your quotes coming out?

Our garage per sqm is coming out roughly 1/3 of the estimated sqm price of house (not finished though so could go awry).

This makeup as well with steico boards as sarking. And propassiv inside for air tightness and vapour permeability. Note that the timber rafters are the posi rafters.

You will struggle to get a good value with attic trusses without using PIR - which I wouldn’t. Posi rafters will go right to your wallplate you don’t even need a dwarf wall if you don’t want. You can do a 304mm posi rafter and blown cellulose insulation. That’s my makeup for our habitable attic rooms: