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Accredited Construction Details and Thermal Bridging


jen and mark

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Has anyone any experience on using ACDs when self building? The guidance says:

 

If the specification checklist is followed, the site manager then signs the sheet, and on completion the SAP assessor may use a better performing psi value for that junction.

 

As we do not have a site manager can we sign off ourselves? I realise that ACDs have now been archived, is there anything in its place?

 

What have others done to help increase SAP assessments where attention to thermal bridging is above the SAP default?

 

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When you are completed  and apply for the final sap assessment They will do it as built 

Meaning they will go off what you tell them 

Pretty meaningless really 

Edited by nod
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6 minutes ago, nod said:

When you are competed and apply for the final sap assessment They will do it as built 

Meaning they will go off what you tell them 

Pretty meaningless really 

 

Often the assessor will ask "Did you make any changes from the design stage assessment?"

You answer "No"

 

They will need your airtightness test and will then issue the final sap / epc.

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The trouble is we are not building off plans. Our designer became ill at the very early stages, with only vague wall build ups etc. It was enough to get us through the initial design EPC/Sap. Our building inspector is inspecting us through a building notice and this has been great and hit no problems so far - we have just replaced the roof and due to put windows in and become water tight in a couple of weeks.

 

As we are still early on I was thinking of completing the ACD and sending it to our assessor. Is this something I should do as we go along? Do I send specs. as I go along? Do I keep it all in a file and send it to our SAP assessor at the end?

Our assessor is online up north and we are in the midlands. He is very busy and although he answers key questions he is not very forth coming in contact other than sporadic emails. I'd hoped he would be a key source of information however, maybe my online (reasonable) fee does not include this 🤣

 

Sorry for the questions. It is a stick built steel barn conversion and we are feeling our way through this and very much reliant on knowledge from other self builders. It appears it is the fine details we do that makes our houses better than stock housing - time spent on thermal bridges, airtightness, extra insulation etc. I'm just not sure who to report it to for recognition 🤣

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6 minutes ago, jen and mark said:

The trouble is we are not building off plans. Our designer became ill at the very early stages, with only vague wall build ups etc. It was enough to get us through the initial design EPC/Sap. Our building inspector is inspecting us through a building notice and this has been great and hit no problems so far - we have just replaced the roof and due to put windows in and become water tight in a couple of weeks.

 

As we are still early on I was thinking of completing the ACD and sending it to our assessor. Is this something I should do as we go along? Do I send specs. as I go along? Do I keep it all in a file and send it to our SAP assessor at the end?

Our assessor is online up north and we are in the midlands. He is very busy and although he answers key questions he is not very forth coming in contact other than sporadic emails. I'd hoped he would be a key source of information however, maybe my online (reasonable) fee does not include this 🤣

 

Sorry for the questions. It is a stick built steel barn conversion and we are feeling our way through this and very much reliant on knowledge from other self builders. It appears it is the fine details we do that makes our houses better than stock housing - time spent on thermal bridges, airtightness, extra insulation etc. I'm just not sure who to report it to for recognition 🤣

We used to different Sap accessors on our last build 

There really isn’t a problem As P stated they only ask for what you can provide Window U values Boiler details PV if you have it 

All can be done over the phone at the end of your build 

 

 

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25 minutes ago, nod said:

We used to different Sap accessors on our last build 

There really isn’t a problem As P stated they only ask for what you can provide Window U values Boiler details PV if you have it 

All can be done over the phone at the end of your build 

 

 

Cheers - but.... I want to increase our EPC (currently B 85) and I thought the best way (as we have maxed out on solar, EC Charger, ASHP, UFH etc) is to enter PSI values for thermal breaks and to have an airtightness test - which, as a conversion do not have to have. As I am not an architect, could I still use the ACDs to show how we have mitigated the thermal breaks or do you have to hold the necessary qualifications? - it does say site manager can sign off.

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