I'm Steve a one time only self builder planning for the quiet life in West Wales

[The Reverend]

I have worked for our local Council as a tree inspector and Japanese Knotweed adviser and treatment coordinator in the Housing Department also dealing with boundary issues but now nearing retirement.

Claire and I started looking for land 4 years ago and picked up a corner plot in a quiet village near the Preseli hills, thankfully not in Pembrokeshire national Park.

We have a budget of £250k for the build and 3 years along the road with planning permission taking 18 months but it's a difficult site to develop due to seasonal springs, high water table, split level and made-up ground.

Wish us luck because we will need it.

 

Going for a Hemp build with MVHR 4Kw air sourced heat pump, and underfloor heating. Solar and battery was planned but as other costs increase some of the 'would like' things are being crossed off the list. The log burner was crossed off yesterday after reading this forum.

I hope I can contribute to the forum and share what knowledge I have as well as learn from your experiences.

[MikeSharp01]

Welcome to THE forum, not that much of an echo chamber, for people like us - looks like a grand plan.

[SteamyTea]

Welcome.

Your advice on trees and knotweed will be useful.

 

Rethink the PV.  Infact, design the roof around it.  With roof integrated, it need not cost any more than tiling/slating.

[markc]

Good morning and welcome

[nod]

Don’t be to quick to cross off a log burner We installed one in our build and will in our current build 

Five years on we are still using the trees we cut down when clearing our first plot 

Free heating for the very cold months 

Much nicer than sitting in front of a radiator 😁

[Dave Jones]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

Welcome.

Your advice on trees and knotweed will be useful.

 

Rethink the PV.  Infact, design the roof around it.  With roof integrated, it need not cost any more than tiling/slating.

 

one of the few occasions ST is correct!

[Dave Jones]

why hemp build ? Creating a headache and cost right off the bat. Excellent insulation levels can be achieved much more cost effectively with normal traditional build types. Save the money for elsewhere!

[SteamyTea]

1 minute ago, Dave Jones said:

one of the few occasions ST is correct!

More correction than a strict matron. 

[joe90]

Good morning and a very warm welcome to THE self build forum, I originally wanted to build in straw bales but came round to brick and block and I am now glad I did. I too have a woodstove and would not be without one, I also have a 4kW ASHP and MVHR. Best of luck with this and ask away about things, remember there is no such thing as a stupid question, stupid is not asking (and we have all been there). 👍

[Pocster]

I’d say go for the things that ultimately will save you money long term .

Lots of insulation , pv , ASHP , ufh 

 

If funds permit ; battery and EV ( depending on your requirements )

 

Everyone loves toys 🧸 !

[Iceverge]

Welcome, a mate is building with hemp/timber frame at the moment. 

 

Materials are about 5 times € vs dense blocks and EPS beads.

 

It is much nicer to work with however and environmentally more sound. 

 

 

[SteamyTea]

11 minutes ago, Iceverge said:

environmentally more sound. 

Without some data that is a hard one to know for sure. Intuitively one thinks it should be, reality, and nature, cannot be fooled though.

[Iceverge]

 

2 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Without some data that is a hard one to know for sure. Intuitively one thinks it should be, reality, and nature, cannot be fooled though.

 

There is the land use case re growing Hemp and other considerations. 

 

What I should have pointed to was the lower greenhouse gas emissions over a lifetime than concrete.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271608819_Life_cycle_greenhouse_gas_emissions_of_hemp-lime_wall_constructions_in_the_UK

 

[Nickfromwales]

Bonjour! 

[SteamyTea]

1 hour ago, Iceverge said:

 

 

There is the land use case re growing Hemp and other considerations. 

 

What I should have pointed to was the lower greenhouse gas emissions over a lifetime than concrete.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271608819_Life_cycle_greenhouse_gas_emissions_of_hemp-lime_wall_constructions_in_the_UK

 

Do you have access to the full text?

Looks like an interesting read.

[The Reverend]

7 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

Welcome.

Your advice on trees and knotweed will be useful.

 

Rethink the PV.  Infact, design the roof around it.  With roof integrated, it need not cost any more than tiling/slating.

Hi, we wanted a standing seam roof and priced in a zinc roof but Covid and the timber/energy hikes have put that out of reach so ended up with coated steel. Definitely want solar but the budget is so tight that as things get more expensive other things get dropped. Some of the windows are now fixed glazing and Oak floors will be replaced with stone tiles. We are having to be very pragmatic with choices.

[The Reverend]

6 hours ago, Dave Jones said:

why hemp build ? Creating a headache and cost right off the bat. Excellent insulation levels can be achieved much more cost effectively with normal traditional build types. Save the money for elsewhere!

Working in Housing Development for the local Council I see a lot of older housing sites being cleared for new homes and the waste is horrible. The plastics and foam are sent to land fill or incinerated and I don't want to leave that mess for our children to deal with in the future. Since the start of the incinerator in Cardiff a new brown.orange layer hangs over the city and especially visible in the late evening. Even on the new new builds the amount of waste is huge with skips full of cut bricks and blocks all of which represent waste energy and mineral resources.

With Hemp if you spill some you just put it the next mix so no waste.😊

[The Reverend]

2 hours ago, Iceverge said:

Welcome, a mate is building with hemp/timber frame at the moment. ✔

 

Materials are about 5 times € vs dense blocks and EPS beads.

My neighbours has built a large extension and must have a pallet of cut blocks that will just be used as hard core. Don't forget the savings on air-tightness and no cavity wall insulation. Plus you get a saving on thermal mass and no mold or condensation to deal with, it all adds up.

[SteamyTea]

12 minutes ago, The Reverend said:

Since the start of the incinerator in Cardiff a new brown.orange layer hands over the city and especially visible in the late evening

Nothing to do with the dirty electricity generation in South Wales then.

https://carbonintensity.org.uk/

Edited May 7, 2023 by SteamyTea

[joe90]

4 minutes ago, The Reverend said:

Plus you get a saving on thermal mass

As a new person you will not be aware of the “thermal mass” debates here 🤯, no such thing (but we all know what you mean), just warning you in case…….

[Nickfromwales]

7 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Nothing to do with the dirty electricity generation in South Wales then.

https://carbonintensity.org.uk/

 

They keep all the best things for the English......even our bikes have square wheels.

[MikeSharp01]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

2 hours ago, Iceverge said:

Expand  

Do you have access to the full text?

Looks like an interesting read.

It's research gate so usually open. Source but in this case you need to pop the title into Google and you can find a copy to read by the looks of it.

[SteamyTea]

46 minutes ago, MikeSharp01 said:

Google and you can find a copy to read by the looks of it.

Got it, thanks 

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344912001620#:~:text=Further carbon sequestration by lime,the storage of greenhouse gases.

[joe90]

I found this interesting….

 

[The Reverend]

5 hours ago, joe90 said:

As a new person you will not be aware of the “thermal mass” debates here 🤯, no such thing (but we all know what you mean), just warning you in case…….

What you need is a study and it just happens that I have one from Buildings research Establishment😉 the walls at Haverhill were 200mm and today I think the norm is 350mm.HempHousesatHaverhillfinal.pdfHempHousesatHaverhillfinal.pdf