YouTube channels and playlists

[Square Feet]

I've recently found this guy who does EV battery installs in domestic projects.  I'm going to do the same on my build so it's very interesting to see how he does it, which EV batteries work best and how much it all costs. He is English, from Shrewsbury or somewhere like that I think so it's helpful for me that he is speaking in pounds and pence and UK regs.

 

[JohnMo]

I would place it well away from house, not sure how your house insurance would react to a house fire caused by self install car battery to house using YouTube instructions?

 

Is the price savings even worth the effort these days, plenty of cheap battery setups available.

[Square Feet]

6 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

I would place it well away from house, not sure how your house insurance would react to a house fire caused by self install car battery to house using YouTube instructions?

 

Is the price savings even worth the effort these days, plenty of cheap battery setups available.

Yeah mine is going to be in a separate building. 

[Square Feet]

I've been watching this playlist by Buildhubber @CJO on how they prepped and built their passive slab using Isoquick.  It's really well put together and very well explained. The methods may not be universal but I have a lot more confidence that I understand the process and how to go about it now. 

(I tried to link to the whole playlist but it just takes you straight to the most recent video which is annoying.  Here's the first one of three - I'll link to the others individually below). 

 

 

 

[Gus Potter]

2 hours ago, Square Feet said:

I've been watching this playlist by Buildhubber

These type of videos are always good to watch, informative. 

 

As a designer I see stuff that makes my hair curl a bit, I've not got that much left mind. Their rebar is a bit of a disaster for example. Anyway I'm not going to point out where they have made life hard for themselves and by the looks of things paid for something that has not actually been delivered on site. It looks like they are happy folk so leave it at that. 

 

This is key to good design in the self build market is.. keep it simple so you don't end up paying for something that does not serve it's intended purpose as a result of it not getting delivered on site. 

 

The positioning of their UFH pipes at the underside of the structural slab is "innovative". I would tend to put the UFH pipe towards the top of the slab as it reduces the response time not least. 

 

The Isoquick is one effective solution. But if you are doing a full hands on self build then I would look at other options where you use standard insulation, be that PIR or EPS. As a kind of hands on SE I like the flexibility it gives you on site, especially around openings or where you may have high point or line loads. Here, if hands on self build we would look at cash flow, maybe it's best to pay as little as you can for the materials that are easily sourced from a local merchant as your labour is "freeish"? 

 

"Raft" type foundations are fascinating things to design..there are many permutations, some are generically described on BH as rafts.. but they are actually not. 

 

From time to time I'll sit down with a Client and design from the ground up and explain in terms they can understand what I'm doing as a designer and it gives them a feel for the ground and how the structure works from there up. This allows them to make informed choices. 

 

The decisions you make on the ground, foundations translate all the way up though the structure. I really enjoy this process as it triggers the enjoyment I get from teaching. You see a light bulb coming on in the Clients heads where they see the jigsaw coming together, I see their confidence building.

 

It doesn't matter if the Client has never done a self build before or if they have technical knowledge. I always start with a "refresher course" as it helps the Client and I explore our technical ability, our strong and weak points. The door swings both ways here. I don't know everything!

 

As I've said before. If you set up your build well and find the right designer for you it is hugely rewarding for both.

 

Of course there will always be issues on site.. hiccups all the way to what seems like a disaster! .. but if you plan well you can often avoid the worst. Even if something "bad" does happen then if you have spent time with a helpful designer then you can phone a friend and also use the skills they have taught you to find a work around. 

 

@Square Feet Keep researching!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Monday at 22:16 by Gus Potter

[JohnMo]

We explored passive raft type, but went for something ground workers around us are used to doing. Zero novelty, zero learning. Labour becomes cheap they don't need much steering in the right direction. We went ground bearing slab, all bog standard structural engineer stuff. Then paid attention to eliminate any cold bridges and had that added into the design by the structural engineer.

 

Just keep it simple, do what is normal for your area, then pay attention to detail, but make sure you understand the heat flows, making sure any cross section, in any direction, has no gaps (cold bridges).

 

YouTube videos can be good, I watch loads, but plenty are utter nonsense. But a better source of information is Passivhaus.

[Gone West]

10 hours ago, Square Feet said:

how they prepped and built their passive slab using Isoquick

We were the first Isoquick installation in England, sixteen years ago. The Isoquick part was very straightforward, unfortunately the concrete laying didn't go to plan.

[Square Feet]

On 22/06/2026 at 22:56, Gus Potter said:

@Square Feet Keep researching!

Don't worry Gus - I am just window shopping at the moment - any decisions on things like this will be taken after getting your advice of course, but - when we discuss it now I will have a better idea what you mean and something to compare it to. Every day's a school day. 

[-rick-]

On 22/06/2026 at 22:56, Gus Potter said:

The positioning of their UFH pipes at the underside of the structural slab is "innovative". I would tend to put the UFH pipe towards the top of the slab as it reduces the response time not least. 

 

This has been quite commonly done by people on this forum building highly insulated homes. Idea being you design the home to be a stable temperature and the slow response can be used to your advantage by loading in the heat when it's cheapest and letting the floor buffer the output over the day.

 

Putting coils anywhere in a 150mm+ slab is not going to lead to a fast response anyway (need a insulated screed for that) so burying the pipes lower also minimises the chance of damage later and debatably is easier to install.

 

I can't remember all the arguments for this method made by others off-hand, but do know that after reading thoroughly here I'd been persuaded that I'd likely go that way if/when I come do this. (dependent on installation sequencing).

[Gus Potter]

9 hours ago, -rick- said:

This has been quite commonly done by people on this forum building highly insulated homes. Idea being you design the home to be a stable temperature and the slow response can be used to your advantage by loading in the heat when it's cheapest and letting the floor buffer the output over the day.

 

Putting coils anywhere in a 150mm+ slab is not going to lead to a fast response anyway (need a insulated screed for that) so burying the pipes lower also minimises the chance of damage later and debatably is easier to install.

 

I can't remember all the arguments for this method made by others off-hand, but do know that after reading thoroughly here I'd been persuaded that I'd likely go that way if/when I come do this. (dependent on installation sequencing).

Hi Rick.

 

You make good points here. A common thing on BH is that folk split design into packages to try and get a handle on the build cost. But this is not the most efficient way to design or execute a design. Design needs to be holistic.. and that is the dilemma that Build Hubbers often face. You'll often see folk on BH discussing insulated raft concrete structural slabs (passive or otherwise) thickness and worrying about the slab say being 50mm thicker. It understandable as no one takes the time to explain the cost benefit of using a thicker concrete slab. 

 

As an SE and designer when considering a self build and the constraints about say getting a builder that can follow a drawing I often start by selecting say a 200 - 250mm slab. What I'm often doing here is to avoid local thickening of the slab, different levels of sub base, doing funny stuff with the DPC / possibly gas membranes etc where we may have line loads from internal load bearing walls.

 

I always start with the simplest and stupid design option, even though this may seem counter intuitive. To get best thermal performance we want to see if we can have an even thickness of slab as it gives us the best chance on site of actually delivering what we have designed. Good thermal performance requires good workmanship and attention to detail also.. so let's not make the workmanship element too hard? 

 

Now if we opt for a slightly thicker concrete slab it lets the SE add rebar easily in the bottom of the slab to take the line and point loads from say internal load bearing walls. But if we then put the UFH pipes in the same bottom slab zone is impacts on the rebar bond strength and makes it hard  to install the UFH pipes. It all gets really congested and that leads to you paying for something that is not likely to get delivered on site. That leads to disputes.. which we want to avoid.. self building should be fun!

 

One reason I start out with the simple stupid option is that it lets the Client see and opt for it, yes there is some compromise.. but then we look at more complex stuff and compare costs as we have the simple option as a benchmark.

 

But to finish your observation is correct.. ish. But I know from experience that having designed and installed UFH heating in my own houses for decades is that if you put the UFH pipes in the top of the slab the response time is less than if the UFH pipes are in the bottom. In some ways it's a moot point when you look at all the other practical plus points that go with buildability.

 

The easier it is to build the less the cost.  But being easy to build, if well thought out does not mean we need to compromise on thermal performance or quality for example.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 10 hours ago by Gus Potter

[saveasteading]

9 hours ago, Gus Potter said:

Design needs to be holistic

That's fundamental to me.

Followed by the kiss principle because most (?) trades are not as skilled as they think they are, and can't handle anything out of the ordinary.

 

I also like the principle of one trade at a time and gradually working to more accuracy as the building emerges....I mean look for total accuracy but expect less.

 

Thus I prefer to avoid ufh pipes in a structural slab. Get the heavies to pour the slab, then insulate and screed much later.

 

[ToughButterCup]

11 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

......trades [...]  can't handle anything out of the ordinary...

 

 

Thats the one big lesson for self building