G and J Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Hello everyone. We are Geoff and Julia and Teddy the spoilt poodle. We have just this week received planning permission to demolish a 1920s bungalow and build a modest partly two storey house in Suffolk, about 7 miles from where we currently live. We built the house we now live in in 1991, doing as much as we could ourselves to make it economically viable. We’ve renovated other properties since to sort of keep our hand in, but we do notice just how quick the pace of change now is in building technology. We are intending to do absolutely nothing unusual or state of the art; we don’t need the stress and in reality we are very happy with what is the norm for nicely built modern houses. We are hoping this will be our forever home (we’re both retired) so we want it low maintenance too. It’s looking like we will be stick built on site due to cost and site access restrictions (narrow site, houses very, very close by on each side, aerial cables across the drive and above the front single storey bit). We will have an air source heat pump half way down the garden; that will run underfloor heating and a nice big domestic hot water tank; we want a wood burner (ridiculously dusty but it’s what we love - but not sure it’s sensible); mechanical ventilation with heat recovery; solar panels which also heat the hot water when there’s spare juice; space for batteries when they become economically attractive; and at the end of the 130 foot garden there will be a work area and shed (ok, a bit of a luxury man cave but hey, we all have our foibles). We are aware there is so much we don’t know, and the scary bit is that there be lots of things we aren’t aware of that we don’t know, hence our membership here. We’ve already gleaned much valuable info from the hub, and we look forward to learning tons more. And if we can help by sharing our stuff, we happily will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Welcome. A good introduction, and not overambitious. Think about thermal performance a lot and how to deal with it. There are loads of answers on here about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 12 hours ago, G and J said: air source heat pump half way down the garden Welcome @G and J. Most of us stay fairly anonymous on here. I don't want builders or robbers seeing what might be on site and where it is, or perhaps building inspectors reading of our discussions and doubts. So, please can I ask the first awkward question? Why would the ashp be half way down the garden? There is a lot of potential heat loss as the pipes travel from the pump to the innards in the house. There is fancy insulation available but it is crazily expensive. Pumps are not necessarily noisy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 Welcome to THE forum for people like us - good luck, we stick built our frame under the careful instruction of our Structural Engineer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G and J Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 We have only 1m between us and our neighbour on one side and 1.5m on the other. Other possible places for an ASHP are on the patio behind our big glass doors (not pretty even if it runs only sometimes in good weather) or in front of the front door. I wanted it at the bottom of the garden next to my cave but was convinced to put it halfway instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G and J Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 I thought I was quoting your post in my reply saveasteading. I guess I’ve got to learn how to use this forum first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G and J Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 Just now, G and J said: I thought I was quoting your post in my reply saveasteading. I guess I’ve got to learn how to use this forum first! Just sussed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G and J Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 50 minutes ago, MikeSharp01 said: Welcome to THE forum for people like us - good luck, we stick built our frame under the careful instruction of our Structural Engineer. We built meaning you and another person? Literally non professionals building the frame and putting the sheathing on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadnaught Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 Welcome @G and J. I am across the border in Cambridgeshire and have a brother soon to be rebuilding anew in Suffolk near Beccles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 2 hours ago, G and J said: Just sussed it. It's well worth using the quote feature or flagging like @G and J because that party will see it. I must miss a lot if it hasn't been discussed by the members I follow (for various reasons) Do look into having exceptional insulation or you will lose a large proportion of the heat produced. I've found plumbers to be lax on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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