first time self build

[ProDave]

32 minutes ago, Bitpipe said:

IWhen our house was being finished off in May 2016 - it  was quite warm & there were a lot of trades here (plumbing, electrics & decorators). One day they complained about the heat and had every door and window open. Obviously this was just letting the warm air from outside in. We ventilated the house that night to fill the house with cool air and then kept every door and window closed and ran the MVHR on summer bypass - they were amazed at the difference - ouse stayed pleasantly cool all day, even with regular comings and goings.

 

With or without mvhr some people cannot grasp that when it is very hot outside and slightly hot inside, the last thing you want to do is open the doors and windows as that will just let the heat in quicker.  A battle I used to have, and lose often when I lived down south and we got a summer heatwave.

 

25 degrees passes for a heatwave up here.

 

A few weeks back however we discovered a quirk of a "night purge" with mvhr.  We had a few hot days so had the bathroom and bedroom windows open just a crack on their ventilation setting.  I noted the bathroom was cooling down quickly but the bedrooms were not. So I investigated.  If you went up to the bathroom window, you could feel cool outside air being drawn in, but not at the bedroom windows.  Then the penny dropped.

 

The bedrooms have mvhr supply air fed into them, so can be considered to be at slightly positive pressure. So opening the windows just a crack, resulted in room air being pushed out, not cold air drawn in.  But the bathroom has an mvhr extract, so can be considered to be at a slight negative pressure, so open it's window a crack, and it draws cool air in easily.

 

You either turn the mvhr off for a night purge, or open the windows wider.

[newhome]

1 minute ago, ProDave said:

the last thing you want to do is open the doors and windows as that will just let the heat in quicker.

 

And bloody bugs and flies! That's the main reason for me keeping the doors etc shut here TBH. Leave them open for 30 mins and I seem to get a swarm of flying insects making a beeline for the house! 

 

[Alexphd1]

For a intro post you fairly get the locals on here going, well done? 

 

I managed to waggle a trade account with one of the suppliers quick check you could do a decent spec (silencers etc) system for around 1700 plus vat and mvhr is certainly something you can DIY install there is even some tools shared on here to help with commissioning the system.

 

Edited May 25, 2019 by Alexphd1

[selfbuildaberdeen]

5 minutes ago, Alexphd1 said:

For a intro post you fairly get the locals on here going, well done? 

 

I managed to waggle a trade account with one of the suppliers quick check you could do a decent spec (silencers etc) system for around 1700 plus vat and mvhr is certainly something you can DIY install there is even some tools shared on here to help with commissioning the system.

 

For a post that wasn't even about MVHR or asking any advice I feel I have ruffled a few feathers...

How did you go about getting your trade account if you dont mind me asking?

[Jeremy Harris]

9 minutes ago, selfbuildaberdeen said:

How did you go about getting your trade account if you dont mind me asking?

 

FWIW, I found (by chance, from a very helpful chap at our local independent builders merchant) that we didn't really want a trade account.  He advised that I'd be better having a cash account, where I paid cash with order for anything.  The logic is that a trade account usually provides 30 days free credit, so the BMs load the cost of that credit on to their trade account prices.  A cash account gave better prices, as the BM didn't have to provide us with credit.  As we were using our own money for the build, and as interest rates on savings were almost non-existent, it made more sense to pay cash with order and get better prices.

 

As another tip, I found that we got much better service, and prices, from our local independent BM.  They tried hard to match the best price I got from anywhere, even online, and they had the advantage over online suppliers in that they had very good drivers, who'd take the time to drop stuff exactly where we needed it on site (very useful on a congested site).

[selfbuildaberdeen]

2 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

 

FWIW, I found (by chance, from a very helpful chap at our local independent builders merchant) that we didn't really want a trade account.  He advised that I'd be better having a cash account, where I paid cash with order for anything.  The logic is that a trade account usually provides 30 days free credit, so the BMs load the cost of that credit on to their trade account prices.  A cash account gave better prices, as the BM didn't have to provide us with credit.  As we were using our own money for the build, and as interest rates on savings were almost non-existent, it made more sense to pay cash with order and get better prices.

 

As another tip, I found that we got much better service, and prices, from our local independent BM.  They tried hard to match the best price I got from anywhere, even online, and they had the advantage over online suppliers in that they had very good drivers, who'd take the time to drop stuff exactly where we needed it on site (very useful on a congested site).

Very useful advice thank you very much!

[Onoff]

9 minutes ago, selfbuildaberdeen said:

For a post that wasn't even about MVHR or asking any advice I feel I have ruffled a few feathers...

 

Welcome. It's good here, honest! 

 

To add my twopence worth. I dont live in a passive spec house & don't have MVHR. I WOULD though in a heartbeat. 

 

I've only visited one build here that's super airtight but that was pre the MVHR being commissioned from memory. The ducting was in place so there was some throughput of fresh air. This at the same time as being super insulated/warm and super quiet. It just felt right.

 

Come back to this:

 

"You only pay for insulation once, you pay for "fuel" forever". 

 

To not set out to achieve the best air tightness possible on a new self build is utter madness. All those little holes add up in terms of heat loss aside from comfort issues.

 

Maybe visit a build or two locally with the MVHR up and running.

 

I wish SWMBO here understood the "fabric first" concept. Just put together £500 worth of IKEA wardrobes and a new carpet. The failing flat roof above is crying out for attention. She wasn't overly impressed when I said we should have spent the money on roofing felt.

[newhome]

@selfbuildaberdeen your post count has grown quite rapidly  and you now have enough posts to see the VAT sub forum. As a distraction from MVHR  you may want to take some time to read through the forum guide to the VAT reclaim process to ensure that you get yourself off to a flying start when the invoices start arriving. There can be a few quirky things in relation to the VAT rules so best to know what you can and can't claim for, and what can be zero rated from the get go to avoid paying VAT where you don't need to. 

 

Guide to the VAT reclaim process

[selfbuildaberdeen]

3 minutes ago, Onoff said:

 

Welcome. It's good here, honest! 

 

To add my twopence worth. I dont live in a passive spec house & don't have MVHR. I WOULD though in a heartbeat. 

 

I've only visited one build here that's super airtight but that was pre the MVHR being commissioned from memory. The ducting was in place so there was some throughput of fresh air. This at the same time as being super insulated/warm and super quiet. It just felt right.

 

Come back to this:

 

"You only pay for insulation once, you pay for "fuel" forever". 

 

To not set out to achieve the best air tightness possible on a new self build is utter madness. All those little holes add up in terms of heat loss aside from comfort issues.

 

Maybe visit a build or two locally with the MVHR up and running.

 

I wish SWMBO here understood the "fabric first" concept. Just put together £500 worth of IKEA wardrobes and a new carpet. The failing flat roof above is crying out for attention. She wasn't overly impressed when I said we should have spent the money on roofing felt.

Yeah as I have already mentioned we did have one specd in, visited multiple builds with one, felt the difference as soon as we walked in and then still removed it from our plans.

Its just not for us im afraid.

[selfbuildaberdeen]

1 minute ago, newhome said:

@selfbuildaberdeen your post count has grown quite rapidly  and you now have enough posts to see the VAT sub forum. As a distraction from MVHR  you may want to take some time to read through the forum guide to the VAT reclaim process to ensure that you get yourself off to a flying start when the invoices start arriving. There can be a few quirky things in relation to the VAT rules so best to know what you can and can't claim for, and what can be zero rated from the get go to avoid paying VAT where you don't need to. 

 

Guide to the VAT reclaim process

I will greatly appreciate a change in topic!!

Thank you very much for letting me know. VAT I am lead to believe is a mine field and something I am not very clued up on so this sounds good ?

[Alexphd1]

Sorry it was a cash trade account, no credit.  We also use this set up at the build merchants who also accept amex, lots of air miles have been earned. We have found a few suppliers happy to set up these accounts with very little questions. 

[newhome]

1 minute ago, selfbuildaberdeen said:

VAT I am lead to believe is a mine field and something I am not very clued up on so this sounds good

 

It's not really a minefield although it can seem that way if you don't know the rules. Don't expect all builders to know them either! Amazing how many VAT registered builders will charge you VAT when they shouldn't, or order things in their name for you to pay for that results in you not being able to claim the VAT back. Understanding how it should work can pay dividends later. There are at least a couple of things that I didn't realise that I could do personally that meant that I overpaid VAT. 

 

 

[Ferdinand]

1 hour ago, selfbuildaberdeen said:

For a post that wasn't even about MVHR or asking any advice I feel I have ruffled a few feathers...

How did you go about getting your trade account if you dont mind me asking?

 

Ruffling feathers is good.

[Onoff]

Less dusting with MVHR! 

 

What are your ventilation plans out of interest?

Edited May 25, 2019 by Onoff

[selfbuildaberdeen]

3 minutes ago, Onoff said:

Less dusting with MVHR! 

 

What are your ventilation plans out of interest?

Yes that was one thing I did notice in the houses to! Much better for allergy suffers I imagine.

Looking at trickle vents on the windows, extractors in the kitchen/bathrooms etc

[Jeremy Harris]

2 minutes ago, Onoff said:

Less dusting with MVHR! 

 

What are your ventilation plans out of interest?

 

With no MVHR then trickle vents on all windows plus extraction fans and ducting in the kitchen, utility, WC and bathrooms would be required, I believe, in order to meet the minimum ventilation rates in those rooms.  TBH, the cost of the extraction fans and ducting would be probably a fair proportion of the cost of fitting MVHR, plus there would be no saving in heating bills.

[Onoff]

6 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

 

With no MVHR then trickle vents on all windows plus extraction fans and ducting in the kitchen, utility, WC and bathrooms would be required, I believe, in order to meet the minimum ventilation rates in those rooms.  TBH, the cost of the extraction fans and ducting would be probably a fair proportion of the cost of fitting MVHR, plus there would be no saving in heating bills.

 

You can lead a horse etc ?