Live self-Builds - mod warning in post no. 1

muffler

brendan_donegal wrote: »

Any tips on getting tradesmen to turn up, thought this was a thing of the past but the guys I use seem to be well in demand, with the good weather nobody wants to work inside, I'm 3 weeks behind, work has come to a stand still, so frustrating

Dont pay them anything until the have their job fully completed.

sas

brendan_donegal wrote: »

Any tips on getting tradesmen to turn up, thought this was a thing of the past but the guys I use seem to be well in demand, with the good weather nobody wants to work inside, I'm 3 weeks behind, work has come to a stand still, so frustrating

I had very similar experience in the early days on my build. Good trademen are still somewhat busy, certainly in the current weather.

It's frustrating I'm sure but once they do a good job for you and you are in, these things will matter alot less.

I started to hate our build over the last few months. Then our kitchen and tiling went in this week and I can't wait to get in. It's gone from being an entirely bad experience to very much been worth it.

about2build

Started clearing site two days ago guys so I guess I am now 'live', should change my moniker from about2build to building Thanks to all on here who helped to this point and i'm sure much more help will be required. starting Digging out on Tuesday so interesting to see what foot print will be like

just do it

about2build wrote: »

Started clearing site two days ago guys so I guess I am now 'live', should change my moniker from about2build to building Thanks to all on here who helped to this point and i'm sure much more help will be required. starting Digging out on Tuesday so interesting to see what foot print will be like

Good luck with the build:D;)

iceax

Hi all , Just started my new build , No doubt i will be on here soon asking some daft questions. Dug and poured the foundations on day 1 all 29m3 ,
" not so bad for day1"

muffler

iceax wrote: »

Hi all , Just started my new build , No doubt i will be on here soon asking some daft questions. Dug and poured the foundations on day 1 all 29m3 ,
" not so bad for day1"

Keep us updated as you go along especially on any problems encountered, prices, do's & dont's, general tips etc etc. Its always nice to get feedback that others can read up on.

Best of luck with the new build

fclauson

Just a quick update - have not posted anything on progress - but we are underway - up to wall plate almost

for those not aware we are building a close to passive 250mm full fill cav with regular block - PHPP demand of around the 15 to 17 kWh /M2 - the dry weather has allowed the block folks to really crack on - they allowed for 2 weeks of rain in the plan and so far :eek: it has not come

Heating system will be HP GSHP only (not SP) and some PV to augment

DEAP BER rating - good question - A2 to B1 depending and might comply or not comply with Part L -read my artical in Consxxxxt Irexxxd to see how much nonsense it is for my build

Windows will be 3G with a hight G value of about 62% (see my other post on importance of G value)

Foundation was a strip with thermal broken rising walls (thanks to BP for his help on this)

happy to take any Qs via PM if people want more detail on anything

just do it

fclauson wrote: »

Just a quick update - have not posted anything on progress - but we are underway - up to wall plate almost

for those not aware we are building a close to passive 250mm full fill cav with regular block - PHPP demand of around the 15 to 17 kWh /M2 - the dry weather has allowed the block folks to really crack on - they allowed for 2 weeks of rain in the plan and so far :eek: it has not come

Heating system will be HP GSHP only (not SP) and some PV to augment

DEAP BER rating - good question - A2 to B1 depending and might comply or not comply with Part L -read my artical in Consxxxxt Irexxxd to see how much nonsense it is for my build

Windows will be 3G with a hight G value of about 62% (see my other post on importance of G value)

Foundation was a strip with thermal broken rising walls (thanks to BP for his help on this)

happy to take any Qs via PM if people want more detail on anything

Good stuff FC, great to see progress;). Are you happy with the block work so far? Details around windows, angle of wall ties, mortar snots etc

fclauson

just do it wrote: »

Good stuff FC, great to see progress;). Are you happy with the block work so far? Details around windows, angle of wall ties, mortar snots etc

Yup - blockies are very good - the cavities are very clean - he uses a board as he works up to keep it so

kboc

fclauson wrote: »

Just a quick update - have not posted anything on progress - but we are underway - up to wall plate almost

for those not aware we are building a close to passive 250mm full fill cav with regular block - PHPP demand of around the 15 to 17 kWh /M2 - the dry weather has allowed the block folks to really crack on - they allowed for 2 weeks of rain in the plan and so far :eek: it has not come

What about a 300m cavity?
Did the passive house software suggest otherwise?

Heating system will be HP GSHP only (not SP) and some PV to augment

What size of heat pump. I, like you, think this is the cheapest way to heat a house, even to (nearly) passive standards. I would imagine the problem being getting one small enough.

DEAP BER rating - good question - A2 to B1 depending and might comply or not comply with Part L -read my artical in Consxxxxt Irexxxd to see how much nonsense it is for my build

Windows will be 3G with a hight G value of about 62% (see my other post on importance of G value)

is this post on Boards.ie?

Foundation was a strip with thermal broken rising walls (thanks to BP for his help on this)

Did you consider the insulated raft founds? Any particular reason why they were not used?

Good luck, sounds great

K

fclauson

kboc wrote: »

What about a 300m cavity?
Did the passive house software suggest otherwise?

basically for a bungalow it made little sense to go that far - walls only account for 22% of my fabric so I took a pragmatic approch here and went for 250

What size of heat pump. I, like you, think this is the cheapest way to heat a house, even to (nearly) passive standards. I would imagine the problem being getting one small enough.

8Kw - see my post of comparing oil + solar vs HP
HP wins hands down from a price perspective

demand is 3.5 kwh at 0 degrees C plus the need for h/w - remember the hp will modulate down to 2kwh

Did you consider the insulated raft founds? Any particular reason why they were not used?

yes - but none have an NSAI cert as yet nor a BBA one - and for my plan form there might have been an issue with expansion/cracking acorss the 90 degre of the L shape ( bungalow is L shape)

just do it

fclauson wrote: »

basically for a bungalow it made little sense to go that far - walls only account for 22% of my fabric so I took a pragmatic approch here and went for 250

All logical pragmatic choices you've made fc. Out of interest did you do a cost and u value comparison between 250 and 300mm cavities?

kboc

fclauson wrote: »

basically for a bungalow it made little sense to go that far - walls only account for 22% of my fabric so I took a pragmatic approch here and went for 250


8Kw - see my post of comparing oil + solar vs HP
HP wins hands down from a price perspective

demand is 3.5 kwh at 0 degrees C plus the need for h/w - remember the hp will modulate down to 2kwh


yes - but none have an NSAI cert as yet nor a BBA one - and for my plan form there might have been an issue with expansion/cracking acorss the 90 degre of the L shape ( bungalow is L shape)

But do the insulated found companies not have engineers signing these off for their customers?

fclauson

just do it wrote: »

All logical pragmatic choices you've made fc. Out of interest did you do a cost and u value comparison between 250 and 300mm cavities?

Nope - but 250mm is in the high €50s/sqM

about2build

Site fully cleared and trenches dug...stone going in on mon-tues. Ant idea on price of top soil....galway....i want to shift some of it

about2build

progress on site has been good all week in spite of the changeable weather.... compacting hardcore at moment and steel has arrived on site for positioning....proposed pour date is wednesday

sydthebeat

the odd pic would be a help about2build

about2build

raft foundation in place...a really neat job....pictures to follow when i get them downloaded from phone. Block layer thinking of starting on friday next week. So far so good:eek:

sas

Still a little raw in places but we're finally ready to move in.

sas

So we're 5 days in what will hopefully become a certified PH.

At this moment we have no direct heating system of any type installed, no stove or oil or even an immersion heater on the DHW tank.

The house has a large slider which has been open all day long for weeks on end during the final construction phase which will have had a cooling effect on the structure.

Also there is the standard belief that heavy masonry PHs tend to require a year before they find their feet.

All of that was little comfort on Friday night (our first night) when I was cold!

Things have been improving, last night was noticeable cooler though, possibly because it was a dull day etc.

We have a large open plan kitchen\living area (80 m2) and a 2 kw electric oil rad will have it comfortably warm in 30mins. We used it a few times so far.

Cooking really warms up the place too.

The mornings are the problem for me right now. It's hard enough to get up without knowing it's going to be cold. Hopefully things getting milder will offset this and allow the structure to warm up.

I am getting some cheapie (budgetry pressures) room thermometers so that I can see what sort of temps we're getting.

We are not disappointed I should underline, it is early days. These are just my initial ramblings\thoughts.

Do-more

Throw a house warming party SAS!

We'll all come around and heat the place for you in no time!

BryanF

sas, what about that monster stove? whens that operational

sas

BryanF wrote: »

sas, what about that monster stove? whens that operational

The original stove plan is no longer in my current plans.

It's a €5000 boiler stove. I'd have no warranty because we have to import it and use a non approved installer. I can't set it to come on when needed nor trigger it from tank stats etc. Basically, it's mostly con.

I'll be installing a condensing oil burner in the garage, plumbing is in place including district heating type piping across the garden. It's alot cheaper, any plumber in the phone book can fix it and it's controllable. This doesn't sit well with me but it is what it is. I'm hoping to get away without it until Sept.

I will go for a non boiler wood stove eventually in the living room but that room is not currently in the budget. Maybe by then a more local stove company will have gotten their s**t together and started making stoves with options for airtight builds etc.

If I hadn't committed on solar I'd be seriously considering going the ASHP route like fclauson. I have though so I am where I am.

Do-more

Is your solar commissioned?

Are you not able to run low temperature water from the middle of the tank to your underfloor coils to heat the slab?

sydthebeat

to have no direct heating in the current weather, and still find the dwelling "habitable" is an achievement in itself... between lightening, thunder, hail, rain and sunshine we've had every kind of weather imaginable over the last week.

It would be very interesting to see what temps are reached during the day and night in these conditions... the house could be damn near truly "passive" as it stands.... once the solar gets going.

sas

Do-more wrote: »

Is your solar commissioned?

Are you not able to run low temperature water from the middle of the tank to your underfloor coils to heat the slab?

Yes, it's up and running and going well so far.

I will be able to. Plumber is finished, electrician still has to wire in pumps and stats.

I'm a little wary of connecting it in until I get a feel for how much heat capacity I have for showers etc. Would be a bit unpleasant to end up with cold showers because I used all the heat for the UFH!

sas

sydthebeat wrote: »

to have no direct heating in the current weather, and still find the dwelling "habitable" is an achievement in itself... between lightening, thunder, hail, rain and sunshine we've had every kind of weather imaginable over the last week.

It would be very interesting to see what temps are reached during the day and night in these conditions... the house could be damn near truly "passive" as it stands.... once the solar gets going.

Yes, it's been quite the mixed bag over the last week.

Also, I should have underlined that the HRV isn't yet operational. It's being commissioned next week. We're airing the house out minimally to avoid cooling it down while also trying to avoid moisture issues.

This means that I've still got 2 x 8 inch diameter holes in my gable walls fully open to outside.

I've picked up 1 thermostat with min\max functionality on it today so I'll leave it in the main living area for a few days and see how we go.

Do-more

sas wrote: »

I'm a little wary of connecting it in until I get a feel for how much heat capacity I have for showers etc. Would be a bit unpleasant to end up with cold showers because I used all the heat for the UFH!

If the tank is maintaining stratification properly using heat from lower down in the tank for the UFH should have no effect on your DHW at the top of the tank.

But agreed now is the time for a little settling in and getting a feel for things.

Do you have any temp. sensors on the tank so you can measure the temp. at different layers?

sas

Do-more wrote: »

If the tank is maintaining stratification properly using heat from lower down in the tank for the UFH should have no effect on your DHW at the top of the tank.

But agreed now is the time for a little settling in and getting a feel for things.

Do you have any temp. sensors on the tank so you can measure the temp. at different layers?

There are 2 sensors on the tank. 1 at the bottom and 1 about 60% of the way up the tank. The higher one has been holding between 40 - 50 degrees.

I also don't have a controller with logging capabilities. Something I became aware of after the fact I'm afraid. This really annoys me and is something I'm likely to address later.

Steady as she goes for now.

just do it

sas wrote: »

We have a large open plan kitchen\living area (80 m2) and a 2 kw electric oil rad will have it comfortably warm in 30mins. We used it a few times so far.

That's a large celtic tiger apartment you've got in that one area alone:D. I wonder would such an apartment heat comfortably in 30mins?

Sas - how long does this area hold the heat? This is surely where the difference is given you've not had much passive heat thus far to heat the place.