Signed, (un)sealed, delivered

The briefing pack was delivered to Knott, the architect, on Thursday by hand, partly because we were passing, and partly because the example pictures cut out from magazines (general themes: white render, glazed gable ends) was too big for any envelope we had easily to hand.  (Check back in a year and see how much we've compromised, folks!):

Statement of Requirements

Planning considerations

We have already had pre-application discussions with the Council.  Part of those discussions was the exploration of whether putting more than one property on the site would be possible.  Following those discussions we have decided to restrict ourselves to replacing the current bungalow with a single replacement dwelling.

The Council have indicated that:

·         A two-storey replacement dwelling may be acceptable, although consideration will need to be taken of the ridge heights of neighbouring properties;

·         It may be possible to bring the building line forward slightly given the differing building lines of neighbouring properties;

·         They would not welcome an integral garage forward of the face of the house;

·         One of their key considerations would be whether neighbouring bungalows are overlooked at the rear.  Clearly, this is negated if the house only extends as far back as its neighbours; the further the house projects at the rear the more of an issue this could be.

In other words, any design should more-or-less use the current length of the footprint, with the possibility of about a further metre or so front and back.

Overall

We require a 5-bed, preferably two-, but possibly one-and-a-half-storey (if required by planning) house.  Our working budget, including fees and demolition costs, is £240k.

For planning purposes it would help if the plans showed only 4 bedrooms with an additional room that could be used as a bedroom.   The following rooms are essential except where marked as desirable:

Downstairs

·         Garage - single

·         Large open-plan kitchen/diner/family area at rear with full-width bi-fold doors to garden.  The space should also make best use of the available light.  There should be enough space for a six-seat dining table and a three seater sofa, as well as in the kitchen:

o   at least 10m of worktop, including 1 and ½ bowl sink, with storage below and above, part of which should be a breakfast bar/island unit with seating for 3-4 on stools

o   space for a 1000mm range cooker with extractor hood plus a dishwasher

·        Either a (preferably) separate living room, or an area of the open-plan space that could be closed off from noise and cooking smells.  There should be wood burner in both the living room and the open plan area, preferably the same wood burner accessible from both rooms (not sure if such a thing exists?!) 

·         Study (does not need to be large, at least 2m x 2m, but a separate room would be preferable to a dedicated space)

·         Cloakroom with toilet and basin, not necessarily bigger than this though if  possible space for hanging coats would be desirable

·         Utility room.  There should be enough ‘utility space’ for food storage/larder, laundry, and plant associated with the house – heat pump (see below), rainwater harvesting pump, underfloor heating controls, etc.  Whether that is delivered in a single space, or in separate spaces is an open question.  A laundry chute from upstairs to downstairs is also desirable, but we imagine that this would cause more problems (e.g. sound travelling from below) than it would solve.

Upstairs

·         Master bedroom with en suite or wet room (1700mm bath, shower, WC, basin), and a decent amount of storage.  Double, but does not necessarily need to unusually large.  We do not require a separate dressing area.  Also a balcony would be desirable so we envisage this at the rear of the property.

·         Bedroom 2; reasonable sized double with en suite (shower, WC, basin) and adequate storage

·         Bedroom 3, reasonable sized double with adequate storage

·         Bedroom 4, reasonable sized double with adequate storage

·         Family bathroom – 1700mm bath, walk-in shower, WC, basin

·        Playroom/games room and/or gym/exercise room – enough space to accommodate a Concept 2 indoor rower (length 3m) plus yoga/pilates comfortably.  (Assume this room could double as a fifth bedroom). This room would need to be enclosed because of the noise from the rowing machine. In which case there may be some difficulty calling it a fifth bedroom if for planning purposes we only wish to declare four bedrooms – if the room were off the master bedroom this would not be a problem

·         Sauna (desirable)

·         Airing cupboard, probably with hot water tank

·         Loft

Whilst hard to quantify or prescribe, we would also like the house to show some kind of ‘wow factor’ in the design to make the best use of light and space.

Build & materials

We envisage the house being of either timber frame, or SIPs construction, with blockwork & render walls, or part-brick, part-blockwork & render if required by the planners.

Other building materials we wish to incorporate:

·         TATA Colourcoat Urban roof & soffit details

·         aluminium clad timber double-glazed windows/doors to garden (Sunfold Systems doors or similar)

·         slate or tile flooring in kitchen

·         bamboo flooring elsewhere downstairs, in bathrooms, and possibly in other upstairs rooms as well

·         Lindab guttering & downpipes or similar

Heating & power; and environmental impact & green technologies

The environmental impact of the house is an important consideration for us, particularly regarding long-term running costs and we are prepared to invest in proven and reasonably established technologies to achieve this.  The house should aim to achieve an EPC rating of A, but we are not necessarily trying to achieve PassivHaus levels unless obviously affordable.

However, first and foremost, the house should be well insulated and air-tight.

Secondly, the house should have at least a 4kW solar PV array.  We are also considering solar water heating, but we are not wholly convinced by its return on investment.  However, given an unobstructed and almost perfectly south facing roof, solar water heating should be included in the design.

We have investigated the possibility of installing a ground source heat pump.  Although the advice we have been given is that installation of a ground source heat pump would not be unreasonable in our circumstances, given the proximity of a gas supply (and therefore probable exclusion from RHI payments) we remain unconvinced and the design should assume gas central heating.

We have also inherited a considerable amount of wood and therefore a wood burner is a requirement for both open plan space and living room.  If it is possible to use one wood burner for both rooms without negating the point of a closed-off living room, so much the better.  If possible, the wood burner should be integrated into the heating system of the house, e.g. by pre-heating water before it goes to the boiler, but the house should not be reliant on the wood burner for heat or domestic hot water.

The primary heating source for the house should be underfloor heating downstairs, with either underfloor heating or radiators upstairs.

Another requirement is a rainwater harvesting system, suggested tank size c.4000-6000 litres.

Bigging up the Indians

One of the myriad of barcodes I clicked on at the self-build centre at Swindon was for Tata Colorcoat Urban steel cladding.  All hail Tata for sending through samples of two large slivers of panel so that you can see how they fix together, plus samples of all the colours.  We're a little bit sold on it.  Not sure British Steel would have had customer service as good.  Not sure they would have had anything so innovative...

Meanwhile, our briefing for the architect is nearing finalisation.  I've had an email back from them saying that they expect to get a concept of a house together in a few weeks.  I really don't think it's that big a job - the site sets some of the constraints, the Council others, the budget more.  Work within that; plans within a few weeks, surely?

I said they're happy (or they say they're happy) for me to send them my plans.  It took me a while to spot, but having been using an American architectural software package I'd labeled the floors first and second - doh!  I've also sent the plans off to two manufacturers of structural insulated panels (SIPs) to see what kind of ballpark a SIPs house would be in, cost-wise.  A bit naughty, but I'm inclined to send them to the Council as a pre-application enquiry as well.

My thinking has moved on from timber frame to SIPs, although we've finally arranged a meeting with the Ty-Afal man.  Maybe I've been taken in by the numerous videos on Youtube of houses going up in a week.  I watched some with a family friend who builds mansions for footballers up north who wasn't convinced that they were as structural as the name suggests.  I know the theory - they work like I-beams, stronger than the equivalent in wood, etc., etc., but I'm slightly wary myself.  Be interesting to hear what the architects have to say about it all.

No way to react...

...to losing your tenant in your rented property, and therefore a significant element of your income stream: appoint the most expensive architect in the county.  He might not be, but anybody who goes off on a six-day site visit to the Cayman Islands probably is.

However, we've tried to rein things in by stating that we only want him to produce drawings to get us through planning & building regs applications, and to build from.  We're not looking to him to manage either the applications or build itself.  We're also drawing up a detailed spec, portfolio of images of architectural styles, plus my amateur plans which he was gracious enough to agree would be a good way to help get us all on to the same page as quickly as possible - although he's probably secretly cursing amateurs who think they can replace seven years training with a £30 software package...

Package to be sent this week, meeting next.

What's so difficult about this house-building thing?

Here's one I made earlier...

Seriously, though, having been treated as non-existent by two companies that claim to start with a blank sheet of paper and join the design and build together, and not wanting to spend several thousand pounds and weeks on getting an architect simply on to the same page as us, I've taken up pen and paper and begun sketching a possible house for the site as a starter for discussion. 

That led to a rather complicated arrangement of double-height reception space combined with a balcony off the master suite (you know it'll all go when I see the figures, don't you?) which I had to prove to myself in three dimensions.  Hence, Lego!

Looks very much like I'll be taking the sketches, though possibly not the model, to Knott for further development.  I'm sticking with the colour scheme, though...

What is it with timber frame companies?

Potton came good in the end, in the sense they actually sent something through at 10.04am on Monday, which is only 59 hours and four minutes after their promised deadline.  However, what they sent through was a couple of floor plans of a long, thin house rather than what we asked for which was some evidence of having succeeded on a similar plot.

As floor plans go it was okay, I guess, but I was struggling to spot any eureka moments.  At the Swindon session on Saturday David Hinton poured some measure of scorn on fireplaces that are stuck on to the outside of houses and therefore do as good a job of heating the village as the house.  And what have Potton drawn?  Yes, a big fireplace out in the street.  Bits like that suggest they're good at designing houses for sales directors in Vauxhall Insignias but that we're probably not on the same page.

They haven't even responded to my chase for what we do want.

Meanwhile we've stumbled across Tyafal (http://www.tyafal.co.uk/), a timber frame company with more eco-awareness and a website of houses which are nearer our thinking.  Had a nice chat with a bloke in a car who would call me later Monday.  Nothing.  Then an email to say we'd speak Tuesday.  Err... nada.

What is it with these people?

Swindon

Apart from the drive through torrential rain on the M4, spent a pleasant Saturday at the National Self-Build and Renovation Centre in Swindon at their Eco Workshop on feed-in-tariffs and renewable heat incentives.

As expected, it's changed my thinking.  For a start, one of the most impressive speakers, David Hilton, suggested that if you have a gas supply it would be perverse not to use it.  I later spoke to him and he explained that RHI probably won't cover you if you have access to a gas supply, so one argument for a ground source heat pump goes for a Burton.  I don't think this was the sole reason for his stance - I think he was saying the research shows its the lowest impact fuel source, but I'm still attracted by the idea of severing dependence on fuel that somebody else sets the price of.

I also found out that if we had a heat pump we wouldn't need a gas boiler as they can produce water at up to 55 Celsius, but we'd probably have to dig trenches in the entire garden.  A few holes, okay, but the entire garden looking like the frontline c.1917?  And if we try to squeeze to much heat from it it could freeze your garden.  I think the moral is ground source heat pumps are a fine solution to a challenge, but don't make up a challenge if you don't have one.

Better to make use of the almost infinite supply of wood on site, and I'm now thinking what's the best wood burner that could pre-heat water for a gas boiler when it's on, but doesn't cause problems when it's not.  It also, I think, diminishes the risks of having different people supply different bits (I asked the panel about the risks of mixing n' matching but I think they hedged).  Still, we have a site meeting with EcoEnergy this week, so we'll see how my thinking's swayed after that.

Solar PV was on everybody's lips (to the extent that practically no mention was made of wind turbines - I think a similar session three years ago would have majored on them), to the degree that I caught the end of the session by the man from Glow-worm gamely answering question on PV.  Glow-worm have nothing to do with PV.  Unlike not using gas if you have it, the unanimous view is that the economics of solar PV means that if you can use it, do so.

Another of the more thought-provoking speakers, Bob Harris, twice Builder of the Year and now university lecturer, put it to me that it would be better to store the output of PV than sell back to the grid.  His suggestion was to use it to heat water.  I'm still trying to get my head around that one as I can see a lot of water being heated in summer when I don't need it.  He also recommended

My postman's going to hate me as I got very carried away with their laser-click-a-barcode-request-a-brochure machines.  But a few items not related to the workshop stood out as worthy of further investigation:

• Colourcoat Urban roofing by Tata (http://www.colorcoat-online.com/en/products/exterior_products/colorcoat_urban) - looks good (from a distance) and was pushing the 'affordable alternative' line
• Roto roof windows (http://www.roto.co.uk/index.htm) - like Velux, but hinged a third of the way up

Oh, and Potton?  Not a word.

Note to self - utilities

Rather than rehash the note I've just written to self regarding utilities, here it is verbatim.  The only thing to add was that the woman who picked up the phone at Scottish & Southern was able to deal with the whole thing herself without bouncing me from department to department (refreshing).  Ditto Anglian Water, but that was easy as there's nothing for them to do.  BT and Open Reach appear to be gearing up for a game to catch the hot potato, but maybe that's just me being paranoid...

Gas

·         Spoke to Scottish & Southern 15/7 (number as per bill).

·         Isolation provisionally booked for 12pm to 6pm 13 October 2011, but need to call 0845 0261998 two weeks before to confirm

·         Costs unknown, but National Grid can advise on 0845 6066766 

Electricity

·         Spoke to Scottish & Southern, 15/7.

·         Isolation booked for 12pm to 6pm 13 October 2011

·         Costs dependent on condition of meter (?!), if there is a charge will be advised on the day.

·         A temporary supply can be provided for the duration of the build, but cost will be £1k to £2.5k depending on whether it’s buried or overhead and other factors.  Slightly confused whether need to contact them 4 weeks or 10-15 weeks beforehand to arrange temporary supply.

·         Conversion of temporary supply to permanent is another £1.5k.

·         Contact is 0845 2340040 or ukpowernetwork.co.uk

Water

·         Spoke to Anglian Water, 15/7, (01522 341922).

·         As meter is in the road outside just turn water off at the meter – pipework other side of meter is owner’s responsibility.

Telephone

·         Spoke to BT who directed me to Open Reach, 15/7, (0800 9177381).

·         Open Reach advised that I have to tell BT (the service provider) to shut down the line, and then arrange with Open Reach to recover the cable.  BT will then deal provision of materials for a new line (i.e. ducting).

·         [Slightly at odds with previous build where we only dealt with Open Reach.]

Are we speaking the same language?

Have been chasing up demolition quotes and investigating the murky world of asbestos surveys which most firms want, some think they need (although I'm not sure its a legal requirement for a domestic property from the HSE website), and some can live without by looking the other way (hopefully not when they've just come across the stuff, though).

I've had one quote from a company which will demolish without a survey: "Quotation to provide plant, labour and disposal associated with the demolition and clearance of the bungalow including foundations and concrete driveway..."

So I email back to ask whether this is a quote regardless of whether they come across asbestos, or on the basis of my understanding that there is no asbestos in which case they down tools and renegotiate the price if they do find any.  They come back to me with the slightly cryptic one-liner: "The quotation is for a survey only".  Some clarification needed there, I think.

They did, however, point out the need to get the ball rolling on service isolations asap, which will be today's specialist subject.

In other news, today is the day that Potton deliver their sketches and examples.  Watch out for the irritated posts in the next day or so when nothing appears...

How to create an artificial deadline

One of the things I found in the previous self-build is that you have to become an expert in a certain previously unknown field (rainwater harvesting, structural insulated panels, underfloor heating, whatever) extremely rapidly, make decisions, and then move on to the next problem.  Meanwhile blokes down the pub who have time to dwell on single issues will inevitably go 'Why didn't you consider...' at which point you have to grit your teeth, accept that not everything was on your radar, and hope that what you ended up with is still one of the better solution.

Well, today's expert subject has been renewable energy.  I'm not totally unaware of the issues having looked at solar PV for our current house, but was put off by both price and commitment for something that would go on the roof when we weren't even out of the ground.  We had whole house ventilation on the radar as well, and I've since wondered why we didn't go for a heat pump, although space requirements would have kicked that into the long grass.  However, we did try to make the place as well-insulated as possible, even if we didn't make our own energy.  I'm also aware that there are government incentives and payments but if you sat me down and gave me an exam on the subject I don't think I could give you chapter and verse.

In order to decide what it is I'm looking for I decided up front that the following are self-evident:

• Spending money to make the place as energy efficient is money well spent
• Getting paid money to generate energy sounds like a good thing
• We need to dig some big holes in the ground in any case, so things requiring big holes in the ground aren't that much of a problem

There's a lot of information, facts, opinions, pseudo-facts, and verbiage out there.  Wading through it has made me want to turn to my tax return to rest my brain.  One thing I have found out (I think) is everybody quotes a 2.7kWp (kilowatt peak, i.e. the kilowattage produced at 100% efficiency) solar PV array as being suitable for a house and would cost c.£12k to install.  However, blogs like http://robertkyriakides.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/problems-of-pv-feed-in-tariffs/ suggest that they're only 10% efficient on average (probably better now) due to us not living in the Sahara.  Given we use abut 12 kilowatts a day my reckoning is that we could do with a 10kWp array to gives us juice throughout the day and get some kind of return.

I'm also getting indications that having solar PV may restrict the suppliers and tariffs available to get electricity when you're not producing enough yourself (aka 'the night'), so you can't get the best deal there.  Not something DECC flag up very well.

However, a big solar PV array would command economies of scale in the supply & fit (probably still £40k!), and would power a ground source heat pump feeding underfloor heating throughout.  A wood burner is a given, so one that heats additional water is a must.  My research also tells me that the feed-in-tariffs for the solar PV drop for systems installed after 1 April 2012, but nobody seems to be saying by how much, which suggests a deadline for having a roof to fit the PVs to.  Somewhat artificial, its true, but I think still do-able.

However, we may be timing it quite well from the point of view of Renewable Heat Premium Payments with a possibility of £1250 or so to help with the installation of the heat pump, and then payments for using it thereafter.

Given that there are synergies between the elements we're looking at I've been on the look-out for companies that offer a design, supply, and fit service for the whole caboodle.  I've got Eco-Living, Eco Energy, and Nu Heat on the radar as those that tick most, if not all, the boxes.  If anybody out there has recommendations on companies that cover all those bases drop me a comment whilst this is still my specialist subject.  Will keep you posted.

Even the simple bits are never simple

Whilst being stuck in the mire of indecision over which direction to go in, I though I'd prod myself into action by getting some demolition quotes.  I though that's be easy - doesn't matter what's going to go on the site, whatever it is will need to have what's there at the moment removed.

So I send out emails to four or five local companies - partly an attempt to make sure that I've given everybody all the information they need, but mainly my Finnish reluctance to talk to people.  One bloke rings back, bizarrely living a few hundred metre from the site - hopefully he's seen it by now.  Another calls asking whether we've had the building surveyed for asbestos and plaster.

So now I've got to pay to have holes poked in the place in order to knock it down?  I'm quite happy with the idea of 'we found asbestos in it, so we've added x to the bill', but I sort of thought demolition companies took that in their stride.  Just wear a mask and gloves and get on with it for God's sake.  Hardly the attitude that won us the war...

The Man from Potton

Made contact and had a site meeting with the man from Potton.  Perfectly nice bloke, although pronounced 'photovoltaic' slightly oddly - either that, or I've been saying it oddly and nobody's told me.  He's taken away our wish list and promised some rough floor plans, although I was more interested in previous examples of how they've dealt with previous examples of long and narrow sites.  I think he thought we were asking him to produce a full set of drawings in order for them to pitch their services.

One slightly worrying aspect was that he was surprised that the Council thought a two-storey on the site could be acceptable.  To be fair, I don't think the Council were saying any two-storey would wash; I think we'd have to be fairly constrained about ridge heights.  And as many Potton designs come across to me like a dwarf in an oversize top hat, i.e. roof-heavy, I'm not surprised he found a Potton two-storey hard to imagine on site.

He's promised a response by the end of next week.

Meanwhile, Knott hasn't responded to our request for an indication of fees to produce plans to work off.  When I call up I'm told he's been on a site meeting int he Cayman Islands for the last week.  Sounds like the mother of all tax dodges to me.  He ought to run for Parliament.