OT: land/property/building expertise

[mycar]

I would say if there was one thing that has improved our life more than any other in our build/reconstruction, it would be the wet underfloor heating system.

Set it a 18 and forget about it.

Bliss !

[takeflight]

To begin with I would forget the type and design of house, the planning may have some say over this. The hard part will be finding a plot, if it as planning consent then great, however this adds substantial to its value. If it hasn’t, before any money exchanges do some homework. Remember if the vendor could have got planning, the chances are they would have. Also if she requires finance enquire with the lenders that will do self build, not all do.

[gridgway]

I think this feels like the challenging first stage for a "beginner", especially in the SE where planning-permissable land must be pretty scarce!

[mycar]

This is the second stage. The first stage is where you binge watch at least 10 years worth of Grand Designs and feel like Kevin is one of the family.

[gridgway]

This is the second stage. The first stage is where you binge watch at least 10 years worth of Grand Designs and feel like Kevin is one of the family.

[Hugh Jorgan]

I did stress, purely my own opinion....!

I certainly don't disagree that UFH can warm the house up, any heat source would. My issue with it is that it doesn't respond quickly enough, (for me).

The current house is insulated beyond current building regs requirements and is obviously air tight, (meets regs).
I've heard before about builds in much colder climates with UFH and how efficient they are. I believe they are probably ahead of us in regards of insulation and, I suppose if it's going to be bloody freezing for half of the year you can just set it and leave it.

I've built, and lived in, several houses with it, the current one just has it in the kitchen/diner, and it is nice to have warm feet, but I'm still won't have it as a primary heat source in the next one....!!!

[theorangeperil]

Another massive fan of underfloor here. In fact my favourite thing about lock down and wfh is walking about the house all day with bare feet!

I totally agree with Hugh about being wary of new ways of doing things when it comes to building. As an industry, local builders can be exceptional at doing things the way they know, but not always great at embracing new ways of doing things. And that means you could find yourself in a tricky position if you coax them into taking on something they haven't done before. It's a shame as there are some amazing options out there when you look at construction innovation in the wider world.

[Sam]

Depending on the spin, inertia is either a great asset or great draw back to how we build. The fact that we’re still fitting double glazing with trickle vents when more efficient options are just as cheap if you know how to use Google is a problem. But if you want bricks laid neatly or a house built of stone we’ve been passing the appropriate skills down for 500 years or so and therefore have the technique pretty much nailed.

Idiotic mortgage lending is a big limiter in new construction too. 20 years ago it was still tough to get mortgages on houses with softwood walls. Despite the fact that we’ve been using softwood in construction for a couple of hundred years and the most vulnerable place to water is the roof, which lenders are fine with being made of softwood.

[mycar]

I'm interested in the alternative to double glazing with trickle vents. I'm just about to make some windows, what are my options ?

[Sam]

MVHR. Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery. A central intake that warms and filters the fresh air as it comes in by passing it by the stale air being extracted from kitchens and bathrooms. So instead of letting in air at outside temp through vents it comes in at 15 or so degrees and gets filtered and dehumidified.

It’s a faff to retro fit as you need to get ducting from almost all your rooms to a central point which then need to get an intake and exhaust to outside.

On a new build it’s £1000-2000 for the unit, depending on house size and maybe another £500 on ducting and vents then a few pence an hour to run. The biggest units seem to draw 0.5kW/h.

Triple glazing is the same price as all but the cheapest double glazing. UPVC triple glazing from Lithuania etc is the same as cheap UK double glazed UPVC. Austrian etc super swish TG wood/aluminium stuff is the same price as Velfac or similar UK produced DG stuff.

[camperco]

We gutted our 1950's built house 12 years ago and put in UFH as part of the rebuild. The kids were still young and produced loads of laundry everyday. My main motivation was to get rid of the radiators and all the school & sports kit that was always drying on them.

[neilbardsley]

Where do the sports kits dry now? All our radiators are constantly full

Sent from my Redmi 7 using Tapatalk

[SeanP]

The problem with underfloor heating is that you have to anticipate when it is going to get cold. UFH basically uses the floor slab as a thermal store to hold and slowly release the energy. You need to have some decent insulation under the slab for it to work efficiently.
You also have to be very careful of the water flow temperature if using wet systems in screed. 55 degrees C typical flow temperature. Start getting above 65-70 degrees and you are liable to lift the floor screed.
Have designed many a underfloor control system for underfloor heating and always include a hard wired over temperature shut off valve as a safety feature
Builders don’t like having to replace a screed floor when someone has overridden all of the controls and safety devices after someone has put everything in “handOmatic” an let the underfloor heating run wild just because the building was cold.

Building Services Engineer by profession. Design and install HVAC controls and energy monitoring systems by trade

[Hugh Jorgan]

At last, someone who shares my opinion on UFH....

[Sam]

I think we’re just discussing the difference between retrofit and new build. In a new build with 150mm of Celotex under the screed and 40 degree water running through, in an insulated house, the fact the floor is a thermal store becomes a good thing.

Totes accept that in a solid brick 1930s semi it has the drawbacks you both describe.

Graham’s daughter wants a new build!