Week 13:  Technology

The site is completely ready for the SIPS to be delivered and installed next week. 

Well almost, we still have a bit of tidying up to do.

Glosford Timber Solutions start on site Tuesday preparing the site but the main excitement is Wednesday when the crane arrives and assembly starts in earnest.

Glosford are the suppliers of the SIPS (structural insulated panel system) we will explain more how this works next week as it goes up.

We had an interesting visit to Earth Save Products (ESP) in Wallingford today.  They are extremely friendly, helpful and responsive chaps.

We have decided on these guys as suppliers of the heating and ventilation systems for the house.

We will be installing the following systems.

A small, efficient, gas boiler will power the underfloor heating (UFH) on both floors. This will be buried in the screed (on top of very thick insulation) on the ground floor and in pug screed on the first floor. This is nothing to do with small dogs but a way of encapsulating UFH on top of a timber floor.

We looked at ground source and air source heat pumps but decided this was the best solution. ESP are designing the system and supplying all kit.  

The other part of this is the MVHR system. This means mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. In essence there is a big fan in a cupboard, each "hot" room (bathrooms and kitchens) has an extract duct, this air passes through the fan unit, which has a heat exchanger, this heats up the incoming air which is fed into all the living rooms. The system is very efficient so the house gets a good throughput of fresh air without losing heat. The rest of the house is virtually airtight so there are no drafts and this is what makes the house very efficient and eco friendly.

The last part of the system and the bit unique to ESP is the domestic hot water. This uses a mini "air source heat pump" to heat water in the cylinder. This ASHP uses some of the hot air from the ventilation system to provide a very efficient means of heating our hot water. Vicki can continue to have the longest showers ever.

Week 11

The scaffolding is up in preparation for the big build.  

This is our first opportunity to see the 'view' from the first floor.

Week 9

Things are slowing down temporarily on the site at the moment; although life is about to start getting very exciting.

The drainage is almost completed now and the garden levels are being established.

We are very grateful to Phil (Reeves), Mark and Peter; all the neighbours have been very appreciative of the way they have worked - without a radio, no mess on the road (we have been lucky with the weather) and always leaving a tidy site.