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.

Week 7

The beam and block floor is being installed this week.

Here you can clearly see the step from the main part of the house into the lounge
(the site is on a slope).

Week 6

The Caselle garage and Hobbies Room will now not be built until after the main house; the construction of the main house will be much more straightforward if there is good access around the back.

The blue hose is the incoming mains water supply, waiting to be connected by Wessex Water.

The orange/brown pipes are all our drains from the baths and toilets; they will get connected together and then there will be just one connection to the public sewer.

On the other hand - we are having some fun trying to decide on the bathrooms!
We liked the rounded end on this one - no sharp corners to bang into.
I did get permission from the showroom manager before climbing in.

Week 5

Big excitement this week as the expected delivery date for the Caselle garage / Hobbies Room is 7th July, with an EDD of 3rd August for the house.

Ground floor rooms are now defined quite clearly.

Week 4

There seems to be a bit of confusion over references to Caselle so to clarify:

• We bought the plot, with planning permission from Len and Lorna Bennett.  
• Len and Lorna live in Woodview, further up Tinneys Lane; our plot is on land which is at the side of their house (so this is good for us because it means that the house is 'on the road' as opposed to being in their back garden, as so many 'infills' are).
• Len and Lorna also own a bungalow on the other side of our plot called 'Caselle', which they rent out.
• Caselle used to have a garage, which was on our plot; part of the deal when we bought the plot was that we would rebuild a single garage for Caselle. This new garage is now semi-detached, the other half of this is to be a 'Hobbies Room' for David (called this on the plans to make it clear that it is not to be used for a business).

Caselle is currently empty and some work is being done on it over the summer.  This evening we have agreed with Len and Lorna that we will rent this from them from early autumn, which will make life so much easier for us.

At the end of week 4 the floor has been done (almost) in both of the garages.  
We can also, now see very clearly where the rooms are going to be on the ground floor of the house.

Caselle Garage/Hobbies Room in the background
Edge of lounge and dining area in the foreground.

Our garage

Vicki very proudly wearing her new hat - thank you Tessa for such a fabulous present;
now I'd better find more suitable clothing!