Technical Information

Our hope is to build an energy efficient home by maximising  solar gain from the south facing glass. Our aim is to insulate the building  as best we can  rather than buying and installing all the headline making gadgets like solar power, wind power etc. Find ways of avoiding using the power in the first place.....

Building The Super Structure

The basic shell of the building will be constructed using SIP's Panels.

What are SIP's Panels?

SIPs are Structural Insulated Panels - they are constructed from a bonded sandwich of        OSB / Closed Cell Polyurethane Core / OSB. They have been used extensively in Canada, the USA and Japan. They have been used in limited form in the UK for the last thirty or so years. Even though its a relatively new process we are keen to use it for the perceived benefits listed below.

The Benefits

Speed - Building in SIP's is faster than timber frame - the expectation is that our super-structure will be built on site in 2 days! It's like a giant 3D jigsaw on site.

Environmental - Reduced on site waste - the panels are all cut to shape and with the relevant window and doorway holes already cut before bringing to site.

Design Flexibility - No need for roof trusses allowing for open roof spaces or what would normally be attic rooms...

Thermal Performance - Due to the solid core of insulation it offers superior insulation - a more continuous run of insulation in comparison to timber frame - due to the solid core there is no risk of cold bridging due to insulation sagging. Going on available figures heating bills could be reduced by around 60% ! The building is airtight -draught free....

Strength - SIP's panels are 7 times stronger than timber frame.

OUR SUPPLIER

We are using www.sipsindustries.com

MHR -VS - Mechanical Heat Recovery and

Ventilation System

The project to install one of these systems is back on track.. After giving up some time ago I have revisited this and believe that it is a vital piece of kit in my Super- insulated SIPS house. Supplier TBC!

Not a simple part of the project by any manner...key for us, considering we have so much glass, particularly the south elevation. We have opted for timber / aluminium clad windows and for the dining room and down stairs sitting room, matching sets of 4 panel bi-fold doors with a particularly sexy opening mechanism. So in summer we can open up the entire wall and let the outside in!

OUR SUPPLIER

After some discussion and haggling we have placed our order with www.adwlimited.co.uk

Windows have been installed by www.dynamight-internorm.co.uk

Wood Pellet Boilers - We Become Tree Huggers !

Okay so from out of the blue comes a bit of research into wood pellet boilers and a decision that this is the way we will go. We had looked at this early doors but ruled it out as too expensive. However using the budget money for the heat recovery system to add to the boiler it means we can just about afford one.

Wood Pellets are available locally and the boiler systems are covered by a grant, so costs for supply and install should not be too extreme. We can see the cost of pellet supply but will have to guess at running costs. Some research going on here but roughly higher than mains gas, lower than oil is the general consensus.

The search begins for a supplier of the boiler. Buying two should mean that we can get a good deal. I hope you are listening suppliers! We have an ideal set up with our under-build area which sits under the driveway for pellet bulk storage.

Its hard to get accurate figures on running costs but the research is under way. If anyone out there has one or knows somebody that does please let us know.

The driver behind this is to get our environmental / SAP report into a band A. We hope that in the future there will be a financial benefit in council tax etc to merit this just like the changes in car tax in the UK.... and hopefully gas prices will continue to rise whilst pellets come down, then we will be happy - bad news for all you fossil fuel lovers out there!!!

Boilers bought from Gerkros in the end....

Kitchen Ordered....

Well at long last the kitchen is ordered. We have bought a High Gloss Black, contemporary German kitchen, made by Bauformat. It was ordered through Callum Walker Interiors of Perth.

The deposit has been paid and its on a six week lead time... hopefully we will have a house soon to put it in!

They offer a full design service and were absolutely superb with us, making several minor changes to the design as we went along. They supplied full 3D images to help my wife picture how it would look and gave us what we think is an excellent package.

The kitchen units are prebuilt even to the point of having the handles pre-fitted! They also asked us to confirm our appliances, so that the units can be made to an exact size to take these particular items...

I would recommend them to anyone looking for a quality product ... plus they cook in their demo kitchens and always fed us well when we visited the shop!

Superb customer service. Thanks Tracy!!! Hope the kitchen is as good!

Portable Roadway

Although I wish we didn't need it ...we would have been unable to build our houses due to soft clay if it were not for the portable roadway supplied by Fieldtrack Ltd. David from Fieldtrack was extremely helpful and I would have no hesitation in recommending them. Our site posed particular problem with a very tight, very steep access that most companies would not venture near... Fieldtrack took it in their stride! You can find them here ...After getting into trouble I should also mention Lynn who is far more helpful than David ! Regardless of who you speak to at Fieldtrack I am sure they will help you out!

Supplied and fitted by Granite Transformations ... John and Grace have been ever helpful in delivering exactly what we are after....a prompt service and delivered on time - turned up when they said they would...its all you can ask for!