3G Windows - Russell Timbertech - price unbeatable by far.

Thanks for the replies.....

I am learning fast about the biomass situation. It has taken me some months to even get people to quote and there seemed to be quite a number of cowboys out there. So far quotes came in at 20 - 25K My regular plumber said he felt that biomass was going to be an expensive option and also that eventually we would be shipping them in from Russia to keep up with demand..then I read the BBC article and thought if we insulate well (cant get passivhaus level but can get as close as we can) then the heating requirement will be small. I am now trying to find a company to install the EWI and render. Have found a company called wetherby render systems who i am waiting for their quote and also yorkshire specialist rendering. They quoted £11700 for the house insulation plus render. He reckoned £65 a square metre on 180m2 but i thought that seemed cheap per sq mtre. We have to work out how we extend the roofing to overhang the render but there is no reason why we cant make it 200mm.

Must have done my research well on here as waiting for a quote for the windows from Russell Timbertech. I am also waiting for Polish Interiors, fine aluminium, reynaers, ,munster joinery, vrogum. Had received one from Velfac £45k and i also read on here that the render has to go on before the windows with Velfac. Currently in a 17th century farmhouse single glazed sash windows so anything will seem like a dream!!

Both PV and solar thermal are sorts of solar panels. Which people mean in any context is often hard to tell so it's often worth asking for clarification rather than assuming.

Wetherby are well-known; I haven't heard of Yorkshire Specialist but I'm not in the area or doing retrofit.

Extending the overhang is reasonably straightforward. Competent builders should be able to explain.

£6,500 for 4 kWp is a top of the range price for PV panels I think.

What type of walls do you have? (cavity, solid brick etc)
The figures quoted sound like it is the phenolic insulation, otherwise I don't think that the insulation value would be so good with only 50mm. Generally speaking it is cheaper to use EPS and have a thicker amount (unless there is a good reason that requires the insulation to be as thin as possible).

Is the Kingspan insulation vapour permeable?

Building Control would be looking for 0.3W/m2K - yes but that's nothing to be proud of !!!

You can buy the boards as thick as you like, but what you can achieve will depend on available space (lack of) roof overhang etc. A colleague used 180 phenolic in 2 90mm layers. Phenolic is (apocryphally?) suggested to shrink more than platinum EPS.

Ok thanks for all your comments. The architect has said that the house to be insulated /rendered is 70m2 and if we upgraded going for 100mm of insulation we would get a U-value of 0.14W/m2K. The cavity wall insulation was done before we bought the house and I dont rate it anyway. Would have preferred if they hadnt bothered. Is there a way to work out the material costs to heating running costs? We are intending to live in this house for a long time - if not until we die! -so the view is to get this as best as possible from the start. Removing biomass from the equation puts us back to oil fired boiler or ASHP so to make it as insulated as possible is the first big plus.

Thanks fostertom. Spoke to the parex rep who pointed me towards someone who I had made contact with already. He is talking about EPS boards? Not quite sure but will meet him on site to discuss. He reckons approx £70m2. I am now going to have to look at the window fitting because Velfac are definate that they want the windows fitting post render but most render people say that cause a seal problem round the windows and they would prefer to render to the window. This chap I have just spoken to said he has done a big job recently were the aluminium/timber windows were fitted post render but had an already fitted frame that he sealed with render etc and they clipped into. This is like a full time job!

I believe it's a Velfac oddity that they want the rendering done first. Other suppliers, window fitters and renderers generally prefer to fit the windows first. It's quite common to insulate and render over the outer part of the frame. I suggest you look at some other window quotes. What style of windows are you looking for? Inward opening, outward opening etc? £45k is a lot of money for windows, how many are you looking for?

Hmm, I bought 14 windows and a lift-and-slide door, a tilt-and-turn double door, a pair of french doors and 3 single doors to passivhaus spec for under £22,000 three years ago.

Bifold doors are difficult to make and keep airtight over the long term, though I think there are now some specialised suppliers. Sliding seals are inherently more difficult than compression seals.

Sorry the rendering goes over 70m2 the whole house covers 225m2!

Posted By: djhIt's quite common to insulate and render over the outer part of the frame

In fact so massively beneficial that it's essential!

To be clear, this means bringing insulation across to master the outside face of the frame jambs and head (usually not possible at the cill), as far inboard as the hinge-pin (or equiv) line will permit. Reduce the area of poor-insulator frame that 'sees' outside air. You can do the same trick inboard as well.

Posted By: fostertomTo be clear, this means bringing insulation across to master the outside face of the frame jambs

I think some Velfac windows don't have any exposed frame that can be insulated over. That may be one reason they are fussy about installation order.

Hi Gravelled...Well if we can't find a builder we may be taking a long time to get this going. Seems they are in short supply at the moment. Just had a quote for the EWI from a company called wallstransform. They are coming in at 12800. When i asked him about 200mm cladding his reply as follows........ unsure where you need 200mm of insulation we use kingspan phenolic insulation which is very thermally efficient example other insulation companies use polystyrene which needs to.be twice as thick for the same insulation value will visit you If guide prices what you expected ,

My architect is lovely. Very happy to run along with any of these ideas. Known him years so will have no troubles there thankfully. I

The house is on top of a hill which falls away quite steeply so there are a number of changing levels. Difficult to insulate everywhere over DPM but where we can we will. Currently the concrete path has been laid higher than the DPM so that's gotta come up anyway. Obvioulsy we have to make decisions based on what's ideal, what we want to achieve and how much it will all cost! So far i am looking at a spreadsheet with numbers adding up to around £200k! We did buy the house knowing it had a lot of work to do. In many ways a lot of fun...In other ways i cant wait to get to a normal life again.

Posted By: djhI bought 14 windows and a lift-and-slide door, a tilt-and-turn double door, a pair of french doors and 3 single doors to passivhaus spec for under £22,000 three years ago

FWIW, we bought 7 windows with electric roller blinds, one other electric roller blind; one kitchen door with manual roller blind; two tilt-and-turn hopper windows; four lift-and-slide windows (all Low-E DG) with safety barriers (made in UK !) plus six fixed TG rooflights with integral sunscreens. Cost 32,000 Euros last year. We get 12,000 Euros back in tax-relief. I am pissed off because there is no tax relief on the rooflights, even though they are part of the south windows...

Ungrateful, north brittany