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Housing - New Build: Code For Sustainable Homes

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1 to 26 of 26

  1.  
    • CommentAuthorAndyP1
    • CommentTimeMay 15th 2011
     
    Building in wales all new builds have to now meet level 3. We didn't think this was an issue as the home we are planning to build will far exceed the level 3 requirements. We are the 1st newbuild in the area to go through it with Building Control, who at £1600 were the cheapest quote we had! The BCO who does the assessments costed his time though and said that they should have been charging £3000!! I have no doubt that the time taken will reduce as they become more practiced at the assessments but I have a feeling that the sheme is a sheep dip approach (pardon the welsh pun!)...surely the time would be better spent making a simpler initial assessment and then putting effort into addressing the people who are trying to build poorly insulated or poor quality unsustainable homes??
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteamyTea
    • CommentTimeMay 15th 2011
     
    £3000 buys a lot of mineral wool.

    Are they enforcing all elements of CSH3 or just the energy element?
  3.  
    Everyones after a slurps of the green gravy
    • CommentAuthorTimber
    • CommentTimeMay 15th 2011
     
    Argh, be careful if they make you go for a full csh level 3. Bike stores, home offices, bin stores, light fittings, plumbing fixtures and all sorts all become of interest to the CSH assessor.

    Run a mile if possible. Spend the money on insulation.
  5.  
    Is it right they dont have a Welsh word for Bike shed ?
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteamyTea
    • CommentTimeMay 15th 2011
     
    The French dont have a term for 'Weekend' so they use 'Weekend'
    • CommentAuthorjamesingram
    • CommentTimeMay 15th 2011 edited
     
    Posted By: SteamyTeaThe French dont have a term for 'Weekend' so they use 'Weekend'
    So they do then ?? :shocked:

    CSH , takes a good broader view, doesn't it ?
    There's more to sustainable communities than just energy usage and insulation
    •  
      CommentAuthorDamonHD
    • CommentTimeMay 15th 2011
     
    But do the French have a word for the alleged Welsh lack of local word(s) for bike shed? (Surely "lost cherry" or "smoke break" might cover some uses.) And is a lack of such vocab sustainable after a France/Wales rugby match draw at the bar (in Berlin, London and Maputo) 3 pints in?

    Anyhow, I'm all in favour of seriously providing for non-car transport as part of the 'green-ness': our house came at a vast discount in part because, as our solicitor told us in semi-horrified tones, it has no on-site/dedicated parking nor guaranteed access to any (though in practice we can buy a parking permit for the car-park 1 metre up a grassy bank from us). That in future shouldn't be seen as some sort of deviant moral failure, and has indeed probably saved us significant car-related money and pounds on the waist and CO2 emissions.

    Rgds

    Damon
    • CommentAuthorHenry
    • CommentTimeMay 15th 2011
     
    Our local authority is also requiring CSH3 (all elements). Good in theory, but the costs are horrible. Not just the CSH assessor but also the extra reports requird - eg SUDS, although it should be obvious that the proposed roof is smaller than the existing one....
  10.  
    Speaking from personal experience CfSH assessments do take a LOT of time, cheaper assessors just pass this on to the design team. The costs above seem reasonable for the time required.

    That does not however meant that spending many £k on a CfSH assessments is a particularly sustainable thing for the construction industry or planet. As ST's 1st quote:
    Posted By: SteamyTea£3000 buys a lot of mineral wool.

    J
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteamyTea
    • CommentTimeMay 16th 2011 edited
     
    Posted By: James NortonAs ST's 1st quote

    But it could also buy some 'eco-bling' too :devil:
  12.  
    opportunity cost again...

    :wink:

    J
    • CommentAuthorAndyP1
    • CommentTimeMay 16th 2011
     
    In Wales we now have to meet all level 3 CFSH elements, not just energy section! Planners are currently saying we need an interim certificate before we can start building...this isnt just us saying what we intend to do, this is actually evidencing every last detail with orders & invoices, this is supposed to be reserved for large developers and housing associations! We are pushing back, as is the BCO, to allow us to have a pre-assessment instead and hopeful they will see sense, problem is we are the guinea pigs for the area so planner are making it up as they go.

    So far the list we need to think about is: internal lighting, external lighting, security lighting, cycle storage (can be the garage if you can also fit a car in), home office provision, internal and external water consumption, building fabric materials, finishing details, surface water run off, waste (re-cycling, composting & contruction waste), pollution (global warming insulant- roof, walls, water cyclinder etc), wheelchair accessability - (threashold levels, circulation space,space for a floor lift, window handle heights, service control heights, wide parking spaces, entry level bedroom potential etc etc)...WTF!!!

    P.S. Welsh for bike shed is Beic Sied...no, really it is!
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteamyTea
    • CommentTimeMay 16th 2011 edited
     
    I know what dog muck is in Welsh and now I always smile when I hear the name Dominick.
    • CommentAuthorJohn B
    • CommentTimeMay 16th 2011
     
    I'm fascinated to find out how this will apply to low-impact One Planet Developments in Wales, where the requirement is to use local materials, and demonstrate a far lower ecological footprint than would be possible using the high impact materials that seem to be needed for CFSH.
    • CommentAuthorskyewright
    • CommentTimeMay 17th 2011
     
    Posted By: AndyP1P.S. Welsh for bike shed is Beic Sied...no, really it is!

    In an extreme case is it permitted to answer that there's little point in a Beic Sied because the nearest shops, amenities, etc., are, say, 15 miles and a couple of hundred vertical metres away?

    Mind you, a shed will always come in handy for something... :smile:
    •  
      CommentAuthorDamonHD
    • CommentTimeMay 17th 2011
     
    A couple of hundred meters is nothing. I used to cycle to/from work, 7+ miles each way, 900m vertical separation IIRC!

    Rgds

    Damon
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteamyTea
    • CommentTimeMay 17th 2011
     
    I used to cycle in High Wycombe, no way out without a 1 in 10 hill unless you wanted to go to Beaconsfield, then it was only 1 in 20.
    And people wonder why I do not cycle anymore now I live in a hillier area.
    Thing about cycling is that the UK weather is wet (even more so here). The concept of having showers at work for cyclists does not sit comfortably with me as it escalates the number of hot showers a day that people will take. No free lunch is there.
    • CommentAuthorAndyP1
    • CommentTimeJun 13th 2011
     
    Well we have had our pre-assessment and scraped through by the skin of our teeth because only few of our building materials are BREEAM green guide rated. From the maximum 9 points available for fabric energy efficiency we only scored 3.6, this was for 140mm timberframe filled with warmcell and 100mm external woodfibre insulation with lime render with a u value of 0.16. This CFSH homes things is really hard work as the assessors don't know what they are doing and are learning as they go along! GGRRR!!!
    • CommentAuthorAndyP1
    • CommentTimeJun 28th 2011
     
    Our CFSH nightmare has just got even worse! Turns out now the planners are not happy with a 'Pre-assessment' but want the full blown 'Interim Certificate'!
  21.  
    Can you keep us in the loop with this? I have permission to build code 5 house in Sussex. On the planning conditions describes that i should hit code 5. If i dont, i need to demonstrate what low carbon technologies are being used. Hitting CSH code 5 and above is def not easy. I have passed the SAP rating with 103% so far, plan is to use cheaper windows now to get down to 100%. The major thing in my favour is biomass boiler and 15 sq metres of solar PV to take it to 100%. How many people can do this, not many i figure.
    • CommentAuthorAndyP1
    • CommentTimeOct 8th 2011
     
    Hi pedrio.mahon, What have the planners asked for? if the condition is that you have a 'Pre-assessment' then that is a load easier than having to get an 'Interim Certificate'. So far it has taken us 4 months and nearly £3000 to get the 'Interim Certificate'. There are easy to gain points that you will have to get reports done on e.g. Ecology and Water (Flood Risk Assessment) and others that are a lot harder and mean a lot or evidence like Materials. I would shop around for someone that is experience at putting together reports and assessing, the main delays have been that we using someone who is doing it for the 1st time and Stroma that do the certification are very poor at giving support and guidance. Guide prices for reporting and assessment are £2-3k and trust me you get no benefit for it if you are already going to build a low energy consuming house! Code 5 is near enough passive house sytandard on the materials and energy parts by the way.
    • CommentAuthorTimber
    • CommentTimeOct 8th 2011
     
    As I mentioned previously in this thread, if you are self building RUN A MILE from CSH!

    Save yourselfs before it is too late :cry:
    •  
      CommentAuthorali.gill
    • CommentTimeOct 8th 2011
     
    Andy do you know what rate the assessor costed his time at ??
    • CommentAuthorDarylP
    • CommentTimeOct 9th 2011
     
    Ali.Gill,

    If an Assessor costed their time accurately, then it might be close to minimum wage...chasing evidence from suppliers/contractors/etc is a most time consuming process!

    When all goes well, & everything lines up, then the Assessor might be on a cushy number. These cases are in the minority I think? Any more than £2k for the complete assessment is probably too much....

    # pedro.mahon,

    Feel free to contact me if you want some no-obligation independant advice and pointers....

    Cheers... :bigsmile:
    • CommentAuthorTriassic
    • CommentTimeOct 9th 2011
     
    And don't forget the carbon content of the internet @ 0.43kg's per day and paper for the reports @ 0.2 kg's per 2 sided copy - oh tell me you do print on both sides!!

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