new home hell

peteark

I agree with a pervious poster getting a SAP rating will help

Mrs_Thrify

Hiya big O, just reading your post re- electric bill,the under floor heating cost does sound steep. My thinking is to turn it all off and invest in convector heaters like the penny an hour fires. Fill some hotwarer bottles and ware jumpers! Watch TV in bed. Put some thick & lined curtains at thoose large windows. Think about lowering the tall ceilings as we all know heat rises.
Have you thought about confused .com etc to see if you are on the cheepest for billing?
Hope my idea's help? I now know what I will be thinking when I watch Location, Location.

slipp_digby

bigO wrote: »

If the architect/surveyors firm was contracted by the developer to design the apartments is it not them who must be answerable?

yes they are answerable to their client, the developer.

you are not their client. kick the developer hard enough and the ripples will go downstream. can you go back with this on your snagging list and tell them its not operating correctly?

when a new buildng is erected, the developer needs to undertake a SAP calculation and show the the carbon dioxide emissions of the new dwelling (Buildng Emission Rate) are equal to, or better than a target emission rate (TER). under most circumstances, electric heating is difficult to get through part L, as electricity has much higher carbon emissions per unit of delivered energy. however its attractive to developers as it very cheap to install and avoids having to install gas throughout.

under some circumstances dispensations are made when an existing building is used, so for example the developer might just need to show that they have taken reasonable measures to ensure conservation of heat and power.

i would try and find out whether the building was designed to meet Part L1 of the 2006 building regulations first and whether building control signed it off as compliant. part L is conservation of fuel and power.

if they have received dispensations and have met all of their obligations to building control you may have a tough time showing this is unreasonable.

adr0ck

slipp_digby wrote: »

i would try and find out whether the building was designed to meet Part L1 of the 2006 building regulations first and whether building control signed it off as compliant. part L is conservation of fuel and power.

if they have received dispensations and have met all of their obligations to building control you may have a tough time showing this is unreasonable.

in other words get the SAP calcs

any joy on these yet?

clutton_2

""I do understand that these materials are intrinsically notorious in terms of heat retention""

playing devils advocate here for a minute - if this went to court i suspect the "other side" would say in response to this comment of yours

Why did you buy it then if you knew in advance there would be heat retention issues ?

daveyjp

Clutton - not an issue.

New developments have to have heating and construction techniques sufficient to maintain a constant temperature in the main living areas. If the heating is on full and this is not being achieved it should not get building regs approval.

BigO - start the ball rolling with the developers new build insurance company - on redevelopments it's usually Zurich and be prepared for a very long, arduos trip into litigation.

In a similar vein a colleague bought a flat in a mill conversion 6 years ago. From moving in they realised the sound insulation was useless. They can hold a conversation with the next door neighbour through the wall without shouting! Needless to say you can hear other activities too!

He began legal proceedings four years ago and is still no nearer a resolution - the bottom line is the dividing walls ALL need rebuilding (imagine rebuilding a flat - new bathroom, new kitchens etc etc), but the insurance company will only do those flats where there has been a complaint (a lot are rented so tenants aren't bothered as they just move out). They have considered building a soundproofing wall in the affected flats, but this will result in a reduction in floorspace and therefore a reduction in value.

Good luck to you, but you need the patience of a saint and become a pain in the backside for all concerned. My colleague writes nearly every other week requesting an update, otherwise he hears nothing.

Merlot

If its not Zurich, then it will be the NHBC, here's a link to the homeowners warranty, if the house is under two years old, it is the builders responsibility to ensure the build meets the required standard of building regs and building control. If the builder is not willing to resolve these problems, then you can go to the NHBC and under the resolution option, the NHBC will step in, but be prepared, it can be a long process, as said above you will need the patience of a saint.
http://www.nhbc.co.uk/Claims/Whatiscovered/Answer,31976,en.html

bigO

Hi,

Sorry for the long delay but I thought I would let you all know how I got on.

1) Developer went bust
2) Was unprofessional and unwilling to communicate

I am wiser for this experience. There were signs and i will head them next time.

For now I have the most expensive electricity bill in Europe and a portable gas fire for the winters

thanks for all your responses.

O

mlz1413

Hi just read your thread in full, I'm surprised your floors aren't doing the job, I would have thought this would have been the best type of heat considering the ceilings height. I have heated floors, admittedly over a much smaller space but they got over warm when the thermostat was put up to 20.

Can you get the plinth heaters for the kitchen and maybe bathroom?

Also its a bit unusual in a house but you can get infrared personal heaters, mainly aimed at warehouse or garage heating. The infrared only heats absorbant mass so should be cheaper to run.

This is the type of thing : http://www.mobilegas.co.uk/heaters/indoor-heater/

skintlass

I put underfloor electric heating in my kitchen/diner which is a large room. After particularly big bills I've switched it off - thank god I have gas elsewhere.