On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 14:23:53 +0100, Andy Hall
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 14:12:07 +0100, Mike Mitchell
wrote:

On Thu, 16 Sep 2004 22:43:37 +0100, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:

Mike Mitchell wrote:



Thanks for the tips about the foundations, etc. But I'm not in the
slightest bit interested in SIPs, straw bales, that kind of thing. To
me a house is a house that is built like a brick outhouse, end of
story. Bricks, mortar, windows, a chimney, and a fireplace. Simple. I
don't care if it's a bit draughty.

You may not, but the BCO will.

Stuff 'em! I'll open a window as soon as they've left.

Nice cavity insulated rendered basic concrete block house with decent
tiles on eh?

Cavity insulated *brick and block*, not concrete, not rendered, ta all
the same! Decent tiles, too. My favourite are the blue tiles you see
on some new builds in Germany. Why don't we do fantastic looking,
efficient properties of quality like the Germans?

Why indeed. Most that I've seen recently are being constructed with
bricks and blocks with insulation in between.

I don't mean one of
IMM's weirdo properties, but bog-standard ones - just to German
designs! My late sister's house is a fantastic property, but you'd
never see one like it in Britain, except at an exhibition, perhaps. It
has a basement. Nearly all modern German houses have a basement.

Yes, and useful they are as well, same story in France, although they
have specific things to store in the "cave".

Nearly all British houses, old or new, do NOT have a basement! You've
paid for the plot, so why not exploit its full potential? Drive around
any German suburb and see so many fantastic designs! And these are not
all super-rich people, either, but just ordinary working folks with
middling to good jobs who believe in paying for quality, and getting
it.

.. and seemingly they do as well.



Do put in underfloor heating tho.

Absolutely out of the question. I hate underfloor heating. It feels
like the downstairs is on fire. When I stand at a bathroom sink having
a shave, the floor tiles are *supposed* to be cold! Warm tiles feel
like you've wet yourself. Horrid, horrid, HORRID!

and amins preessure hot water system, not one of those fashionable
religious icons - combis.

Dunno about heating. As long as the water gets piping hot once a day
for my bath and the washing up and it is cheap, I don't care if I feed
it with IMM's straw bales. I definitely would look at recovering heat
from the ground and at solar panels, though. Again, take solar panels.
A bungalow near me has them on the roof. They look an absolutely
eyesore! Why cannot designers at least try to make new gadgets
visually appealing?


And chinmeys and a real fire place.

Absolutely! There's nothing like a roaring log fire, a glass of wine,
and a prawn cocktail with a squeeze of lemon to finish the day very
nicely indeed.

In Germany they have Black Forest Gateau as well :-)

And Bockwurst. And Bratwurst at the weekly market with a dab of
mustard on the side and a fresh, crispy Brötchen served up by a busty
Mädchen. And Kartoffelklöße. And Spätzle. And Rheinischer Sauerbraten
with red cabbage with apple bits in. And Eisbein with Saukerkraut and
mashed potato. And mayonnaise on your chips. And cheap wine and beer.
And shopping a third less than in Britain...and political awareness...
and Sundays still like Sundays used to be...

....(swoons)

MM