Pros list

Well the benefits of living in a Passivhaus is hard to describe. To me the bungalow is my little piece of heaven. That said I was trapped in a flat in the middle of Great Yarmouth, unable to get out buy myself. The things I love:

Being able to cross the threshold myself, I still struggle with the door handles but to get out myself it's liberating.

I have room to use Alice indoors, it would have been nice to have storage for her but its a big hall so.....

Peace and quiet, now that is the best ever. If you have ever lived in a flat especially middle you will understand, life is dictated by others when you wake when you sleep, what you watch on TV

My own front door, no sharing with anyone else, having to time going out of your door so you don't get caught by the neighbour who talks endlessly for 3 hours. Or having to listen to drug deals passing hands, thats really not nice.

A garden - not only can I get over the threshold, I can sit in my own garden, what a luxury.

Having somewhere to park and enough room to get out of vehicle in wet weather to keep dry.

Financially it must be costing less, I havent been able to read meters yet to sort but we dont have gas now and we must be using less electric, this will be interesting although we have used a tumble dryer more as no radiators to dry clothes on.

For me personally the best is Mr Tigs he is adorable, my lovely neighbours cat who has fostered me, mainly because she has a very boisterous puppy, does she mind, of course she does as hardly ever sees him but equally she loves him dearly also so is pleased he is happy and healthy, he has put on weight his coat shines and has no bald patches. As the saying goes 'Cats have staff Dogs have owners' springs to mind, he rules the house completely, but my Dr is made up with the blood pressure drop!

Snagging list

Every new build has a snagging list it is part of the process so here is mine:
(So far the cons, pros to follow)

1.  Keys the missing set, where are they now, who has them and when can I expect them to be  returned? Poses all sorts of potential problems, from Insurance to human rights, it really has been too long now. Not knowing if someone has been in your house when you are out or even if you are there is not a very nice thought.

This one is with the council as the builders say they have returned the keys to them, its now been over 4 months.

 2. Wires above doors and in hall, bare wires are left curled around, what are they for and when are they going to be finished off, some sort of explanation would be good.

Awaiting a response

 3. Lounge area not really ideal size wise as Fridge Freezer stands prominent in lounge area, bad design fault, plus when in a wheelchair I can’t reach the fridge anyway, far too tall, am going to have to fit one under the work surfaces to be able to reach –  this con to advise only, for future reference

 Confirmed yes I will be redesigning my kitchen so more friendly.

 4.Shed electric supply, when are we getting? Was asked for and we agreed to pay towards costs, freezer will have to go into shed. Fridge freezer lovely idea but not practical as I can’t reach fridge and no room for both. Already agreed the fridge freezer is impinging on living area by OT and social services recommend under counter fridge so I can access if needed. Also needed as Tarmac gets hot then sticks to wheels, need storage outside for chair and scooter, when someone comes indoors they generally can take off their shoes and put slippers on, I can’t do that with chair wheels and the tar sticks to wheels and it is spread through the house, I can’t keep an indoor and outdoor wheelchair as the storage area for my wheelchair indoors has been used with the heating system, so cant use my indoor chair and keep the outdoor one in a secure dry place. Nowhere secure outside to leave as electric at front of house, chair will get wet, damp and probably stolen (wheelchair standard homes part M of building advises of need for storage with power point for charging)

Awaiting a quote.
Nope given up decided to use an out door extension lead, good job Amazon is quicker.

 6.Water Butt keeps overflowing? Causing flooding under bungalow, plus area near shed fills with water doesn’t drain away effectively. Also water from car park still drains back to us again accumulating at back of car port. Drainage is very ineffectual overall.

Repair to water butt 3 times I have arranged to have done myself now, yep completed this one myself. Much better.

 7. Cooker Hood is not connected to the internal MHRV why? Legislation clearly states it should be, all the other sites within this build  are connected except  Martham 8b and 8C why?  Why isn’t ours and why doesn’t the heat extractor MHRV unit take smell of bonfires out letting it penetrate through the filters, we have been told that it couldn’t i.e. smells coming in and out,  is the seal broken or not working? And if not doing anything, do I need to report to Building Inspector? 

Legislation states:

‘Q3. I have a cooker hood fitted in the kitchen of my new home. Does this satisfy the guidance on extract ventilation given in Approved Document F (2006)?

Yes, if the hood extracts the air to outside the building and provides at least the minimum intermittent or continuous extract rate (as appropriate) given in Table 1.1a of Approved Document F (2006).

No, if the hood only filters the air and recirculates it back into the kitchen. This is because the purpose of extract ventilation is to remove polluted air at source and draw fresh air into the building to replace it. A recirculating cooker hood only removes certain pollutants, and does not draw fresh air into the building, so does not provide extract ventilation.’

Now I am assured by Beattie Passive that the design of our Bungalow is different to the other builds and ours unlike the other Bungalows will take the Kitchen condensation out via the MVHR. Seems somewhat bizarre that ours has to be different. This one I will follow up to make sure what I print is correct so will seek independent advice to be sure, more to follow.

 8.Tree in garden the dead one when it is going to be removed.

The council have passed this one  to lady who deals with trees and hedges, I haven't heard anything yet.

   10. Privacy, the Car park, when is it going to be done? I am getting blocked in now, if I need to go to Hospital or Work and can't get out it is really difficult.

    It will be after Christmas now, will be interesting when I get new vehicle, much larger than one I have now. 

11. It has been chilly lately what happens if it gets too cold? The temperature will drop further yet in the winter, have the council got a backup plan? The bathroom I am finding very chilli, especially in mornings? Worried if we are getting colder snaps, due to health condition I feel cold more and my joints seize up, we were assured it would be warm, I have tried leaving towel rail in bathroom on but makes no impact. If we manage to warm up the lounge, the rest of the bungalow is still cold we were told it would be a constant temperature throughout with maybe a degree or two different in bedrooms.

This one I am waiting till I have had a fair stab at cold weather to make a decision on if it needs to be included in the list. Time will tell

 12 Metal grill in car park, not fit for purpose, catches my tyres on wheelchair both my carers have tripped on it where it lays uneven, the grill is very cheap and tinny, something more hardwearing is needed

Builders turned over the warped bits so they can dent other way, love the logics.

 13.Electricity fuse box, not labelled up, I need to know which switches operate which areas, also electricians have asked as is should be. Our outside lights come on at the drop of a hat and are so bright wakes you up in middle of the night I would like the option to switch them off, I assume I am paying the bill for them when on.

OK i have had a list of which switch connects to which power supply. It seems the outdoor lights dont go off unless I take power out of bedroom and hall - not very helpful really so will have to tackle lights another way, blue tack on the sensor sounds good to me.

 15.Top coat of paint needs doing on metal supports in car port needs doing.

Yep coming back after Christmas to paint all those areas left with undercoat.

16. Fence behind us, who is responsible for it? One of the panels is loose and likely to be taken down in high wind (which will probably take the dead tree out then cause all sorts of problems) what do we do?

It is the responsibility of our neighbours apparently. since the residents were so opposed to the bungalows being built I will erect my own fence this side to make sure we have privacy rather than provoke an argument. 

So far the cons, pros to follow.

I'll huff and I'll puff and blow your house down!

Gosh the wind is strong here overnight worse slightly but still windy. We have a dead tree in the garden, which should have been taken out prior to houses being built but was forgotten. I am hoping the wind is not strong enough to pull it onto either my bungalow or the neighbours, dead it may be but bet it would still cause us some damage.

We still have no actual heating turned on which is good although it has to be said it was chilly yesterday and it has felt cold a few times. I have moved an oil filled radiator into the bathroom which I turn on prior to a bath and it doesn't take long to warm up but without it my joints would seize. I need to have a certain warmth to maintain some mobility, I have also noticed I have a cough returning at night, my asthma is affected by temperature and when cold it provokes it. That said its not as cold as some places I have lived, just chilly maybe. I have noticed that it is dipping down on Christmas day, however I am at my Mums so may not notice yet.

I am still working on Pros and Cons list which I will share however it has to be said that one of the pros is my neighbours who are attached to me, they are lovely, it makes such a change to have neighbours like this and we have become firm friends. Just as well since their cat seems to almost live on top of my wardrobes, coming down for a fuss and food periodically but what can I say I adore him.

For a ha'porth of Tar!

Well as pleased as I am with the inside of my Bungalow there is no getting away from the fact that the build has been let down by the outside. As my Dad says 'for a ha'porth of Tar'  It has been finished for cost effective quickness that doesn't last. Two of the five Bungalows have been built too low down, in efforts to keep them at level access someone forgot about drainage, which is typically poor in Martham. Water runs down as sure as the sun sets so when we get a heavy downpour it runs back from the car park towards the two bungalows. Obviously over time it will wear down.

A cheap bendy metal has been used as a grate in front of the bungalows to try and stop it running towards us. It doesn't work and is certainly not disabled friendly. It catches wheelchair tyres and feet of my carers alike, I have insurance for my carers. The car park is a sore point with everyone, the residents who were in prior to us being built and used to park on it, the community centre vehicles, as its not finished they have no room for turning, residents for parking, the list goes on. The assumption is that I will be able to reverse out of my drive and turn my van around, it is a big van, has to be to accommodate Alice and all my bits needed for daily living. There is a parking space outside my fence which I am using now to reverse into, well shunt in and out and this seems to work, when a car is parked there chances are I will snag it, yes I already have the sign to say parking is at your own risk etc etc. but we shall see.

The Tar that has been used on the car park goes up to my door where the neighbours have nice paved stone, we have none just the tar that gets cold in winter and separates forming holes much like those in the roads, in summer and the sun, the tar melts and unlike taking shoes off to walk around the house in I find bits of tar stuck around the house after sticking to Alices wheels, most frustrating.

The interesting bit is about to start as we are going into a colder snap!