Above is a slideshow of recent pictures 
(on mobiles and smaller devices scroll to see all images).

 So... has Building Control signed off the house yet and have we moved in properly?
Not yet, we're sorry to say, but we're very close now....

We've been delayed by the lack of anyone to sign off Mike's electrical installation. The electrician who said he would do it at the beginning of the project has let us down and instead we've had to find someone else willing, qualified and with time spare to do it.

Our (three-year!) building warrant expired in mid May and unfortunately we've had to extend it.We've also applied for a temporary occupation certificate to allow us to officially move in before building control sign the house off. That'll be a relief as we're currently inhabiting a no-man's-land between the bungalow and the new house.

Back in early March, Mike made all the final connections and switched on the MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) unit, which delivers fresh air into all the living rooms and bedrooms and extracts stale air from bathrooms and kitchen. We ordered it right at the start of the project to beat a price rise and were afraid we might find it wouldn't work - but it came on straight away and has been working well ever since.

The MVHR extracts heat from the outgoing air and uses it to warm the incoming air. The system we're using here also has a small 1 kw heat pump on the incoming air duct, so we can slightly pre-warm the incoming air in very cold weather.

When we first switched the system on we needed that temperature boost, as the internal temperature was just 11.9°C. The temperature began to rise immediately - slowly at first - but within a fortnight it had reached a comfortable average of 18°C.

Thanks to a few sunny days, and the fact that we have been spending more time in the house, our body heat and activities have also contributed to the mix. The house is currently averaging 19°C to 20°C - with peaks on sunny days of 21°C. A passivhaus holds onto the heat that is put into during the day, storing it in its core, so they don't experience a temperature drop overnight.All that attention to detail with insulation and airtightness tape is paying off!

Outside: construction of the disabled ramp, steps and patio are almost complete - just a little rendering, pointing and tidying up to be done. We're not sure when the builders will be back to do that.

Likewise, there are still one or two snagging issues around the windows to be finished and we're still waiting for the replacement for the cracked pane in the south-facing windows.  

The construction of the garage is still on hold.

We've been able to do some planting, which is a good feeling - getting the land around the house back into some semblance of normality.