Is this following from yr recommendation of brilliant
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Beyond-Zero-Carbon-Smart-Architecture/dp/1642832111/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1OLT8QLNG7971&keywords=build+beyond+zero&qid=1699520118&sprefix=build+beyond+zero%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-1 ?
Eye opener.
Current cheapest seems to be
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314145503088?hash=item492487f770:g:4NwAAOSwls1lLO14&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4J6JNOqfkc5x3agkWfzGVBLYLjTa98UnrB%2FLo65QD4do%2BCNrt6F0BqQxNh0CDTh3odttLNN98Je3w6tk%2BibTvFdonoi%2FBw1JKG4r0e4CH7%2FAbrPnZLgKaz2aB8RwiDV0QWw4lbySABfqoR3r%2BlLkMG9CyfFktnR9ETYLWabACW%2BG43J1zMpF%2F2WwylJpMTt5nRcsnblk0IHLyjYZgsl3wl504yV8GCu1%2BDza9Btp%2B0QmhVXvUUdRG%2FDyjFKx8zUUEOqF%2BXW5D14aD1ywz%2BAp%2BsdRQZxzSqyTw0P1ZfQMcKdI%7Ctkp%3ABFBMrozptPZi
Everyone should read it.

I don't think I need a particular baseline? I just want to work out how much carbon I 'spent' (e.g. concrete and lorries etc) and how much I 'invested' (timber & straw etc) in building my house. Then I can compare against any other published figures.

BTW, this week's Grand Designs seemed like a great example of out-of-date thinking. It's trying to be the UK's firt Passivhaus Premium but it seems to me they've lost the plot. A few years ago that would have been something to celebrate but now it just looks like conspicuous consumption. It was 550 m², and used a large amount of concrete, steel, polystyrene and other things.

Indeed so, Tom

Posted By: Peter_in_Hungary

Posted By: fostertomSo "a few years ago", "large amount of concrete, steel, polystyrene and other things" were OK if they resulted in small in-use carbon -

Perhaps because "a few years ago" small in-use carbon (energy) was still fairly expensive to produce in environmental terms whereas today in-use-energy is becoming more and more 'green' and energy-in-use becomes less important or even to the point of not important if it saves carbon build cost.

Yes, but not quite. The carbon cost of operational energy is still important, except in rare cases. Plus the urgency of the crisis has become more apparent (to me at least) so the priorities change.

PH Ribbon is one I think.

https://www.phribbon.co.uk

At the risk of contravening forum rules, you might want to check out the free one my practice developed:

https://portal.fcbstudios.com/fcbscarbon

It is primarily focused on commercial scale projects, but I think the methodology scales to any size. More importantly it is intended as a design tool at early stages rather than providing a fully itemised retrospective analysis. But with those caveats out of the way, I think it might still be useful to you.

The thing I learned with undertaking a similar exercise on my own passivhaus build was that there is no 'end point' to the exercise, you can just keep breaking things into constituent material flows. I got into counting individual bolts on the structural frame and then realised that my M&E was still just a composite figure rather than accounting for all the circuitry, gaskets and pipework of the internal workings, because there was no available information on this aspect.

There's also massive range in the reporting on EPD certificates. Some companies give you kgCO2e/m3, but others give a linear rate or even a figure derived from a notional construction build-up. Raised Access Floor is particularly bad, both in carbon terms and the way in which they document their products.

That's before you get into the sequestration argument. Lots of manufacturers use clever accounting to make certain ingredients 'carbon positive' in order to offset the other processes. So whether you are counting 'Cradle to Gate' or 'Cradle to Landfill' also makes a big difference in lifecycle terms.

Good luck, but as the aphorism goes 'Don't Let the Perfect be the Enemy of the Good'.

Posted By: Doubting_Thomasyou might want to check out the free one my practice developed

Many thanks, I'll give it a try :)

And thanks for the warnings about the limits of the process. I was fairly sceptical anyway, but now I know some specifics to look for.