All Activity

Thank you for your help with this. My two worries about that would be the low amount of insulation for the electric ufh (xps a worse insulator and the self levelling eating into an already shallow buildup), and that when the ufh breaks, I'd need to cut into the tanking and self levelling, not just the tiles. Would the chipboard idea (either with battens, or without and bonded to the slab) definitely not work? I'd also looked at gypdeck 18, but it's expensive and presumably wouldn't connect into the 22mm bedroom chipboard.

Hi guys, thanks for your input, its much appreciated. Ive attached some elevation photos as requested. One of those is early on in the build, so you can see the large steel beam that spans the bifold, on which the exterior bricks rest. We havent had any further work done to the house since it was signed off, no alterations etc. I dont have a lazer, but i can see no signs of movement in the brickwork, around windows etc. When looking back through photos of the build, there seems to be plenty of insulation visible around the window apertures in the cavity walls, but cannot see any type of cavity closures in the pics i have available?

I can't easily see how the bricks are supported over the bifold doors. Again here if defending the glazing contractor I would want to know about this and cavity tray design. I would also want to know if you have made later alterations since you moved in, have you done something that could compromise the building performance that has cuased the building to move and over stressed the glazing and this has resulted in the problems manifest. If you have not done any of the above then the glazing provider seems to be on a sticky wicket! I agree Craig. It could be that the window frames are absolutely fixed to the main frame of the house and as that moves about it's causing overstress in the windows and doors. By the sound of it the workmanship appeares shoddy, not maintaining air tighntess for example. In the round though there are so many issues it apears to me that the product could just be faulty and the installation is poor. Hi guys, thanks for your input, its much appreciated. Ive attached some elevation photos as requested. One of those is early on in the build, so you can see the large steel beam that spans the bifold, on which the exterior bricks rest. We havent had any further work done to the house since it was signed off, no alterations etc. I dont have a lazer, but i can see no signs of movement in the brickwork, around windows etc. When looking back through photos of the build, there seems to be plenty of insulation visible around the window apertures in the cavity walls, but cannot see any type of cavity closures in the pics i have available?

Yes. Stop listening to the manufacturers and go with the bonded XPS (Wedi / Jackoboard) type material. You’ll need to self level over them as they follow to subfloor, but that’s your opportunity to bury the electric UFH. 👍 Then tank and tile.

Thank you both. It's a renovation that previously had 50mm polystyrene on the slab, topped with 22mm chipboard, so I don't feel I have much choice about it being floating. My thinking was that the battens would provide more stability for tiling. I would screw the battens to the slab, then screw the chipboard to the battens. I'd originally thought about XPS tile backer boards adhesively stuck to the slab, but manufacturers seemed to think tongue and groove was essential. Would there be a better way, do you think?

What Nick said, A tiled floating floor wet room does not work for me, I would want it all fixed with zero movement. When I tiled our wet room I fixed Hardie backer board through to the P5 Caberdek which is fixed to the floor joists.

The latest Viessmann ASHP do it slightly differently - on approach to defrost, they move an internal valve and charge a small buffer to about 50-60 degs and the whole defrost energy comes from that. Slightly more efficient to the normal.

You're either floating or not. Fixing the chipboard to the battens would cause a conflict. Why floating? Seems added uncertainty with a mixture of bedroom > bathroom wetroom flooring.

Thanks for that, as nowt beats a bit of raw data! Interesting to see how it's still performing admirably, even immediately before deciding it's time for a defrost. The ASHP that's just gone in at one of my current projects defrosts by using some of the buffer volume, I believe. When we had the bitter cold snap recently it defrosted in probably 30-45 seconds; just a big cloud of steam and an almost instant runoff of water from the melted ice. A few minutes at not much more energy consumption doesn't seem to be the worst thing, so your graph offers some assurances, so 👍. The hat's got a few holes in it, may not have taken another hit tbh......

Floating so battens not fixed to the slab?

It's very much house dependent and you have to find the fit that works for your needs, in harmony with the house and of course at a cost that you can afford. I used to heat scheduled - there was a small benefit in terms of energy consumption but at the expense of hot period, cold period, hot period and a house that had internal temps that dropped rapidly when the hot period was stopped Heating 24/7 the fabric of the house stabilises (let's say takes in a chunk of heat and that heat has a initial cost - I was seeing that during weekend heating when CH was on all day) and if the heating is stopped it gives it back and the house loses temp much slower than it previously did (without any insulation changes) I've just started to play with set backs again and I'm finding that I'm getting better results.

Back when it was cheap as chips i just used to leave it on low all day. I think if i did that now id be forced to just eat tap water all winter. With this current Wiser setup i was just concerned with it sat ticking over at high 30's and the radiators being luke warm, As when the heating turns off im then left with cold rads and a cooling down house, Hence why i asked if there was a way to make it cruise along at a higher temp that still falls within the condensing boundaries. I will watch to see what it does when the weather turns colder. Maybe look into buying a Dehumidifier Mr Steamy Tea. Just watch for the operating temperatures as some only work well above 20 degrees.

Hello - I was wondering if you'd be able to sense-check my floating floor plan, please? The wetroom is just a corner of the bedroom, about 3.7sqm. In the bedroom, I'll be putting 50mm PIR on the slab, topped with 22mm chipboard. For the wetroom floor, I therefore thought I'd do the same, then topped with impey waterguard, electric ufh, and natural stone. To help with stability on the floating floor, I thought I could add a perimeter of battens like in the picture below, and screw the chipboard into it: Does this sound like a plan? Thank you.

Just the normal way, I just let the heat pump do its own thing - you don't need a buffer for defrost, you just need the minimum prescribed volume available, as detailed in the installer manual - you never did need a buffer, it just hang on from fixed duty heat pumps. Heat pump just moves the 4 port refrigerant valve to cooling mode, refrigerant does the defrost. Water circuit just provides the heat. It's only in defrost mode a couple of minutes. Attached from the other day when it was cold and defrosting. The attached is the temperature and heat flows. Green line is return temp (from heating system/volumiser), red line is flow temp, yellow is heat pump thermal output, blue area is electrical input. - no hat needed😀

Good afternoon, I’ve lived in my cottage for 12 years (small terrace) and have often wondered how the manual pump could be converted… I am unsure where the well for the pump is but we suspect it’s approximately 10ft away from the pump. During the summer a circle of grass dries out which we can only suspect is a lid to the well (I intend on finding out one day) please could someone with the knowledge share if an electric conversion is possible? I’ve searched the internet with not much relating to my needs. I have read about submersible pumps which I don’t think would be suitable due to the unknown network of piping & I’ve read about the potential requirement for a holding tank, something that may not suit a small cottage.. any input is much appreciated. Many thanks

Remember if you take this up In block work you need to treat it like a gable wall. so angled ties at ceiling joists level, then more test at rafter level. the ties stop the wall bowing out and restrain the ceiling and roof rafters, it all works together. with the icf walls you have done there wasn’t such a need as the structure is very rigid and stiff on its own, a block cavity wall can be a bit wobbly.

Take external skin right way up level with top of rafters, pro need to leave top course till rafters on so know where to set line. Take internal skin up and either sit rafters ontop or use a pole plate and hangers. If sitting rafters on blockwork probably need trimming to sit flat on the block and a bent strap hanging over end of blocks. Can you do this off your own back nowadays or do bcos want some kind of detail drawing

It wouldn’t as you would have a cavity all the way to the floor. and being an open carport I presume a bit of moisture will quickly dry out if there’s a bit of breeze to blow through it.

Thanks again, NFW 😁 Several architects have advised us, but it really seems like a mixed bag. Some we've spoken to err on the side of caution, and would produce a 'safe' design. Others seem a little more open to interpretation of the rules, and think that in our case we might attempt trying to maximise our footprint, due to the orientation of ours & the neighbours house Obviously no-one knows till it goes for submission, & we don't expect any cast iron guarantees. But this (for us) is where we really want their gut feeling & experience to shine through . This is where we feel they can really provide their worth. From what some have said, if the council rejects & asks for a wall to be moved slightly to comply, it can be classed as a minor revision & part of the original proposal. Thus incur no extra fees or restart the process. Is anyone able to verify if this assumption is correct?

Bit late to this, but as I live on my own, and my home hours vary widely (and always have), I have tried most heating schedules. For me, on E7 heating, the lowest energy usage is to just heat when I am in with a fan heater (my house is small and uses very little energy). There is a problem with this method, and that is high relative humidity and condensation. I manage this with ventillation, but is does need to be managed. Until last winter I used my storage heaters (they work well as I set them up to work properly and despair at people at work who won't set theirs up properly). This eliminated the condensation problem, and gives me an evenly heated house. The financial cost was similar, so may go back to it after this winter. Storage heaters, once set up correctly, deliver thermal energy in a similar way to a 'wet' heating system set to a low flow temperature. Always remember that temperature is not energy, it is the way that it is delivered that is important.

As a blanket yes, but after 3ach not so much. People in affordable of HA housing will switch MVHR off and happily choke to death, whilst drying wet clothes in 3 rooms and typing out a complaint about the mould and condensation issues. You can’t educate pork, but also there are some terrible handovers conducted, or none at all, so what people don’t know they simply won’t know. MVHR and airtightness are both the best things since the slicing of the first loaf, but it needs to be done correctly, in a dwelling that sympathises, and be owned by an informed occupant / end user.

This is a problem from my perspective as it's too prescriptive. The English system at least gives provision for multiple ventilation strategies. Natural ventilation really has to be a choice even in very airtight buildings - and despite what some many in the industry say, it with good design works in those building too. Making MVHR mandatory just gives the industry a golden invitation to cream as much as they can out of it.

Absolutely. Most contractors feel they need to fear, or hide away from the BCO. Engaging with them to keep the cogs oiled is often far more beneficial overall, and prevents such feckups. Depends on how far you let the builder go before provoking a visit from building control.

It can prob be derived here, better, for free. These pro’s are just annoyingly expensive and underwhelming. About to get another new clients architect placed into the nearest bin, which actually happens a lot when I’m involved and demonstrate the long list of faux-pas. Current clown hasn’t actually followed the approved planning application, so that chat I had with the client to highlight this last week was “enlightening” to say the least. Then that moved quickly to being infuriated. Operation lead balloon was in full effect, yet again.

With your love of buffer tanks, what’s the method of defrosting in the absence of one? I’ll go get my tin hat ready……