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Our 4kW can put out around 20L/min of flow if required. It's currently doing around 2kW and the flow rate is around 6-7L/min. So zero need for additional pumps. We are heating 192m² UFH floor area plus a fan coil in another 24m². So do you need the pumps, possibly not, assuming you are flowing the same temperature to each floor area covered by each manifold and don't need mixers. Even then your ASHP should be able to drive an electronic mixer to reduce temp to the lowest flow temp temperature, and do it all without additional pumps/buffers etc. Maybe start a thread, with your details and bottom out what you do and don't need?

Is anyone able to advise please on the above. I'm converting my barn with full planning, contractor is used to dealing with 0% VAT with new builds but not the 5% with conversion. am I correct in that he should charge me 5% VAT on the majority of materials (I know there are some exceptions) and labour and then after completion I can look to claim a fair bit of this 0% back? the barn house is for me and the family fyi.

Thanks @Susie more options to consider. Did you put any ducts through the R-Wall before the concrete pour to accommodate any of the mvhr, pipes etc or are you going to core through?

I agree with @ProDave that bolts are advisable, not expensive either. But it might be tricky to drill unless you have a 90° drill. ring shanked nails or fully threaded screws at 150 cc, staggered.

I would say three of the multiple fixings should be a nut and bolt right through old and new joists (one each end and one in the middle) them multiple screws as well.

I'm no expert but we are having a big area designed at present. There are additional pumps at manifolds.

Hi @DevonMade We’re having a Willis water immersion system for the UFH you can research that on the forum and a conventional vented hot water cylinder heated on economy 7 or solar diversion. We can install both ourselves so no labour costs, parts can be replaced quickly and cheaply if required. The cylinder has a shower coil and a shower take off to keep our options open. It’s mostly going to be just 2 adults. We have found living here it’s a lot harder to find tradesmen (plumbers particularly) than back in Manchester. If you need one there is a wait so you can be without heat/DHW etc, if it’s summer the holiday let’s seem to get priority. The above answer I would understand not to be as the norm. MVHR we have chosen the Zehender Q350 with pre heater (frost protection) buying online and installing ourselves. This is one of the few things that has come down in price in the last 3 years since research started. I was going for a vent axia but have read on here about bearings being changed after a few years (5 years?) and the price change has pushed me to the Zehender it’s better spec and quieter. Good luck with your own build.

Bigger is better, but only if all are the same % oversized, so don't over egg one room and neglect others. Otherwise you end up gagging back one room and still flowing a higher temp at ASHP.

But you would do that to all internals walls anyway, so no different. We have an office the other side of the wall were the UFH manifold is located, timber stud wall - nothing the other side of the wall. Correct

Yep A 21st century essential, just like thermostats were in the 20th and still are to many - that isn't essential and doesn't add value. It's all needless tatt. I do have home assistant, but use it as a simple go to place to see stuff, never found control over the long term reliable. If it stopped working, I wouldn't replace it.

Sounds like good logic… but Ufh is only ground floor and fed by the ashp so my understanding was that the ashp would be doing the pumping without need for additional pumps at the manifold. Are there other complaints that will cause significant noise? It’s a timber stud wall so will add acoustic insulation too.

Thanks both, I actually think my contractor has already said 200 so that all makes sense. - I assume it is 150mm insulation and then 50mm screed but I’ll check.

I love to loathe tech stuff. So this article from The Atlantic magazine hit home with me. The text below is ChatGPT's summary edited and reformatted by me for easier readability. “Smart Homes Are Terrible” by Jason Fried argues that the current wave of smart-home technology often makes everyday tasks more difficult rather than easier. The author, a tech industry veteran, recounts his experience staying in a high-tech rental home full of connected devices and automated systems that, in practice: Require multiple apps, tutorials, or menus just to do simple things like turn on lights or set the temperature. Have poorly designed interfaces (e.g., unlabeled panels or touchscreen controls that aren’t intuitive). Create friction, lag, and confusion instead of convenience. Make basic actions harder than with traditional analog controls (like flipping a switch or turning a dial). Ultimately, he suggests that smart homes have become too complicated and unreliable — and that simple analog solutions often work better. 🏠 Examples from the Article Lighting panels needed tutorials just to operate. Television and kitchen appliances were complicated by app requirements and obscure interfaces. Thermostats and security systems involved navigating deep menus rather than straightforward controls. A digital lock on the gate didn’t work properly, forcing use of a traditional key instead. 🧩 Broader Context (Not Just The Atlantic) To balance the article’s criticism, here’s how smart homes are generally viewed in technology and industry trends: 📈 Adoption and Trends Many homeowners expect smart technology to become essential by 2030, driven by convenience, energy efficiency, and integration. The smart-home market continues to grow with devices like smart thermostats, speakers, and security systems becoming more common. 🔧 What Smart Homes Can Do Well Remote control of devices via apps or assistants like Alexa/Google. Automated routines (e.g., adjusting heating based on presence). Potential energy savings by optimizing usage. Security and privacy vulnerabilities if devices aren’t configured securely. Interoperability issues between different brands and systems (though standards like Matter are helping). The Atlantic Magazine February 2026

Increase the floor build up by 50mm to 200mm - 150mm insulation, 50mm liquid screed. Then either live with 50mm lower ground floor ceilings, or raise everything up by 50mm, which nobody will ever notice.

150mm for insulation and any screed above just isn't enough, you should be doing 150mm if PIR insulation at least with UFH, ideally 200mm. Then screed above that, would look at the minimum 50mm.

Yes for all, nothing below the structural slab hence the need to insulate on top. We are about to break ground in March so full planning approved - I’ve made contact with Ian thanks for this. This has put me right off! Thanks for this… Thanks, I’ve DM you for more details.

Well spotted. Nowhere near enough fixings have been used. @dan_cup, one top an one bottom, repeated as much as you can afford.

The heart wants, what the heart wants.

You are like a wrinkly ninja............and we never know when you will next strike, silently, but always deadly.

Directly on to the Insulated Raft. At the time it was £75/m^2. If you follow the link to my post that -rick- posted, it's got the full info in there.

You should have lots of fixings. The whole floor load, where raised, is resting on the fixings.

On top of what? Can you recall the price level?

Option C - Previously the basin and bath went into a hopper where you can see the two temporary downpipes, these are currently just feeding into the old drain which is still there below the slab and working - ie., A & B join up underground anyway. Reading the regs again, it does say that boiler condensate should be downstream of a sink (basin?), so maybe it's best to use this and box it in after all? It would still be vented at the boiler end.

There is also 'stick' build.

I can recommend the poured resin option. I also considered all the alternative options. Mines a two colour resin, in the style of a polished concrete finish and most people that visit ask if it is a polished concrete, even though it wasn't the intention to be an exact copy. Lot's of colour options and the different lacquer coats allow for matt, sheen or gloss finishes. I've been pleasantly surprised at how durable it is. It still cleans up (mostly) like new after 9 years and ours has a hard life. They can be re-top coated as well should it ever start to show the wear and tear or you want a different colour/finish.