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You’ve latched onto this being “the issue” yet it could be one of many - and despite myself, @Nickfromwales @DamonHD @ProDave and @SteamyTea asking you to try the basics to eliminate a potential issue, you’ve ignored the requests. I have no idea if it’s the issue, and it could even be something bizarre such as the wind direction or the airflow over this sensor, but without having one more piece of information to try and help, we are all guessing. Essentially ignoring all the advice you’ve been given is like asking us to stand in the centre of circle and walk to the edge, but telling us we are walking the wrong direction ..!! So please either do what’s been asked and let us know the outcome, or don’t. But if you don’t, please don’t ask for any more advice on this as we are wasting our time.

There's a map of the Radon areas of the UK here. It's self-explanatory : you're either in a Radon area or not. If not - guess what - ya don't need a radon barrier, unless as @Dave Jones says you have a condition specifying you need it. If you do, and if you need a sump ( as we did) nobody came to inspect it, nobody checked that we have an external vent, nobody could give a stuff. Except if you get irradiated by enough Radon, you die early.

Yours is different as it is a conversion/extension not a new build, so doesn’t need an air test. EPC should be pretty easy to get for a conversion.

My No 1 tip to any self builder designing a new house, is design the roof as a warm roof, with the insulation between and above the rafters. It is so much easier to detail the insulation and air tightness compared to a cold roof, and it gives you a nice warm roof space for storage or plant like MVHR etc.

Old jcb type backhoe thing will spend more time making a mess and getting stuck buy a 3 tonne tracked machine for yourself, and hire in an 8 tonne machine for a week to do the big cleanup and stump pulling.

Hello all. Cheepish, chearful and it seems to work! This is my "Covid temporary manifold", looks like it will be the permenant one. Components: Filter, pump, 22mm manifold cut and soldered in a couple of hours, mixer valve - 28 mm reduced down to 22 mm to maintain a good flow, 15mm gate valves. Does it work? - yes better than expected. How did I calibrate it - flow ect - with my hand - too hot turn the valve down etc. Attractions, can get all the parts off the shelf. Connected to a standard heating system, combi boiler. Tapped into the flow side to the heating using close coupled tees. Still got the electrical controls to do etc, but great warm feet. Mistakes..cut one of the pipes too short, pride comes before the fall! Simple stupid.. yes, so pile on folks.

@Ralph when I was discussing our connection with SSEN they specifically said that if the accepted price turned out to be higher when they came to do the work then I wouldn't have to pay any more. They also said if it cost less, we'd be due a refund. While I know it has cost them less, as you might imagine, getting a refund isn't straightforward. I'll see if any of my paperwork helps.

I think the thermostat needs moving and you need to probably bite the bullet for a week or two and get the system running up to 21-22c from 7am-9pm and start to get the fabric of the building up to temperature. Without that, you are going to struggle to get any warmth into the house.

+1 as @ProDave says, their cockup.

@PeterW put me onto this. Hasn't missed a beat: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00QVM6VK4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KMi2CbPSR3RNJ

I would contest that. It is THEIR error. In a similar situation when we built out first house, we had a low quite for a supply from SSE, because their plans showed a cable they could use in an adjacent bit of land. It turns out that cable was not there, and they had to run a new cable all the way down the road from the transformer. They picked up the extra cost. I don't think the plan to feed two houses from an 8kVA transformer would have worked, suppose you both turned on a 19kVA shower at the same time? So argue on the basis you had a supply designed and costed and you entered a contract on that basis. If they want to alter the design at this late stage any additional cost should be met by them. Tell them to revert to their original design and use a 25kVA transformer to keep the neighbour happy.

I never mentioned trade with Midsummer although I had done some serious haggling with them but I actually think they may have quoted me trade not realising it was for our use.

We didn't go with Midsummer in the end but a different company and got trade prices through someone happy to set up a trade account. We had 12 JA Solar 320W Mono Percium LW Black Frame with MC4 panels (though our GSE set up is a landscape rather than portrait) plus we had the addition of the Solic200 immersion controller but we managed to get the price to just over £1900 plus VAT.

Building control will request radon barrier if it's needed in your area. In Ireland most areas are "radon action" areas so radon mitigation is assumed... Tanner's are Irish so no surprise it's a standard detail in their drawings.

radon can also come from made up ground. Check your planning conditions to see if it was specified, if not dont bother.

We've had off-plans SAP done early on, together with provisional EPCs and water consumption calculations. During the build some things changed. I went back to the SAP guys, they sent me a questionnaire (very very detailed) where I put in all the fine specs of the newly installed/changed items (eg water softeners, different bath / washlets / MVHR / Solar PVs with exact capacity, etc etc etc). Then they sent in the air test guy who did the test and said we are within the initially planned parameters. Next day the SAP guys issued the as-built SAPs, the new realistic EPCs (even higher than we thought!) and new water calcs based on the exact items installed. Am now putting together a huge pile of stuff to send off to BCO... Good luck to me...

I'll get hold of the woman who did our SAP and see what she says.

Right, last go. Think of it as a car, one with manual gears. Each gear will have a maximum top speed when the car is running on level ground. Think of that top speed as temperature. Now you can keep the same temperature, but get there faster by using a lower gear i.e. better acceleration. Temperature compensation does this automatically for you (no don't say you don't understand automatic cars and have never driven one, they exist, and work). So when there is a large temperature difference, it in effect uses 'lower gears' to get desired temperature faster. So when you are asked to 'turn the temperature up', there will be a larger temperature difference between inside and outside, the ASHP will 'drop a gear' and endeavour to close that gap as fast as it can. If it fails to show much difference, then the temperature compensation 'curve' may need changing (and don't ask for an explanation, just accept it can be changed). There are a number of reasons that the curve is wrong, mainly these controllers are sold globally and the default settings may be for a totally different climate than the UK (you can claim this is wrong and should not happen, and is bad design, but you are one customer out of millions, and they don't give a flying (expletive deleted) what you think). Turning it up a few degrees for a few hours is going to take that, say 3 hours. You have spent several days, and many collective hours of other peoples time on this. Just give it a go, you may be surprised.

I'll need to check my spreadsheet but building timber frame panels is cheap and quick. Again location is critical, nobody builds with brick in the Hebrides. If block and block or single block on a timber frame you would usually have a cement render. Haulage of materials is another consideration and weather.

why do you make that assumption ??? screw the frame together as @PeterW suggests and slide it in, then hammer Thin wedges under the uprights at the floor (which will be covered by carpet) and this will make it a very tight fit.

Last door casing I bought could have been used as a propellor it was that twisted ... nothing wrong with whitewood if you can pick a straight bit with no knots.

I think Tanners foundation drawings are standard and everything's in, until its not. There is nothing to lose by using a radon barrier rather than a standard DPM. Pennies difference. I think radon measures as referred to in levels, I.e. level 1 protection required = install a radon barrier. Level 2 = radon barrier and sump pump. It looks like you don't need the sump pump, and chump change to use a radon barrier as belts and braces if you are so inclined.

Nope it’s a decent bit of kit and I would take the swap.

TRV’s would take a normal actuator? Available from £5 up.

Screw the header to the top of the uprights and slide into place.

even better, get them to connect onto it assuming you having got underfloor pipes in the screed.

As above I would build an insulated “box”to go over it and remove the loft insulation below it so it tracks the house temperature .

I've got an 2.8t takeuchi digger which I've been using to clear over grown ground and gradually do my own landscaping. It's fantastic on scrub, saplings and tree stumps of younger trees but we recently took down a sycamore with a stump around 15 inches in diameter and it couldnt touch it, spent time digging around it, pulling up roots and then gave up and cut the stump lower than ground level, drilled some holes in it, gave it a dose of RoundUp in the holes and buried it. The digger is old but it's a strong machine, I dont think any mini/midi size digger would have dealt with the stump. if you have mature trees with stumps more than 12 inches+ then you'd probably be better off hiring an operated 14t machine for a day. Also dont under estimate the headache of what to do with the stumps, they are massive and dont burn very well. You then also have a nice bomb crater to fill in as well. Another option would be clear around all the stumps your own machine cant handle and get an operator with a stump grinder in a for a couple of days which is a way to tackle stumps without having to dig them up and dispose of them - depends whether you need the stumps out becuase you are building on the ground or just for landscaping reasons, I've quickly realised leaving them in the ground is the best bet where possible. I would definitely recommend buying a used machine if you have a large site and the time and inclination to do your own work. They are extremely useful for all sorts of things and you will do bits of landscaping and work you'd otherwise not bother hiring a machine for. I think the general consensus is tracked mini digger over backhoe or JCB as they dont like wet muddy ground. I've become pretty good at operating it now, with about 100 hours in the seat, nothing more satisfying than an afternoon scraping scrub and saplings up into large balls with the digger and then going back over the fresh earth with the grading bucket and getting it nice and flat. You also arent under pressure like you are with a hired machine to do the whole job in a day or a weekend and can do as and when. You will however, like me, quickly realise a digger is rather limited without a dumper so you'll end up with one of those as well. And then within a week you will find friends in the village you didnt realise you had once word gets out you have a machines on site ?

Hello, I'm new and I'm planning on building a house with a timber frame, so I'm sure that there will be a few questions from me on that! :) Jason

Give Mark Walker at Walker Machinery a call, he will point you in the right direction. 01993 772255 He is just outside Witney. http://www.walkermachinery.co.uk/contact/

In relation to the neighbours issue: 4 years after open hostility from all our neighbours, the issue, such as it was, has gone away . It's not all smiles, but normal civility has broken out. Things will settle down.

bit late now but we had ours built of brick so no need to plaster. Went to the local reclamation yard and found some ancient flag stones 4" thick for the hearth.

did same above a gable window lintel, struct eng specified a HD catnic, the brickie wasnt happy with the defelection in it and added a pre-cast conc little to the inner skin at the back of it to stiffen it up. Cheap way to belt and braces it to stop any movement.

i cleared all ours with a 3 ton digger. Really doesn't matter how big the stump is dig all way round, use the narrowest bucket to give most force to snap all the roots. Then pull it out, the object being not to lift but drag roll the stump. Leave it dirt side up to dry out for a week (or 6 months the way the weather is at the moment lol) then pull as much dirt off it as you can to save weight on the muck away. If the hole is where you will be driving then stone it up with hardcore not dirt as it will settle a lot no matter how much you track over it. I wouldn't bother a 3cx they are so much more cumbersome than a mini, more fuel, make more mess moving around, cant get into small places, expensive to fix etc etc. For a self build id hire the mini and buy a telehandler.

Hi Dave, Thanks for piling in. I just rigged it up to get a bit of heat. Still need to finish the job. But I just thought I would wing it to get a bit of heat into the place as it's my own house. Would I spec it at work.. not that brave. I'm more on the structures side. Surprisingly to get things kicked off, I just tapped off the radiator flow side with a couple of 15mm pipes using the close coupled tee principle ( I read this on the internet and thought, I|'ll see if it works) and it works fine for a temp supply. Yes, no flow meters, or fancy stuff, it's my own house so I can go "old school" and just face the fact that the UF system is a massive heat sink. Wife said I looked like a submarine commander just adjusting the gate valves, never mind flow meters. Pratically, in a few years time all these gadgets get gummed up, and few folk know how to fix this stuff, hence my Flintstone approach! If part of the floor is a bit too hot I'll just put my hand on the floor, too hot, then turn it down a bit.. Ignorance is bliss.. I may come back on here later asking how do I fix my oak flooring as the UF was too hot!

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4404237/world-war-one-nissen-hut-converted-luxury-home-for-sale?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebaramp Crack on?

I don't believe you need the calculator, just a written statement saying "I confirm that water consumption is calculated at less than 125 litres/person/day using fittings approach”.

Hello welcome to stress!! Just kidding enjoy, still think we are privileged despite having no hair left ?

+1 fir slate scratching badly, I went to a reclamation yard and got two pieces of flagstone, cut them with an angle grinder, voi

Whole thread running about it here.

Lintel schedule should be on the plans. I use Condell for them and send a list and get them all together on one order - usually get best price and merchant can’t match it. Plans get marked up and they then get sprayed with a number and the blockwork next to the opening gets the same treatment so there is no mix up as to what goes where.

Our Jeremy Harris put in solid copper between his ASHP and the distribution manifold. Then found it noisy. He then RTFM and found that the reason it came with a coiled flexible pipe was to dampen the sound.

I did it all myself.

Typically each circuit will be max of 100m, so depending on the size of your house you'll likely need multiple circuits. While you may not see the need for manually controlling each circuit seperatly in a highly insulated house you do need to ensure the system is balanced. Three ways to balance from what I've read: 1) Adjust the flow regulators manually for each circuit on manifold based on pipe run length. 2) Use slab sensor in for each circuit and switch actuator on/off based on temperature. 3) Use the Salus auto-balancing actuators. One thing to note is that option 1), won't account for areas of the slab which are potentially hotter/colder for some reason, like sun hitting fooring or near a door that gets opened regularly.

We ended up with two 110mm ducts in plant room for condensate/UVC overflow, just because this was easier than trying to pipe the condensate from one side of the plant room to the other. Ideally you don't have lots of SVP junctions under your slab, but using Y-junctions for drains that aren't toilets or kitchen sinks is acceptable. The is a NHBC guidance document called "‘Y’ JUNCTIONS IN DRAINS UNDER BUILDINGS" that talks about this. 110mm SVP pipe supplied and installed by MBC. If you need 32mm depends how many concurrent high-pressure showers you want to plan for ?. Costs a lot less to upgrade to 32mm now then do it later which might be impossible, is my POV though. I don't know if most, but some people do. We felt it was the best approach for us. Depends how far away ASHP is, if you want it highly insulated, if you are happy to cement it in, and if you can go down under harcdcore to acommodate the bend radius or not. Clearly if you UVC is on an external wall, then this might make less sense and/or be less practical. The bend radius is about 0.5m+ from memory. Order pipe from https://www.loco2heat.co.uk/. Photo here. Note the long run is to a garden room, the short run on the left is for the ASHP.

Why not put a drain in the plant room. It will cost pennies, and take an extra couple of hours that’s all, better to have it than to need it. I have just changed 20m of 32mm water pipe and pulled and pushed it through the duct, two man job but very straightforward, install all ducts with pull cords in them or get one of the tools BT for pulling cables through, since buying the cable pulling tool I no longer need to leave pull cords in as I can push the fibreglass rod 50m through a duct.

Delta board for me . Easy to cut ; water resistant ( not waterproof ) . Light weight - tiles seem to stick to it ?

We used 12mm HardieBacker in our three bathrooms and it was a sod to cut and drill. I just couldn't bring myself to use Marmox although I considered it long and hard.

This site is really useful as it allows you to see the colours in not just RAL but RGB, Hex and CMYK https://www.visual-graphics.de/en/customer-care/ral-classic-colours/

To a certain extent it is. And how many people think that spending 5K extra on a kitchen will save them that on not eating out. What is the payback on a £800 bath compared to a £200 bath? Or a £1000 kitchen tap that boils water compared to a £50 one and a tenner for a kettle.