Leaderboard

Thanks. Its funny actually out of all the plots I found, the 4 acre plot was the cheapest (less than a third of others). It was by chance a owned by a previous self builder who built a passivhaus, who sold it to me for the very reason he wanted a self builder to have it, could have went for 3 times the price. A very nice man.

The slot drains have a sump unit that transitions the slot into your drain connection the lids are recessed to accept paving. We use Gatic slot drains in commercial settings.

My Aurora Enlite spots have a 60deg spread.

I refer you to my previous comment... he sounds like a complete plank!

Just a minor share of some positive progress. I know there are a lot of problems with window supplies at the moment. The hire company supplying my window lifting equipments says load of projects have been held up due to this. However, true to their word, when I ordered my windows, Nordvest Windows told me my order would be delivered w/c 7th December. And that they did. The telehandler I hired was another story as it caused one of those classic Grand Designs moments where the telehandler stopped working, stuck and going nowhere with a partial load half off the lorry, blocking the main road at rush hour! My heart has recovered and once the transport company got round to re-delivering the pallets, the replacement telehandler did the job. Now I've just got to wait for a day when it isn't raining to actually use the glass lifting machine to install the upstairs windows. (and yes, I know the back windows are sticking out of the house, soon they won't be ?)

@joe90 yes we do thank goodness. All that is ok so at least we have hot water. Yeah today wasn’t ideal trying to sort the leak with the heavy rain etc. I’m quite willing to disconnect the unit and have a bash myself once I’ve taken the casing off etc exposing it properly. Thanks for the video link. @ProDave yeah he reckons the aluminum fins vibrate on the copper and wear over time. ??‍♂️ It certainly looked to be coming out of there, but like I say conditions weren’t ideal. I will definitely get a picture for you once I remove the unit, which I think will be after Christmas now. Yeah good idea, I’ve seen him strip down etc and quite happy to have a go etc, so I might just give your theory a test. He did say if it’s a case of re-gassing he’s more than happy to come and sort.

Wont be soon unfortunately. So far I've only made a test panel to teach myself and that was done some time ago pre covid. This is it propped up on a wall light. You can see I didn't get the sides straight and some lines aren't smooth curves.

In summer they will but not so in winter. We had a discussion on here and concluded if you are fed by treated mains water and have an unvented hot water tank, then there really is no risk of legionaires so no need to heat the tank hot periodically. so I have mine turned off, and if the solar PV heats it hotter on a good day then that is a bonus.

Tested this today, you're right @ProDave I'm going to pay part of the bill but less £400 meaning we still owe the £600 plus the £400 I'm going to take off the current bill. I think the £1000 should be enough for him to return to address the snags.

My wife was one of the kids it was injected into, in her case twice a week for 7 years. I've read an awful lot on the subject, not least all the legal submissions from experts because she was involved in the group action that was brought over the scandal. Still, I bow to the superior knowledge you acquired across a dinner table over 20 years ago.

Over the last four years or so, we have had our fair share of ups and downs. But this is an up. And now, GCNs are very welcome. From a twinkle in our eyes in the little local-stone built cottage (to the left of the photo) to a contemporary orange (coloured) box... which will be silvery grey in a while. Like my receding hair. Lots more to do, but hey! SWMBO reminds me we started when POTUS was being sworn-in , and just moved in by the time he had been sworn at long enough to be kicked out. Is there a lesson there? Probably not.?

Hi, So just to give you an update. I’ve had a A/C engineer out this morning to look at it. He found there was absolutely no refrigerant gas in the unit. On further inspection he found the leak at the back of the unit on the heat exchange coil where the copper meets the aluminum. After trying to repair it by brazing it, it’s still leaking..... So unfortunately still no heating, but it’s not for lack of trying. So potentially now looking at another unit....

Yes I think you are right. I spoke to another distributor who said they have a fair amount of leeway with pricing and were happy to quote against others. They also do windows by other manufacturers who are not part of the DOVISA UK / VKR / VELUX group.

Do you know how your system defrosts. I may be drawing from your buffer tank, or using the inbuilt resistance heater, or something else? At 4°C, water is at its most dense, so that is the worst temperature possible for an ASHP (in the scheme of things).

Yes, properly in. One bedroom needs a lot more work - no plaster yet - and you can feel the cold streaming in. Durisol is 86% fresh air after all. Vistors are offered a paint brush on entry ....? VAT return beckons

Hello Jilly, Mirroring the other comments, that doesn't look right. With our steel structure the steels to be installed below ground level were all specified (and supplied) galvanised and any steels installed below DPC to be coated with bituminous paint - our SE specified 'RIW Toughseal or equivalent approved.' For steel coating and protection, I've previously received very good advice from the technical department at Promain. Not cheap but their service for me has always been first class. Your builder definitely has a remediation job to do there I think. HTH

That seems like a good choice. I did have English Brothers in my sift, ultimately went with SIPs though however English Brothers were an attractive option. Hope everything goes well for you?

Ok, so I have completed this part of the quest, and... I went with English Brothers. A lot to share, but in a nutshell, the initial experience with the company and their attitude got me sold. Deposit paid

My Plus B does not, and unless things have changed in the last 12months I don't think there is a module to do so. But you can get (and I have) a remote panel, with 15m of cable, this allows fill control of the unit (My unit is in the loft). Like @jack mentions I can't see the need to be able to use an app. If it's set up reasonably well you'll find the automatic humidity control works very well and is proportional, so it varies the doped to maintain a set point rather than just boosting to a fixed setting. i spent ages setting up boost switching from lights in our main bathroom to combine boost switching from a remote en-suite. in reality the humidity control does the nearest bathroom better on its own, and I could have just boost switched the remote en-suite if needed.

Getting there, rise of 2 degrees overnight. Be toasty just in time for Santa!!

Standard engineering blue plinth bricks ..?? Available from most/all builders merchants. https://www.tbsdirect.co.uk/product/brick-plinth-stretcher-blue-pl3.2/hb100130 Do the whole lot in engineering blues (nearly grey anyway) and it will look fine.

I have found that pendants can work well with a sloped ceiling. You can adjust the cord length to suit. Some have special cords, ceiling roses etc. You need to plan carefully where to fit them. Have a look at John Lewis for ideas.

How petty of them. The flashing is an integral part of the gutter in my opinion because it would not be needed if it wasn't for their gutter. They want you to do it so they can claim any further damp is due to your flashing rather than their gutter. Incidentally damp is possibly a statutory nuisance... https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/environment-and-waste/environmental-health-and-pollution/statutory-nuisance/accumulations However not all councils are as proactive. Some don't have the resources to take action. It would be the Environmental Health Officer you speak to but getting them involved would certainly sour relations. If you decide to get the flashing done yourself make sure the upstand on their gutter is high enough first. It must be at least 150mm tall or water will get behind your flashing no matter how high your flashing is. You could make this a condition of agreeing to do it. Taller eg 200mm would be even better. If you decide to make an issue of it. I would write to them recorded delivery. Warn them that not doing the flashing will likely lead to water ingress into both properties and could amount to a statutory nuisance for which you could seek damages. Point out that, having warned them in writing of this risk, if they proceed anyway and damage is caused they could also be liable for additional damages for negligence.

You could use 3 phase track as used mainly in commercial and retail settings. You can fit luminaires from any manufacturer as it’s pretty much a universal standard plus you get the advantage of up to 3 circuits on the same track and are able to reconfigure luminaires to a different circuit by just unclippping them and flipping a switch. Can be recessed or surface mounted. Price ranges vary but definitely worth looking at.

Not the case. Your body temp is fooling you so ignore it. If the UFH manifold loops feel warm or even ‘slightly hot’ it’s too hot. You need to set the ASHP as said to ~35oC and the UFH manifold blending valve to 22-24oC and bugger off out fir 48 hrs. Until then, nowt will change significantly. You’re ridding the house of a HUGE amount of ‘cold’ stored energy so patience is required and results will follow

You can get a lot of LED flat panel lights that literally fit into the thickness of a bit of plasterboard, some small ones that just look like downlights, only ultra slim. Only tip would be buy plenty of spares because in 5 or 10 years when one fails you probably won't buy one the same.

Get a job... idle hands and all that! Haven’t you got a million Londoners to feed following their exodus?!

Do it like the bank would do with you if you self built it. Pay in arrears to a pre-agreed QS'd plan. Have the architect, if you are using him to monitor the build, sign off on the stage payments. Keep a retention at the end for snagging 5/10% With regard to the architects builder all I would say is the only ones round my way who are not flat out are quiet for a reason.

Anybody got any any good makes, complete crap, ones that fall apart vaulted ceilings with only a service void to install lights into, I think a track system could answer a lot of problems.

Ok so crossed wires here.... When the PV is commissioned and the diverter is also installed, there is a connection to allow the ASHP to trigger the immersion to boost. You can just leave it and it will do it once a month, or you can get the plumber to remove the setting from the programme. Currently as it’s installed the relay has clicked “on” to do the cycle but the the heater engaged and the temperature hasn’t moved so it’s thrown the error after a couple of hours. Another lovely install “feature” your plumber forgot to tell you about ....

LOL!. Oh LORD! - why do you think it took me 5 applications and 5 years to get planning. To know your enemy is to know their weakness!. Not as simple as you think . LOTS of stuff not shown on the councils website . Winner , winner, chicken dinner! I'm in Stoke Bishop but not a posh twat - just a twat ...

30 neighbours objected . As it's Stoke Bishop - I think if you are within a 1 mile radius you feel the 'need' i.e. prick; to object.

In our previous house ( next to the build ) I commissioned a stained glass window indoors ( between hallway and lounge ). Was a beautiful thing. When we were selling every potential buyer would comment on it ( exactly why I did it ). Would love one in the new build but not sure where it would go. So (expletive deleted) off before anyone says walk on glazing.

Result. By the time we get to Xmas day you can spend the whole time in your Speedos!

...and for reasons I still haven't fathomed I decided to finally add the inhibitor I bought *in the summer* to the heating system... There's a handy towel radiator upstairs for this so I closed off its valves ready to remove the air vent and pour it in. But of course, the lockshield hasn't been touched in ten years and so that decided to spring a small leak. Not normally a problem - a bit of PTFE to pack the spindle out and all would be good. But oh no, that'd be too easy - to add to the excitement of Christmas this valve is some sort of 'designer' (read: 'designed entirely for form over function') valve with a screw adjuster sealed internally with o-rings of dimensions never before seen before. Taking advantage of the problem opportunity I bought a new more conventionally-designed lockshield with a built-in drain which could be handy for future use. Amazingly for me the obligatory 'hold breath whilst you re-pressurise, crank the heating up and check for leaks/weeps' didn't result in any issues - I didn't even get the weird 'wipe finger around the seals and convince yourself it feels wet but it doesn't look it' feeling! Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Not ideal, but One way of reducing it is by having single occupancy discount. You register yourself there and then you switch to single occupancy discount on your house too as only your other half is there. ?