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Not gonna lie, was buzzing to see the ASHP come to life so can get the UFH and DHW up and running and today was the day! I did all the plumbing for ASHP, UFH and everything else, got a preplumbed Ecodan which the spark powered up today. Few issues at first getting it going until.i realised that one of the pump valves I thought I'd opened was nearly closed - kept getting 'Low Flow' which as I'd 'opened' all the valves was puzzling until I realised I hadn't actually opened all of them?‍♂️ Not sure how long it will take for the house to get up to 20degrees from 14 but its going at it now. All set for a Christmas move in - few rooms Not finished but kitchen lounge and bedrooms good to go?(may have to shower in the van unless I can get a shimmy on and tile one of the ensuites - can't have it all?‍♂️) As an aside, doing all of the plumbing, ASHP etc as a.self builder really ain't difficult and I would encourage others to tackle it.

We received the certificate today: EnerPhit plus. Vital stats: 0.6 ACH (target: <= 1) 24 kWh/m2 heating demand (target: <= 25) 57 kWh/m2 generation (target: >= 41) Thank you so much buildhub for a 2.5 year crazy adventure

And after they have done that, you can connect the new house.......

Update Could not believe what the AW agent said the other day so phoned again. This time I have been told that our plumber can access the pipework on "our" side of the boundary and put a standpipe in. Once done we have to ring them and they will come and fit a water meter. Phew!

Very difficult to retro fit an external air sensor, so I would throw in a cable even if it want needed, small junction box to make it look good, and cable marked up at boiler.

IMO, the whole concept of zones gets very questionable as the spec of your house approaches passive class. It is a bit like trying to maintain storage zones inside a thermos flask. The internal heat flows are an order of magnitude greater than external losses. We run our 3 floor house as a single zone which is heated by the slab. My control system circulates water around the slab for 10 mins every hour when not heating. This redistributes slab heat from solar gain and enables taking an accurate average slab temperature. The only real exception to this is the floor to floor heat gradient in colder months, as the 1st and 2nd floors do tend to be a degree or two colder than the ground floor, but I trim for this with a couple small oil-filled electric heaters on the two floors and they turn on for a few hours overnight on timers and add a few kWh of space heating on each floor. The 1st floor one sits in the doorway of my office and this boosts the entire 1st and 2nd floors. My son occasionally uses his in his top floor area.

The Clay works can be applied to plasterboard or fibre board Just needs CW primer first Definitely no heat The lime p and Clay W needs to dry naturally When we us it in summer we leave fans running to stop it drying to quickly Weve just done the boardroom at a football club Which is back in use tomorrow They are not happy that they can’t put the ASHP on till Wednesday When we go back to seal and harden it Be sure to see the installers work prior to them starting the job There are three grades of Clay Works Ive been using Clay Works Lime and Venetian for 35 plus years and still find it difficult to get experienced applicators

I sorted mine by connecting the boiler central heating to the thermal store boiler coil. Boiler heats the store to 40 deg. UFH is connected to thermal store, via pump on UFH manifold and 2 port valve at thermal store. If the house thermostat calls for heat, the 2 port valve opens flow from thermal store, 2 port valve sends a signal to boiler via the thermal store thermostat for heat. Boiler fires only if store is below 35 deg and house calls for more heat. Boiler central heating temperature is set to 60 degs and remains in condensing mode throughout, boiler fires for approx 20 mins a couple of times a day. UFH manifold pump runs 24/7, to distribute heat better through floor even when hot is not being supplied. DHW is pre heated as it flows through DHW coil on its way to the combi, to improve performance.

Well done and keep us posted. I keep saying all you need to install an ASHP is a plumber and an electrician who are capable of reading the installation manual. It is not rocket science. But so many plumbers and sparkies seem to shy away from it, and so many people seem comfortable to pay more for a "specialist" company to install it.

How deep are the puddles & how much higher are the high spots compared with the water surface. For all. If you can when your SE is designing any concrete slab or an IFC basement ask them to indicate on the drawings the level and flatness tolerances of say the hard core under the slab relative to a datum. Next maximum and minimum slab thickness relative to the datum. This is important as it can impact on what is going above.. say maximum and minimum thickness of wall plate bedding, slab performance and so on. Some times your Architect will also specify a flatness and level for a slab based on the floor finish requirements. It's good practice to do this. There is a difference between slab level and slab flatness. For example take a rectangular slab. One long end could be sitting 15mm above the other. The slab is sloping from one end to the other. It could be perfectly flat in between but if say it had depressions or high spots in it pretty quickly you can see that if you add the figures together then you invite problems with the super structure and flor finishes. It takes a bit of work to get your head around how you spec these things. A lot of SEs will use the BRE TR34 guide which relates to industrial floor design but it's easy to adapt for the self build market. On the other it is important not to go over the score and try and get things any flatter than the need to be.. you will just waste money.

it may help you to run a string line to get the edge straight, also work out the cut at the end first as it looks better with an equal cut at both ends.

No. (I'm a roofer)

think id be inclined to tuck it under the neighbouring tiles to make a smart job if it similar to whats been posted above.

Looks like the Pi can load a MAC address override during kernel boot. https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/68513/pi-using-a-random-mac-address-after-every-reboot-how-do-i-stop-this-behavior /boot/config.txt Perhaps you have that set in the SD card image you are using Btw MAC addresses are only supposed to be globally unique if allocated in the global (not locally administered) range, see b1 of the first byte in https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAC_address That said I've seen manufacturers fail to assign unique addresses even within the so-called globally unique range. If you imagine a mass produced low cost devices (ESP32 *cough* *cough*) with multiple manufacturing lines running at once, perhaps in different buildings/cities, it takes a lot more time effort and money to coordinate all the lines to guarantee each device is unique, and no MAC addresses wasted (they are a limited resource after all). Much easier to blat a random address into each device and just hope no two identical snowflakes ever meet in the wild.

Also.. https://github.com/home-assistant/operating-system/issues/245 snip Hope that make more sense to you than it does to me.

Permission received from my DNO to install and connect to the grid 6kW PVs! (Distribution Network Operator = Scottish and Southern Electricity = SSE) All I have to do is accept SSE's quotation for the "Non-Contestable Works" and pay the fee. (there are no additional works required).For my £360.00 including Vat SSE will complete a site inspection. The checking of the network system has already been completed and there is no additional work to be carried out. For your information; Although I applied stating I would use a CT clamp to limit the PV power to Main Grid, SSE will not take the CT clamp restriction into account and have taken the inverter limit as the worst case scenario. @Wil was right. ???? The inverter maximum wattage is 6kW. the panels will supply up to 5.12kW Time line: Application submitted in full 29th September 2020, quotation received 26th November 2020, so about 2 months at present. IF we had other works, the SSE would need to do, they estimate they would have got back to me about the works in about 6 months after paying the quote. Good luck with your project. Marvin

The underpinning sounds OTT. It may be easier to do a section of wall at a time - demolish, new foundations, rebuild. There is always a danger that this will no longer be deemed PD, so don't do too much in one bite and retain / repair / reinstate as much of the steel frame as possible. SEs often just spec something that will work, with little regard to the cost. I had one spec 2 layers of A393 mesh for a ground bearing concrete slab. When challenged they were happy with a single layer of A142. Did you dig a trial pit to establish foundation depth? Also, have Building Control been to site? They often have a good idea of typical acceptable foundations in the area.

This was driving me mad! So I boot 1 raspberry pi at a time. It gets whatever IP address the DHCP server decides. SSH into it and edit dhcpd.conf (I think ). Few lines to get it a fixed IP address ( for everything else I set the fixed IP off the MAC in the router - as it's simpler ). Have to do it this way - otherwise I can't tell what the hell's going on!. But as others have said all devices MUST have a unique Mac address when manufactured .....

Yes one on top of other with staggered joints

Get another SEng - cannot see any reason why you need that and the wall I expect is not actually taking the weight of the roof - it will be the steels. If not, add in a steel portal along the back of the wall.

+1 on @Russell griffiths comment. Rubber membrane roofs and gutters often have raised “dam’s) at outlet points to retain a shallow puddle. Never understood why but seen it on loads of membrane details.

BBA Cert for Icynene states. "Once cured, if required the product is trimmed flat using a saw and covered with lining board." So no issue trimming, as stated it is an open cell product.

Get somebody new in to give their opinion first.

Nonsense. That can happen on any project and is down to getting a good contractor and supervision onsite. I got the grant for external insulation in Ireland but it's probably different elsewhere. Here you've to pick from a list of approved contractors who are registered for the grant process. The work has to be signed off and any issues you can go to SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority Of Ireland) who oversee the grant process. We had one wall we didn't think was great quality and they came back and redid it. If they don't reach a certain standard they risk getting removed from the list of approved contractors. I know several projects where the SEAI made them come back and do additional or rectification work. The problem in Ireland is the oversight, sign off and additional paperwork involved pushes up the contractors cost which they have to factor into their costs. This means if the grant covers eg 50% you're probably getting a 40% saving on doing it yourself without the grant. The advantage is you've great power in getting them to come back and fix issues which would be incredibly difficult on a non grant project. On a regular non grant job If the builder is finished and paid its very hard to get them back to fix something. One example on a project I was working on is the external render was black. Natural salts came out and left patches of white like you often see on new brickwork. You only noticed it as the render was black. They were made come back 18 months later after all the salts, calcium or whatever it is had come out and acid wash the elevations for free. Good luck getting that done on another project. As I said this is in Ireland and not sure how it works elsewhere.

I thought of using the shadow gap cladding, it can look good, but I just loved the look of the battens. We did discuss the insect mesh with the building inspector and it was decided we didn't need it. I wouldn't want to paint over 1km of timber, I think we ( ha, l) just did the vertical and cross battens around a mere 400m :-). It took some time, but pleased with the results, now to see how well it lasts

Well @LSB, stepping back from the situation, the depth to me seems odd. As I understand it, foundations are used to ensure the weight of the building is dispersed over a ground surface area capable of supporting the structure plus a factor of safety. So larger surfaced than usual foundations usually indicate either a heavier building or dodgy ground or a point load - say a pad foundation for a steel. Deeper foundations point to poor ground or tree roots. The only time I've known 2.4m deep underpinning was because the roots from a mature oak tree 10 meters away were undermining the foundations of a house. If there isn't anything indicating tree root potential then it has to be poor ground and the only way to tell how far to go down is to dig a trial hole or bore down to see where the good ground starts. Other things of note are sites with steep sloping ground or near other properties or your going for a basement. This is the limit of my knowledge so I leave it to others to point out my failings. You need to get to the bottom of this. (Sorry I couldn't resist) All is not lost! Hang in there. Best of luck Marvin.

Depending on floor finish there is no need to floor fix. If you are screeding then the screed will secure the partition, remember to double sole plate to distribute load across insulation and also leave enough above screed to fix PB to

There may be grants available for external insulation, so look for that also. Could save a bundle of cash. My wife sister recently had it done cost zero.

@Construction Channel I seem to recall did his own, DIY underpinning, in stages.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/93ov68omfwzd00v/cover flashing.JPG?dl=0

For me my heart said yes but head said no. I was dead set on a bloody boiler cooker too. I couldn't make any financial payback with it. (37 years Vs A2A @ less than 3 in theory) That was with free wood too. Passive class house mind you. Really poor for airtightness. If your house burns down here, apparently you'll need to prove you had a chimney sweep before your insurance pays out. Interior pollution. It's immediate and apparent unless you're super diligent. I want to minimise my chances of lung trouble. Chopping timber is dangerous. It's a labour to clean and fuel the thing daily. It does give a sense of purpose to the day when older or idle. Much like milking cows or walking the dog. It's nice to be able to blast a room up to sauna like temperatures with little guilt of a high electricity bill. All my hard work with thermal bridging and airtightness would be thrown out the window by having a 5kw stove capable of heating the house to Sahara like temperatures with no effort regardless. Fire is natures TV. Theres a smugness and security about having 10 years timber in the shed. Preparing timber can be therapeutic. I don't miss having ash dust over every surface In the living room like our previous house. Chimneys are a weak spot in the roof. Good stoves and flues cost a packet. In well insulated houses they can become an ornament. Fire is a visceral caveman pleasure that had defined us a humans for millennia. Fire might burn the house down and kill your family. Fire is good for disposing of things you never want to see the light of day again. I'm rambling now..........

@LSB. What a pain. I feel for you. Self building is tough on a greenfield site never mind having to deal with the issues of kicking an agricultural building, dragging and screaming, into a modern house. To me it seems absolutely ludicrous one cannot simple demolish and replace the exist structure with something externally identical. I suppose that's beside the point. Perhaps, given the reality of the works to be undertaken, the planners would now have some sympathy to this position? Secondly about the SE. If they are quite new to the role they are naturally very cautious, infact the exact right personality to be an engineer, however they may not have the experience to know exactly where the line is. Hopefully a senior colleague will have better news. As an alternative solution, maybe contact a local underpinning firm for a consultation. They may well have a cheaper solution that your SE will be happy with given their more in-depth knowledge of the situation. Good luck.

patp you both sound amazing. Good on ye. As long as you know the charities are there for you emotionally if you need it. I really wish you the best.

You can still use and abuse my MAC, just wipe it clean after.

I'm Brian! (And so if my wife!)

I thought the MAC address was fused into a network chip at fabrication time so could a procedural error in the fab plant cause this problem?

Defo the blocks, on a full size roof the straps should reach down across 4 blocks with a screw/nail in each. I suppose in the case of your single garage the forces will be lower. Having fixed many wall plate straps since starting this thread I suggest fixing with wall plugs particularly in the case of softer blocks under 10kg in weight (not to be confused with the compression rating typically expressed as something like 7N. @joe90offered an excellent tip in this thread which was to use a slightly undersized drill bit when drilling into soft lightweight blocks. In the case of my hipped roof I adjusted the regulation 2m strap spacing to ensure I had a strap on each wall closer to the hip rafter corners.

If you are in a urban environment no need for a log burner.

We ditched the log burner in our new build. Have an open fire in the current house and a log burner in the previous cottage. We love the cosiness of them in the winter but not the extra cleaning and drafts when not used. We have decided on one of them fancy electric fires instead that will be flush and be about the same width as the TV. Also I thought you we are only allowed to burn kiln dried wood nowadays. It's also one less hole in the house/roof. I won't miss lugging the coal/wood into the house as I get older.

I think I will. It will save a world of pain.

Thanks, I've not seen one of those before, excellent value for money.

So, the sink arrived yesterday. It's a brute. Seems very solid and good quality. It even includes the waste kit which wasn't advertised. Think we've got ourselves a bargain. The rectangular colander that comes with it seems more like a drainer and will do the job well. I cannot figure out why the hell the same thing from Franke/Grohne is nudging £1k.

Sorry, I dropped off the thread earlier, but as you've now got to, any kind of inverter bigger than 3.68kWp then limited to 3.68kWp is a G99 application. You can only fit under G98 (and tell them later) if the inverter can deliver up to than 3.68kWp. Array size is irrelevant. You can put 100kWp of panels on the roof with a 3.68kWp inverter if you felt like splashing the cash and still be G98 compliant. Although your inverter may not last long... G100 compliance is required for the limiter as well if going that route.

Don't think it is, I posted up the government report on it. Here is a bit from my favourite comic. "One stumbling block any hydrogen energy revolution faces is storage and transport. Hydrogen molecules are so small they can leak out of containers, meaning pipe networks previously used for methane may have to be upgraded before they are fit for hydrogen." And that is before the inefficiencies are taken into account. It is much easier and cheaper to reinforce the local electricity grid than the gas grid. I think people have a desire for hydrogen because it is similar to what we already have, but this is missing the point completely. And if you combust hydrogen in air, you get oxide of nitrogen as well as water. Nitric acid is not nice stuff. Makes sulfuric and carbolic acid seem as mild as soap.

You keep saying this. But where is your evidence? Put the wrong size system in any house and it will perform badly. The main reason for government subsidies had little to do with the high cost of the equipment needed, if was more to boost the government at the time (Cameron's) green credentials. It has probably increased the cost of installation, why many on here have just gone out and bought the kit and fitted it. Ah, the hydrogen economy, why would you do it. As I have said before, it is like putting 10 gallons of gasoline in your car, then taking 4 out and pouring them down the nearest drain. Hydrogen will be the niche product.

I guess yours was a badly matched install then. Works fine for me with a family of 5 and 450m^2 house You've not considered how much hydrogen may cost, should they ever work out how to produce it in the volume that would be required to heat homes. The future will be better insulated and more airtight homes with a mix of hydrogen and heat pumps. Heat pump prices will come down, hydrogen will be more expensive than gas.

Paid for by RHI, so not the case Not a limitation I recognise - have you had an ASHP and experienced these issues? It's no "niche" now, and certainly won't be when Natural Gas is switched off.

I hesitate to ask this - but is it a virgin router? Cos they do get their MACs confused occasionally. Also what on earth possesses anyone to use fixed IP addresses - just use dynamic IP addresses and get on with the building work - you're just creating diversionary IT management work which ain't gonna get the place finished.... although reading between lines it may never be.... ? Simon

They're great for driving on footpaths.

They often haul a big dick around. Mine is 9 inches now.