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You log your teens' hot water consumption ? Honestly? I remember being glad if ours used any hot water at all. But then they met members of the opposite persuasion ....

Same here. We heat the hot water by ASHP to the set 48 degrees kicking in during the Octopus Go 5.5p cheap rates (8;30pm for an hour and half only). We have been fine with this even on days of very minimal solar but in the past week we have noticed with some spring sunny days in the day the water temperature has risen to 56 degrees so the ASHP hasn't kicked in to heat the water in the evening as it's hotter than the 48 degrees. Last summer I turned the ASHP controlling the hot water off completely for 4 months as we just didn't need it as the solar was doing it all.

Or drilling the underside of a portal frame and some D&@k on the floor turns the generator off ! ?

Tape it. Belt and braces

Looks like those wooden shelving inserts might give easy access if screwed into place.

That will be a cold roof so you have to leave some space for ventilating the outer surface particularly on the sloping bits. Attention to detail when doing this is what makes it good or bad. I would certainly make a loft hatch up into the roof space if there is not one already and have a look at what is there. You might be able to look down into the sloping areas to see what is in there and how thick the rafters are, The floor level eaves spaces should be made accessible with a trap door if not already and you can see what you can do there to improve things. Detail is everything.

@pocster think these are the boys for steel beams like yours.

Not an expert but is that the correct screws for steel that thick? As above a mag drill will be your friend here. Have seen fixings fired into steel beams through wood with Hilti or equivalent.

Or use a mag drill on the steels where you've got access.

Hilti gun

The concrete floor is less of an issue if it is just the divider between you and the heated flat below. In fact you should be effectively benefiting a little from their heating. Your issue is clearly those large uninsulated ceiling and wall areas, all your heat is just disappearing as if you had your windows open. If you don't want to move then, as @ProDave says, it should be possible to strip out and insulate properly. It won't be cheap but to be honest, properly insulated I'd expect you to easily save between £4 and £6k per year on your bills. If you've just had enough of the place bear in mind that any buyer will ask about utility costs and the uninsulated areas would also be likely picked up on any EPC or home buyers survey so you'd probably be faced with accepting a much lower offer than you think it would be worth.

That's nothing. Once worked in a design office, and a colleague returned after a site visit, where he had found the contractor was putting up the whole steel building the wrong way round. A new football stand facing the road. I know, for some teams that might be for the best.

Without any screws, insert timber noggins vertically between the flanges, then plate directly or overstud first. Or "no more nails" fix stud to inside of flanges. Then the construction effectively clips round the bottom flange and is secure.

Just a quick hello? from me, an ex Navitron forum member. Dave.

It won't be wasted. AC power flows both ways through a transformer just fine, somebody else will end up using it - so excess PV is likely to ever so subtly reduce gas used by a turbine somewhere.

Probably the wrong screw. There are different heads for heavy steel, usually an inset tungsten blade that scratches a hole rather than pulls itself through. With the right screw and good drill it should cut through in 10 seconds or so.

Given the price of steel, and the added complexity of building with steel portals, I would still build in block. Block prices have stayed about the same, as has sand and cement so I think. 6" block with piers within the long walls will make for a solid garage. One piece of advice on the piers, plan their location! I didn't and now have some annoying splits in my racking where I need to end the racks, have wasted space, then a pier, then start the racking again. Also try and plan piers to align with things like roof trusses. I have 4 trusses and purlins to have a more open feeling garage with a big open roof area, it does look good and gives loads of height for moving big bits of wood and things about and the ability for me to suspend bikes etc.

Just to be clear, the silicone I refer to was not to seal the bead, that was the render product type I used from Enewall. It basically repels water but has breathability. So, from soffit to bellcast bead I covered the whole wall making the block water repellent, however, I would argue waterproof in normal circumstances, although I understand it will not truly be “waterproof”. Then a waterproofed sand/cement smooth render below which was worked in hard against the bellcast to form a continuous protective cover. You could build a steel portal frame and infill with block. I nearly did this for speed of getting a roof over so I could work on the build in the rain, but I was impatient and didn't want to wait for my steel kit to come. Usually the block is just dressed into the web of the steel so that it forms a solid locked in panel, although the mortar does not stick, it locks it in firmly. Also, I have seen the steels with a wall tie system bolted or Hiltigun nailed on. Works well. You need to dress up the plinth detail properly at the based of the steels and protect the steel so that it doesn't rot out in 30 odd years. The other design used frequently is for the steels to be kept within the weatherproofing envelope of the building to keep the steel dry.

For horizontal steels get your steel supplier to tack weld on a 75mm wide strip of diamond mesh along the beam tops prior to dipping or painting and this will bond your mortar to the steels. For vertical joints you want to use welded tabs or frame cramps screwed or bolted to the flanges as the mortar is in sheer and will not grip.

yes I agree. and part of me is regretting not going for the twin stud passive wall build up. even though I'm saving a lot of money by installing the insulation myself it is a real ball ache and has issues, like this one, that need overcoming. but I will persevere.

Well why not go with that on your plans and see what building control say!

There is a website diagram somewhere, could not find it last night.

@Radian and @ProDave And anyone else that has had this problem. So far it has been stable. Just got to find the loose wire to the sensors now (but that is one the RPi that was stable).

Yes, as per building regs. I believe a max of 3 mtrs between piers is lowed In a 100mm wall but piers not required if 150mm blocks are used. (You may need to check this with building control).

so, the answer is yes, but not very well. the staples are very easy to pull out. and so I will be doing @JohnMo said and purchasing https://www.toolstation.com/double-sided-tape/p44920. should keep it in place until the battens go on.

Hi all, I haven’t started building yet but am hoping to clear site any day and want to get a warranty as it’s only a small property and can’t imagine I’ll stay for 10 years. I have had a quote of £2000 from CMLC but I’m getting confused if this will count towards warranties and other people getting mortgages? Any advice will be greatly received!

Oversize everything. Use attenuators at the unit and use vibration eliminating couplers (leather or rubber) at the unit. Mineral wool insualtion around the ducts.

I've certainly seen a lot of examples, including here on BH, where the professional input is undervalued and people try skimp on it. I'd agree this is counterproductive and often has a detrimental effect on the project as a whole, especially when you aren't experienced in house construction. However, there are some of us that are aware of the benefits of this upfront investment and are willing to pay for it. One thing I did before even getting any architect involved was to pay for a topographical survey so it was already on hand when looking for an architect. Something I used to great effect in understanding costs associated with some designs as I was able to get quotes from groundworks companies based on the survey (we're on a significantly sloped site). The problem as I see it is that despite having the will to pay for these services and put the time into the design decisions, there remains what I see as a gap in the satisfactory provision of those services in construction. For example, we tendered and met with about half a dozen architects, all of whom visited our site. I paid some of them a fee to make the initial visit to talk about our plans. When receiving their proposals, not a single one of them met our brief. Both my wife and I wondered whether we had dreamed up the meetings we'd had because they were so far off. In desparation we then engaged the services of an architectural technologist based on a recommendation, but even then the design proposals that came back were underwhelming at best, totally impractical at worst, so we paid him for his time and went in search for someone else. I won't even begin to describe the atrocious service we received from the first structural engineer we appointed (introduced by the architect). He even had the gall to bill us for an incomplete scheme and when I went back with a list of what was missing, he still didn't respond and his company chased the invoice. Needless to say, I got rid of him and eventually found someone else, who did turn out to be good. I disagree with this. If you're a professional dealing with a layperson as a client, it is up to you to ask the questions to elicit and grasp the requirements from the client. It is not for you to expect the client deliver those requirement as the client cannot be expected to know how to articulate them adequately or know the extent required (or even the potential ramifications). If an architect, for example, after 7 years of training is still unable to do this, then I'd have to wonder what is missing from their education as it is clearly essential to a good design process. It is also up to those professionals involved to manage effective communication, with their client, and also everyone else involved in the project so that the necessary questions are resolved and accounted for ahead of time. The architect we chose in the end was excellent at eliciting our design requirements and at the same time was able to enhance those with his experience. It took me a while to appreciate this side of his service. However, his biggest and most unacceptable failing was that he wasn't honest about where his technical limitations lay and instead proceeded to advise us incorrectly in this regard. However, there were several other aligned professionals who also provided poor technical advice. It's this incorrect advice that has cost us significant money, not changing our minds about sockets, or other such design elements. My own experience could simply be dismissed as poor decision making or bad luck on my part but there are enough stories on here and from people I've met to suggest I'm not such an anomoly.

The installation company has contacted me again and stated they are acquiring the parts to repair the system and will return it to working order. I await a date for them to carry out the work and will let you know how it goes. Thank you for all the interest and advice. Cheers Dave

even with an inverter, there is a minimum current needed for the ASHP to run reliably, plus it takes time to start the unit up and begin producing hot water. You'll miss short breaks in the cloud at times and pay for the balance of the power requirement at others. A diverter can instantaneously respond and change the amount of juice going to the immersion.

Hi Dave writing, on the evening we discovered dripping, well I'm blind and so tend to hear things more than others! I went into the loft with Anna and felt the pipes. They felt warm to the touch which I thought was wrong as it was only around five degrees in the loft and immediately thought the insulation wasn't up to the job. All the flexible pipes that connect to the unit have what I call thin insulation which isn't sealed either end. I wonder what they use in Canada, where temperatures are far lower, minus twenty as it is now in places. Have you seen the truckers convoy? As for getting in the unit, Anna has tried and God knows what it might be like in there! I'd rather not know as I'm already annoyed enough as it is. Wonder how many have had a look at their units, to see if they too have any mould growth. I would like to hear from them if they have. The pipes clearly aren't insulated enough and I'm betting the unit itself isn't insulated enough to stop condensation on the inside. I wonder how much research went into the design of these systems. Non one turns a fridge off without leaving the door open or it gets horrible, pretty quickly. Well what are you to do with the MHRV if it fails? Its not sealed like a fridge! This is another point I am taking up with the company, there are no instructions on what to do when the unit fails and when I informed them the unit wouldn't start, no advice was given on what to do with it. For anyone who hasn't already had experience with MHRV installation and service, expect long lead times! Expect it to take months to have anything done! If I were to order a new unit now, it would be the end of April before it could be fitted. The installation company is three and a half hours away and so some of the cost is for seven hours travel time. This is something else, the company selling the MHRV system doesn't install it Plus the installation company won't connect the condensate drain! Have to have a plumber connect it and send them a photo for them to send the commissioning certificate! Ridiculous ! By trade I have been a mechanical maintenance engineer and then an aerospace engineer, so before losing my eyesight I used to do everything both car and house. I hate garages and I hate dishonest tradesmen! Whenever I took a car to a garage I ended up fixing it myself. I did most of the work on the house having friends and neighbours helping with what I couldn't see. Again when builders had to do jobs for me, I would find the problem! Builders don't seem to know how to use spirit levels! Have you noticed this? I'm forever being told it doesn't need to fly! well my friend and his son fitted a new shed roof and it flew off in a storm, so of course I told them it wasn't supposed to fly. Why am I telling you this? So you will realise how annoying all this is when you trust a company to design a system and then another to install and commission, then discover it clearly isn't up to the job. I used to make planes and you know what happens if they fail! What was the purpose of installing MHRV? To avoid installing trickle vents! What's the point of triple glazing and then putting holes through the frame that also allows noise through. Second to constantly have clean fresh air. Well, now I know the ducting contains mould, so now the system itself is a health risk! Which neither I nor anyone else could see. I have sent an email to the managing director and have been contacted by the person assigned to deal with my complaint, so we will see what happens. Hopefully lessons will be learnt and designs improved so others don't suffer the same fate. Thankyou for listening. Ok nurse Anna, what's for supper? Cheers Dave

I just had to buy one. Surprisingly satisfying to use. Well... unless you accidentally turn the mag off and it drops on your head. It has been known to happen ? There's a strap you're supposed to wrap around the steel to stop this happening...

A Hilti / Spit gun is not dangerous if you use it correctly.

Just seen this @pocster my son..... Using a COLD timber-to-steel screw, cover the end of the screw with some spit, spit in the hole, and then try again. The dampness works as a cutting agent Before wetting the end of the screw, there's no real need to explain why you should make sure the screw is cold is there, no ..... ? What-A-Dickhead.

PIR..??? Thought it Was timber sorry !!! Nothing will hold in that unless it is threaded

You obviously haven't met my teenagers! 430kW a month...

Joy of England, we can't get the warrant until structural engineering is completed.

Careful, you’ll get @pocster involved with searches like that. ?

Welcome ! I did see a few end up on GBF and Camelot (??) but lots of the ex-Nav lot seem to have vanished off the grid if you pardon the pun …