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Yes that's just as the trap kit for ours, the actual trap does not extend below the bottom of the bath surround so no need for a hole in the floor for that. You then have that flexible hose coming off the trap and that is the bit that goes down through the floor to connect to your waste pipes. You have lots of flexibility (literally) with where you drill the hole for that to avoid your joists.

Yes. I did the rod myself before doing the slab and got a firm telling off for ruining the threads on top of the rod.

Spark connects the earth wire to the earth rod, hammers it in to the ground, inspection cover is fitted over, cement it in to place. Spark tests.

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Thanks to all who contributed. Our (likely) plumber gave me one of -those- looks when I suggested not bothering upstairs. I've now settled on wet ufh upstairs on the basis that the incremental cost is not significant; and one day when we want to sell, we won't have to explain or justify. thanks again - now for my next topic (pending).

Normally you can get to the terminals of the heating element from the back to check it without removing it. Try re positioning the hose so it goes up from the machine to a high point then back down to the drain connection.

A lot of sleep lost over imperial systems and metric plasterboard. If there isn't a void behind it, where can that unfixed tail go? A line of pu foam should suffice. Conduit all services into the insulation and board over. From experience, securing plasterboard in this way is far superior to having a void behind it. It is more susceptible to damage. If fixed flat to a surface which behaves in a very solid manner once boarded, it can't go anywhere. And you maintain a solid feel rather than a hollow feel. Save money on currently expensive materials ( batten is no longer 30p/m) and labour. It also means you can eliminate most of your waste by using the offcuts in cubby holes where you can plaster over thick to hide multiple jigsaw joints. Yes, this generally only applies to EPS/XPS systems.

Well I never. I assumed all these sorts of baths had been designed to be easy to fit. I never for once thought someone would be so stupid to design this one the way it is.

Of course it is, would be too easy otherwise! Just had a look at the tech drawings - it looks like there's probably about 30mm clearance under the bottom of the bath hole? If so, and you use the flattest trap (something like https://www.ukbathrooms.com/products/victoria-and-albert-intelli-waste-kit.html), you only need to find about 40mm clearance, even less if you can route a hole into the floor (5mm LVT + 22mm decking gets you close). So you really only need a small plinth, 20mm? If that's the case, then for it to look nice I think I'd be tempted to get a piece of white quartz/resinstone or white granite/marble cut (in two pieces to save on material) to follow the shape of the bath (+ say 10mm). You can template it yourself by just tracing around the bottom of the bath onto some ply/mdf and take it to a worktop manufacturer. It'll cost a couple hundred quid, but probably less than replacing the bath if you got a good deal on it!. Would also look good and not need any additional finishing. The other, probably cheaper, alternative would be to get some 20mm marble, granite or terrazzo tiles and cut/create a plinth yourself. (as long as they're solid stone/concrete, the edges will be finished, unlike porcelain/ceramic tiles).

dig it up into a pile elsewhere on the site and retain for later use?

To me, nothing . Because I know a farmer who wants some. And the farmer would bring his own digger ... as @Russell griffiths says above: the devil is in the detail. Educated guess Work: half a day £250 or one day if access is an issue. Digger: day £300 Haulage : £300 ~ £1000 + VAT if thats an issue.

Are you sure you are not over thinking this? We have a similar bath and they connect with a waste fitting that fits entirely inside the enclosed bottom tub. I actually changed the way it was connected because I did not like the flexible hose they supplied, but it should not need the trap to descend through the floor. The actual trap on ours is right above a joist but that does not stop it working with the pipe going down through the floor next to the trap.

A simple resistance check with a multimeter will confirm if the heating element is okay or not. It is normal for the drain hose to run high up the sink unit and then down to the drain point, this should stop syphoning of the drain water. Does it always empty fully then somehow refill slightly over a period of time?

Yes - thanks very much! You do need a DPC - concrete continues to emit moisture long after its cured and will rot a soleplate over time.........so all the literature tells me. this is reassuring - thanks Of course! - I'll prob go with these to be totally belt and braces. I don't see a reason not to. Thanks All!

Great detail, but the con is that all of the electrics would need to be run in conduit due to the insulation filling what was the service cavity. Or the circuits downgraded / cables upsized.

Vat number Your name home or site address

Completely agree with you on that, there are many factors to consider, im not denying that. lts say a concrete building with external insulation delivering the same Uvalue as cellulose blown or TF structure. Same designs. The Concrete core would be able deal with solar gains and use the capacity of concrete core to absorb heat and store it, because of the thermal mass (density) of concrete, the means that room/house would increase the concrete temp from usual say 21’C to say 23’C which would mean the temperature in the house was 23’C. in cellulose/TF house the internal temperature would be say 30’C, you would struggle to stay in that house without opening windows and letting all the free energy out to heat the planet, rather than keep it inside, stored in the walls. At night temp. Drops and concrete walls starts releasing the heat back to the room. This process is not instigated it work by itself. In the cellulose/TM house temp would have also dropped, and it’s now relying on heat source to top it up. This is how I understand it, please correct me if I am wrong. and I have not mentioned the other benefits concrete provides, Airtightness, soundproofing, solid feel, as long as all the detail is done right.

We will have a motorised velux at the highest point (my architect is mad keen on velux for purge cooling) We have this (actually, a Fakro PH window) at the highest point and it works great for cooling. Overnight it's much more effective than the ASHP (via UFH or FCU). Couple notes: - we also have an opening rooflight in the ground-floor extension flat roof, opening both together is most effective to create a through-draft - the open plan area, inc hallway stairwell and landing, all cool down fabulously. However, the bedrooms tend not to benefit much as we keep doors closed (no cats in bedroom policy!) which means I'm still working on designing in some extra mechanical ventilation to push cold air around into those rooms more effectively. (The MVHR, even on bypass and boost in winter, isn't enough to compensate for 2 human bodies in the room) - I really appreciate the home automation for keeping track of indoor and outdoor temperature, heating and mvhr status, and current rain status, and automating the skylight open position accordingly. - originally I just had it "open" or "close" but it's a bit slow to move between end-stops (30secs?) and a bit noisy, so when at the threshold temperature it would clatter all night opening and closing every 15 mins. so now I set the skylight angle proportionally to the amount the house is over target temperature, which very nicely modulates the window down to "closed" as the house cools down, and gradually opens it up as it warms back up.

I think UFH on the ground floor and radiators upstairs (towel rails in bathrooms too) is really quite pleasant. I do know some people with UFH on both floors who like it too, that’s struck me as unecessary and I like UFH to be combined with tiles so it radiates heat slowly. I don’t really see the need for SIPs and triple glazing, I think it’s too expensive for what you get. There’s a good chance your spec is so high it’s going to roast you. Ask Potton for a SAP and overheating calc.

I would do wet or even electric UFH in bathroom/ en-suites and electric towel rads (for towel drying, not heating 300 to 400W). And provision for an electric panel heater in bedrooms. UFH in bedrooms has no real place, we have it and its a complete waste. Very slow to heat up and even slower to cool down. You need (possibly) a warm hour in the morning and evening. But cool when you go to bed. I would keep the cash in your pocket.

I would ignore all the advice given above. No membrane, no added top soil, no poisons, just mow (not too short). You end up with a mix of plant species, many of which will flower and feed bees and insects, instead of a lifeless, toxic, boring monoculture that looks like plastic and will drain your pocket and your time keeping it that way. Peace, not war (with nature).

You can buy airtightness tape that can be plastered over. Tescon do a version.

I like to sit the window board on the ledge formed by the top of the back of the sill like to fill the cavity with platinum EPS beads like biscuit joints in the mitres, love gorilla glue and packing to perfect position weighting it all in place and foaming in all the gaps

window sills used to slope towards the window due to condensation on the glass running down. if it sloped the other way then the water would run onto the furnishings. a deeper sill protruding further into the room will allow an apron to be placed under the sill to hide any gaps or missing render. a thin bed of mortar would bed the new sill if it needs that much or a tube adhesive if less. the adhesive may be sufficient to hold it but would be better with some screws or dook the joints and nail it down.

Well @SteamyTea, I've yet to see a build where Durisol is the outer skin. In terms of what I have written about it, I think its fair to argue that my own incompetence, inexperience and openness should not be taken as a factor in the criticism of a product. I may be wrong, but I think I might be the only person to have written quite as much about Durisol on this board. One person's musing on one discussion board is hardly a good evidence base on which to make fairly large purchase decisions. I had absolutely no prior experience of building. None. I appointed a company that was over-trading to help build the house. I sacked them far too late. So I (we) just got on with it. And now I'm sitting in a warm house that I've built by my (our) selves. I would have made just as many stupid errors with any other build method. Come to think of it, had we chosen brick and block, the errors would have been worse. A combination of opportunity, Durisol, effort, commitment and guts has constructed a house worth about £500k. And nobody knows or cares what the build method was. But what I find of most value is the learning experience I've had along the way. That's priceless.

None of them will ever pay out Go for the cheapest Ours has only visisited us twice First time he didn’t get out of his car “To muddy” Second time he came to inspect the roof But didn’t go on the scaffolding But if we ever had to sell on the next ten years It May have limited our options Looking back I wouldn’t of bothered There’s plenty of companies that will do one retrospectively

So true. It's a small mercy they didn't restrict 0% VAT on tampons to supply & install too.

Lots of people. They prefer to call them 'the conservatory'.