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Completion certificate came through this afternoon. Had an inspection a month ago, the only things picked up were. 1. Boiler not positioned as per plan, variation required, easy enough to update, took a couple of weeks to be approved. 2. Hadn't finished the balustrade due to weather. Had to get that completed. 3. Wanted a commissioning cert for log stove. Next jobs Install ASHP, mostly complete. Build summer house, being delivered next week. So from digger arriving on site, 3 years almost to the day. Could of been finished 6 months earlier, but I went back to work. All in took me a year longer than expected, but big site everything bigger and takes longer than expected. Overall costs including doing lots myself, and including all groundworks £2400 per m2

Quick update, we eventually received the daughters number, one of our install teams are going out on Sunday to survey and we’ve had numerous offers of free doors, trims, mastic etc. The auld man is going to be treated well, and he’ll have a well finished and nice looking door after this. Kent news apparently want to cover the story but that’s not what we’re all doing this for. The window industry might have a bad rep and rightly so on occasions but it is also full of really nice and helpful people. I’ll post an update once it’s surveyed/installed. To those that donated to the just giving page, it’s not reached it’s target, it’s unlikely to be needed and I’ll find out whats happening with the donations. Thank you.

Outstanding mate. Restores faith in humanity, when people jump in and help someone in need.

The weight will be a huge problem. Most floating shelves are hollow, with strategic timber ( usually ply or pine ) inserts to accept the fixings. The reason for the thickness is that the brackets usually feature a dowel of 16-18mm, or thicker dependant on projection, so need a depth of thickness / cavity to allow these to be integrated. Move away from MDF, as it's not the right product for this instance Where are these to be located? What purpose? How heavy the loads?

So an unvented thermal store. Hidden behind a lot of flowery talk. And a time of use tariff. To have any useful energy for CH you would need a big cylinder.

On most systems the actuator heads press down on a pin to turn off the flow. Removing the actuatorcallows the pin to come up/on. This pin can get stuck down/off. Perhaps remove the actuators on that one and another to compare it with. Eg both/all pins come up to the same height? Does the flow increase with the actuator removed? If that all checks out I would try turning off the three good loops and turn on the problem loop. Does that cause the flow rate on the problem loop to go right up? If so sounds like balancing issue. Partial blockage? When you check for a blockage with a hose make sure you put the supply hose on the flow manifold and hose to drain on the return manifold. Make sure the actuator is open (pin up).

Just down to @joe90 to move and build his new workshop. He is pretty quick at this building malarkey, so should be delivered within the year.

Yep, this is very true. I’m happy to cover all costs, and bung you some moonshine.

take the actuator off and put the commissioning cap on and open it all the way then check for pump flow etc - pipes will be warm if it’s working

The price seems fair, but does the architect actually have expertise on this stuff? A heating and ventilation company would probably be your best bet for the MVHR, ASHP and heating. I don't see the architect adding much there if at all. The architect should be able to do the other stuff and detail drawings will likely be necessary for some of it. But you could be paying a lot for simply a list that says new windows to x u-value, insulate floor with PIR etc.

Not a lot of money really

300mm of EPS @0.038 will be about the same as about 180mm of PIR but about £2444 cheaper than 2x90mm Celotex boards from the same supplier.

Saw your post on "self build scotland" Facebook group,👍. The surprised comments that you "want to put so much insulation in" make me laugh . Anyway, Jewson's self build account seems to be a good option, they are sourcing me 100mm EPS sheets for my foundation slab, and are delivering free to site North Highlands.

If the roof timbers (and any insulation) has been soaked, then even fixing the leak will not stop the smell. The whole lot needs to be stripped off and replaced. Only then will it be fresh once more.

There are Modified Silicones available that have greater flexibility like silicone but are paintable like acrylic. Most big names (Soudal, Everbuild etc.) have an equivalent MS sealant. e.g. soudal-fix-all-flexi

I had my garage roof covering replaced with insulated composite panels to stop condensation. I also added 4 x 100mm vent holes at high level through the back wall to get some air flow. Seems OK now.

@joe90 loads of colours available ..!! Free delivery over £50 too https://www.tikkurila.co.uk/products/home-interior/wood-paint

Hi and welcome

Welcome, bring on the questions 👍

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as far as I know 160mm is not available so you can go for 2 layers of 80mm or 165mm but thick boards are very hard to cut and fit.

My experience is merchants will at least match what the online places can do. Particularly helpful if you have a credit account.

I got mine from an online seller. Best to go through a lot of them as prices vary daily, one day they are cheapest next not. But also challenge your preferred local merchants. That amount should be free delivery. Would also consider doing it in two layers instead of one with staggered joints. 100mm was bad enough, 160mm would be a pain to install.

Mesh direct, by the roll. Scissors are fantastic also Category:Stainless Steel Soffit Mesh | Product Ordered: 10cm wide x 30m roll x4 Item No 304-SFLY100 Category: | Product Ordered: Heavy-duty Scissors for cutting fine mesh Item No FIN-225--PROMO

I boxed my cylinder in with a combination of PU sheet and mineral wool. Apart from making sure the cables to the immersion heaters are in free air, I did not worry about the thermostats. My thermostats are part of the element boss anyway. Insulation saves me about 2 kWh/day in standing losses.

Is that heat battery vendor one that has both a lots of amps, and uses the sun? I guess the unvented cylinder can be used in conjunction with an Arastor? Also fwiw the architect I'm talking to has suggested that the Arastor should go outside I guess that unvented cylinder also works with Eddi where they divert power from solar to it instead of going to the grid?

the temperature calibration will alter a wee bit, but as the cylinder isn't running too hot and there's no big current being switched there's no safety implication IMHO

A favourite blog of mine has written about this compared with Go, and created a complex spreadsheet to calculate costs between both tarriffs: https://protonsforbreakfast.wordpress.com/2023/02/23/tariff-calculations-octopus-go-versus-octopus-flux/

We used Cuprinol Garden Shades on a small garden bench back in 2015 and it's still looking good. We then painted a small garden shed with the same in 2019 and that is also good. Quite expensive though. We also used Creoseal on a fence and that protected well for several years until we moved house. You can still buy Creosote for professional use. https://www.creosotesales.co.uk/product-category/creosote-substitute/

I made thick MDF shelves, not that long though.

Black Barn Paint Woodtech BARNJACKET Acrylic Opaque Woodstain or Bedec (the original barn paint - more expensive though)

Using Stelrad radiators, 17 years old. I know the answer as I type this.

Don’t use plastic grids They will get chewed up within days Dig it out and get a couple of loads of large stone topped off with Mot Most of the larger sites are jet washing lorrys wheels off before before they leave site to prevent muck being tracked on to the tarmac

I reviewed this year's ago when I had time....Tikkurila. it will be expensive but it'll be a looong time before you paint it again.

Bedec Barn Paint? I've used it in satin black, amazing coverage and seems to do the job.

Creocote, not creosote.

Go oil based not water based - will last much longer.

Pro Blocks: House insurance is cheaper. Easier to fix washing lines, satellite dishes to etc. Can use sand/cement render with coloured sand which is/was 40% the price or acrylic/silicon when I checked. Plenty of sand and cement here since 1950 and going strong. Blocks are cheap. 68c+Vat is the cheapest I can find in Cork at the moment. Thick walls for asthetics. Person dependant that one. Easy to find experienced workers and materials. More soundproofing from outside. Better for fire from an outside boiler/carfire. It's a well known method. Very robust Vs ball games etc Cons Blocks Mica in the NE?? (Is it still a thing?) Takes slightly more time than boards. Needs foundation. Mortar bridging the cavity. Sand and cement can be done badly. Messy. Window thermal detailing needs care. Pro Boards. Much thinner wall. ~110mm less than blocks. More internal space. Fast. No lintels needed. Less mess. Less chance of mortar bridging the cavity. Can be done by carpenters but ensure they follow MIs to the letter. @Bitpipe had some issues I think. No painting. Con boards. Silicone/acrylic can go wrong too. Look at @ProDaves blog. Expensive materials and render. May be a special order item = not easy to pick some up from a local hardware shop if you run short. Some renders get mouldy/fungus/algee covered.

When I read the rather wooley description I thought "ah it's just a thermal store" But a thermal store is actually not the best match to an ASHP. I would personally steer clear as I don't like people trying to sell me something with a lot of waffle and obscurity about what it actually IS you are buying.

Waterless trap straight into the soil stack should do the job.

above is how we did it in the past

No. Check out the Visqueen detail. The DPM/radon barrier are above the slab with all joints to DPCs overlapped and taped. FYI don't fill up to the underside of block and beam floor. The reinforcement doesn't have enough cover. Example below. Contact Visqueen and they will do you a site specific detail for your build.

Most if not all Viessmann products are designed to run weather compensation via their own controllers, and can run two zones at different flow temps if required via a fully open system without thermostats or trvs. So why mess with that? By putting a third party thermostat that will give less control or worse efficiency. Run as the Germans intended

Stuck down LVT is very hard-wearing and the finishes and patterns can look excellent. A rug or two can break it up and add some softness.

Paint it purple. No reason other than its my fave colour.

Ever since I saw Ben Huggins (anyone remember him?) put a slide into his barn conversion I've fancied one. Tricky in a bungalow though Maybe now is the time! Interested to see the dogs trying to get back up....

Well my oak conservatory was treated with that and it disappeared quite quickly so I was not impressed 🤷‍♂️

Tell them you want a picture of a mannequin sitting in the bath holding a beer before you purchase!