Leaderboard

*I am not a qualified tiler* but have tiled, and if it was me I’d just snip out partial sections of the unseen part of the trim, the bit that goes behind the tiles, to leave tabs along its length. Just enough for the trim to adhere and bed in behind the 25mm wide cut tiles.

I used to do this but in the end Jewson always came out with the best price and if they didn't my account 'manager', i.e. the sales guy I deal with, would price match. now I just find what I want online and phone him up and see if he can match it and don't bother with other BMs I have accounts with. sometimes he even beats the online price. but I have spent a lot with them over the past 2 years and have built up a good rapport with him so I think that's important. As @pocster says, a bit of banter and cheekiness also helps.

mount it higher up on the wall.

estimators.com dont play around with massive costs, do it properly.

I'd do both. Some mesh network APs have the power line adapter for backhaul built in. E.g.. https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Deco-Powerline-Replacement-P9/dp/B081ZWJ6FX

Fire resistance i think. Do you have any pics of the roof today as it is. Might give some clues as to the best solution.

I read the article, it's very informative. Then I went back to a plot I made earlier this month when the weather was colder and realised it follows their logic. This is with the room thermostat in conventional (on/off) mode. The boiler starts up at 100% modulation (18kW) for hot water then 66% for the start of the CH long burn. Once the flow temperature reaches the target of 65C the modulation drops to 30% but because my boiler can't go below 5kW it starts the short cycles as the room temperature approaches the target of 18C. Mike

Personally I put loops everywhere (for maximum flexibility), and at no more than 150mm centres (to allow for the possibility of using it for cooling in the future).

Too bloody right. Here's a re-print of what actually happened to me a few years ago ..... ========================= Waiting in line at the local BM. An organisation that hasn't changed from the 1990s when I first set foot in Lancashire. But I suspect it probably hasn't changed much since time began. A powerfully built but small white haired man get to the head of the queue. No neck, just muscle, shoulders the size of an American oarsman's coach. His frame must have been put together before steroids were invented. Several staff are chatting behind the counter - there's a queue, no, audience of at least 10. All builders (except me) Roofer: Riaaat mate ah want sum roofing felt: cuppla roles laaak BM You mean Vapour Control felt: how many rolls d'ya wunt? Noooo mert, ah want sum roofin felt, just'a culpa rolls laaak. The BM shop assistant, spotty, super-clean hair do, biro tattoos : 'Mum' and 'Hat', one on each forearm looks flummoxed. Well we've got [................... A series of trade names.............] Silence. Complete silence. 10 builders (and me) , Hearts almost stopped. The roofer eyes the sprog behind the counter, and cold as ice and says Maaate if yer wanna know why wimmin dunt ever cum in 'ere, it cos o' twats laaak thee mekkin me feel laak a reet prat. Ah been cummin' in ere since long afore yer dad wuz born orderin' fookin roofing felt. '..... Kin rooofin felt 'assss all. An if yer can mek me feel laak a reet prat, yer can do 't same fer wimmin. Nay wonder ya never see a wun in ere. The shop door opens, all eyes swivel (just like a pub entrance door) and in walks a large female, in dirty dungarees, severe hair cut with purple and red highlights, forearms the size of my thighs , most things pierced - the list would be too long - sporting a chunky paint-spattered watch. And clogs - proper Lancashire clogs. Two days later my tongue is still sore where I bit it .

Thanks for that ToughButterCup, it's staying in front of me.🤣

"Thanks for that price. I have three other quotations due in the next [...] . Can I ring you to discuss your price when the other quotes are in?" "Well, the main issue is that I want to be sure to compare like with like. I'm trying to be fair to each supplier, and not simply rejecting the quote on the basis of the final figure " "The other comparable quotes are substantially lower than yours. Do you have time to discuss them with me?" "Help me understand why your quote is so much higher than everyone elses" "Why is your quote so cheap?" "Your quote is so high that it makes me wonder wether you want the business". "Your quote seems to be substantially out of line with other quotes I have. The others are all about 15% cheaper. Can we explore why that might be" "Why did you waste your time sending me a quote that high?" "Self builders are not stupid" "Do you have a line manager I can talk to, just to check a few items in this quote ...." "Really? Honestly? Have the decency to wear a mask the next time you commit daylight robbery."

If we're voting I also vote 'leave as is' - and the kitchen does look good 👍.

I fitted a water softener on our mains supply but fitted it after a seperate supply for drinking water and toilet cisterns. I fitted a water filter under the sink supplying a three way tap. In the first picture, the manifold with the white taps is hard water.

Leave as is. In 3 months nobody will notice, and you'll have forgotten.

I assume the open door in the picture is yours? Rotate the ASHP 90 degrees so it blows along the passage not across it. It would blow the cold air past your front door not your neighbours. Putting screens in front of them is very bad, on another thread recently someone posted a you tube clip of an experiment to box one in, and it ended up recirculating it's own air and choking itself.

Whilst all this talk of insulating existing housing stock is all very well, there are some real world problems to overcome. Given that few people understand old houses, any such program i gurantee will result in a bunch of new, expensive problems. There will be air quailty and mould/condensation problems. There will be all sorts of damp related issues with the structure/walls. As someone who has just bought his 4th old house, its patently obvious that the "trade" by and large dont have a clue. (join some traditional proprty groups and weep at the cobstant "undoing" of inappropiate works) If you could properly insulate an old solid wall house, properly, without creating a load of new issues, for £25k, let me know who they are? Let me tell you, that isnt going to happen. Even if you could get a design, which, by necessity will be very much a "per house" excercise, a program of work, the cost of doing, which again will involve moving out, will far exceed £25k. To be honest, i will struggle to do mine for £25k with me doing ALL the actual work and no design costs. And that doesnt include the actual heating system. Meanwhile, out in the real world, the insulation solutions wont be designed correctly, if at all, the standard of retrofit will be woeful, so wont achieve anything like its stated aim, there will be damp issues galore. And there are not enough people to actually undertake a project of this scale. Theres no possibility of large scale ASHP fitment, never mind tacking on insulating the majority of the UK housing stock It wont happen, cant happen. If some system comes in mandating an EPC of x prior to sale, all that will happen, just like building control, you will be able to buy the certificate you need. Keep on daydreaming chaps(esses) In my case, they will need a court order before i let a bunch of government funded cowboys anywhere near my house, and even then id likely refuse.

50oC means that you stand more chance of fitting the new radiators where the old ones had been. You might be able to pay a bit extra to "oversize" the radiators to allow a lower operating temperature. It depends how flexible the Octopus fitters are with regard to paid-for deviations from their standard spec.

50 degree design temp, hmmm... I'd have liked to see that closer to 45 personally.

Octopus claim to offer a 7kW "standard installation" for £3k after the BUS grant, worth asking why it is so much more. Apart from the £620 for new rads and an 8kW HP vs 7kW it's not clear what costs the extra £2400. "9 days of engineer time" would surely cover installing the rads as well. Some more information on their pricing from the Octopus web site: "A standard installation includes everything you'd need for a typical 3 bedroom home: Expert no obligation consultation & home survey, A heat pump (up to 7kW) from a leading brand, on a ground level external wall A hot water cylinder (Up to 200L) in the place of your existing one Copper pipe (Up to 12m) and electrical cabling (up to 15m) connected to your existing plumbing and fusebox Up to 9 days of engineer time to install your system System flush, chemicals and magnetic filter to keep your system running smoothly 5 year warranty on parts and labour Every home is unique though so that is why a survey is essential to assess yours.I We’ve been working hard to optimise our processes and supply chain to bring heat pumps to you at the lowest price possible. 90% of our heat pump quotes are lower than the national average of £7,904. Our standard installation costs range from as low as £3000 including the Boiler upgrade scheme (similar to a gas boiler system), when including the £5,000 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant (which BEIS publish monthly on their website). It can cost more if you have a larger home or non standard installation - we'll let you know if your cost estimate. Find out more about potential additional costs in our FAQs. We'll be able to let you know exactly what you need and how much it costs after your no obligation home survey."

how to these cowboys get away with charging £5k for a couple days work. total rip off supported by a rigged cartel.

In the radiator sheet I see that they've given the output of the existing radiators in the hall and kitchen as 0. If they put that in their calculations the programme will say that they need to be upgraded. If you can find the iutput of the designer radiators you may find that they are already adequate. According to their figure the Bathroom towel rail does need to be upgrded, but the difference is small and if you are prepared to accept a slightly cooler bathroom you could stick with the existing towel rail. However, I suspect that they will insist on changing it. My radiator upgrades are going to cost about £5,000, £620 looks cheap! I think that the BUS insists that hot water is supplied from the ASHP which would be why they want to replace an electrically heated cylinder.

Just over 5k after grant including some radiator upgrades and dhw - if I could get that price in Hertfordshire I'd be over the moon. More like 10-15k after grant here from the MCS installers. Unfortunately octopus won't put an ashp on my flat roof.

I think it's important to understand the standard and ensure you comply, get agreement with the BCO also. But importantly for me regardless of cost its one if the singular areas of importance and everyone should ensure they have a pragrammtic approach to fire safety to ensure it works.

You got further than I did.

Fully intend to run cooling this year in 300mm loops. Hot enough already in bed, without a heater under the bed as well, putting the beds anywhere else in the room, would look away from the Loch view so you wouldn't move them. All room are large enough to move around with a walking frame and even have wheelchair access to the front decking.

I bought a house with tiled garage floor. Sort of tiles you would put in a utility room. Previous owner had gone in with wet tyres one day and slid into the end wall.

Waiting in line at the local BM. An organisation that hasn't changed from the 1990s when I first set foot in Lancashire. But I suspect it probably hasn't changed much since time began. A powerfully built but small white haired man get to the head of the queue. No neck, just muscle, shoulders the size of an American oarsman's coach. His frame must have been put together before steroids were invented. Several staff are chatting behind the counter - there's a queue, no, audience of at least 10. All builders (except me) Roofer: Riaaat mate ah want sum roofing felt: cuppla roles laaak BM You mean Vapour Control felt: how many rolls d'ya wunt? Noooo mert, ah want sum roofin felt, just'a culpa rolls laaak. The BM shop assistant, spotty, super-clean hair do, biro tattoos : 'Mum' and 'Hat', one on each forearm looks flummoxed. Well we've got [................... A series of trade names.............] Silence. Complete silence. 10 builders (and me) , Hearts almost stopped. The roofer eyes the sprog behind the counter, and cold as ice and says Maaate if yer wanna know why wimmin dunt ever cum in 'ere, it cos o' twats laaak thee mekkin me feel laak a reet prat. Ah been cummin' in ere since long afore yer dad wuz born orderin' fookin roofing felt. '..... Kin rooofin felt 'assss all. An if yer can mek me feel laak a reet prat, yer can do 't same fer wimmin. Nay wonder ya never see a wun in ere. The shop door opens, all eyes swivel (just like a pub entrance door) and in walks a large female, in dirty dungarees, severe hair cut with purple and red highlights, forearms the size of my thighs , most things pierced - the list would be too long - sporting a chunky paint-spattered watch. And clogs - proper Lancashire clogs. Two days later my tongue is still sore where I bit it .