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Very much this. The WiFi antennas in those powerline extenders are not that powerful compared to some of the proper long range gear you can get. E.g. https://www.tp-link.com/uk/business-networking/outdoor-ap/eap110-outdoor/ or

My build is taking me forever, so I have no actual facts or data to share. When I first came to BuildHub and started this journey, the challenge of cooling kept on coming up. Insulation and an airtight build mitigated the heating requirements, but due to solar gain, how did you tackle cooling. PPHP modelling, window shading these were the go to advice. Actual air conditioning if you could accommodate it. Then in amongst all this talk you discover an ASHP can be run in reverse and provide cooling. Back in 2019 there was some debate about if this wasn’t allowed by RHI or MCS, some ASHPs didn’t allow cooling or had the feature locked. For me this sounded like a good cooling solution. I was going to build an ICF house and have a poured concrete 90mm thick 1st floor. So I installed wet UFH in the first floor expressly for the cooling. The concrete floor was now not just an extravagant way to have a solid, non-creaky, sound proof floor. It was now my cooling block for the bedrooms. Unfortunately, I’m still building so have no idea if this approach will work. I also went with 70/30 tinted glass on the windows to help with the solar gain. And I’m putting the cooling module on my MVHR, which doesn’t seem very popular or value for money, or even effective! So @Nickfromwales one word advice might seem a bit cryptic, but to me it is classic Buildhub.

Cooling.

When I did my build I was told by many here that my south facing 10m conservatory with bifolds into the house would overheat but frankly in the several years I was there it never got hotter than a good holiday in the south of France, (which many pay good money for) and during the shoulder seasons and even mild winter days was a lovely place to be.

Yay..... the poweline adapter has worked. One in the lounge connected to ethernet and one in the dressing room which is the furthest away room and the room closest to the gate. Tested it on a wifi WhatsApp call and it worked! Going to order a reolink doorbell on Amazon and test that over Easter...

I find softened water fine for drinking, I actually prefer it for filling bottles and especially if boiling it up for tea. We put softened in the quooker, works great There's a few areas in the UK that the water is so hard that wras recommend against drinking it, but in most areas the salt added is so low it's not considered a risk Likewise I use softened water to fill the heating system. Couldn't find any advice either way but seemed worth trying to avoid getting limescale in there

Roll of the dice mate , I find some don't check or spec, others are by the book

Whatever I've hung them that's what the BCO has requested yes , open towards main route of escape. Then you have the intumescent strip, handles,hinges etc if they are really fussy , and at times request a closer

Fire doors are predominately hung in the direction of escape

It’s WiFi not zigbee though does have BT . I’m waiting on matter to mature - like zigbee / z wave I think it’s gonna take time . What I do like is being ‘technology’ agnostic - so can change relatively easily as technology improves .

I get that from time to time too. Much more on feeld, sometimes on grindr, certainly more than a single person. More seriously, the aqara looks neat. I've been using Steinel TruePresence KNX on the recent project, which are ok after a fashion but can't give a body count. Shame it's Bluetooth, my Loxone server now has Matter integration (and ZWave and Wifi of course) - I really don't want to add BT to the mix

The chances are the planners will have no idea what the figures mean either but if they are presented by your SAP assessor they'll take them as complying.....

True, but one doesn't realise the years have caught up until you're caught out!

Nah, Luddite me. I don’t do “Tech”.

Unless I’m wrong which I’m happy to be. you won’t get a vibrio rig on your site without knocking the bungalow down, I’ve never seen a small one. you can get small piling rigs to drive a steel driven pile, or a small rig for a bored pile, but all the vibrio ones are huge bits of kit. ask @ToughButterCup I believe to underpin with a steel driven pile they smash it in close to the original foundation and underpin the original with a concrete cap.

Yet you said this………

On very loose ground I favour vibro. The main attractions are the flexibility of spacing and that the ground is being strengthened rather than the building going on stilts. It saves on reinforced edge and cross beams too. If the design allows , I would have a link between the 2 parts like a railway carriage has, to let any movement cause least effect.

>>> Wouldn't have the first clue. I don't mean to be antagonistic, and I'm all for the owner / DIYer improving their understanding and learning enough not to be taken advantage of .... and I know that many on here, myself included, know that they'll do a better job of some tasks than a lot of 'professionals'. But ... there is a time when you know you need to get the advice of someone who really knows what they're doing. Now, I also know that it's often difficult to tell a good professional from a bad one and that's a skill in itself. So, this may be the time when you need to get one or more people in to quote and see whether what they've got to say chimes with some of the very good advice you have got here.

That’s the thing, the render is not below DPC. It’s the DPC that’s at floor level.

Good Afternoon, Hope you enjoy the experience. Lots of good advise on here.. I'l start Set up an separate email for the project like GrszHome @ something.com - use this for contacting suppliers and anything, this keeping all the junk mail trying to sell you stuff for the next 10 years and beyond separate. Try to get a trade card from Wickes [10%] if you are not in a trade, you may be able to gat a bar code from someone and put it into stocard app. Sometimes through work [blue light or perks at work or similar] you can get an extra 3-7% of by buying a prepaid charge card. If a subby says he can get the stuff cheaper, they more than likely can't. A couple of hours googling at night and a few phone call, can save ££££. All the best

Good thought, both, will include a run for that.

You shouldn't be buying a new house then thinking of ways to bodge a fix to the builders error. I would tell them of your concerns and tell them you will buy it of they re do it properly but are not buying it like that.

The builder is not correct. The there should be a DPC 150mm above ground level due to splash (as you say). i am surprised building control signed it off. Is it block work walls? This becomes an issue where there is a level threshold / ground. We actually put two in, one that was a cavity from the inside that went out to weep vents. Then a second on the next block course (red below) where there was a break in the render with a drip bead. I would also be interested why it looks like the render to the left at the base has come off in a small section (I can't see any weep vents?)

I'd also suggest comfort comes into this, and what type of heat you want. How an A2A delivers vs an A2W via UFH. I personally dislike warm air being blown around by an A2A, but when on holiday, appreciate the cool breeze of aircon. Heat delivered via UFH from our A2W gives a nice steady even temperature in house (with the added benefit A2W provides my DHW needs as well). But the cooling is less effective as it takes longer (albeit very pleasant when up (down?) to temperature. I think A2A are fantastic in large rooms / open spaces, less so in small(er) rooms. Like everything else, there are trade offs, and individual lifestyle requirements, and house location / design all play a part.

We used Air-testing Staffordshire New Build Airtight Testing And More | Airtight Testing Staffordshire Airtight Testing Staffordshire | Newbuild Airtight Testing and More | Airtight Testing Staffordshire From Stoke so may not be worth them traveling to Bristol £200 [Nov 2021] so will be more than that now. [no VAT then as they had just started out on their own]

Us also. Not as good as Aircon, but does knock a couple of degrees off when needed. If you have PV generally free to use also.

We find slab cooling with ASHP very effective, even if it's only needed once a year or so (in northern Ireland so daytime temps rarely in the high 20s and nighttime usually in low teens)

The whole thing looks like a shambles to be fair. Need to get hold of a good electrician to come and give you some advice. Seems like the last few haven’t been very good, including the PV installers shoehorning a Crabtree MCB into an M2 board. OT slightly, but why are solar installers nearly always so bad? MCS scheme is a total mess imo.

That is a RCD not a RCBO - it has no overcurrent protection. The more concerning part is that looks like your consumer unit is being fed by what looks to be a 10mm twin and earth with no overcurrent protection (other than main fuse). How far is your CU from this breaker?

I just did an netgear access point, fits inside a wiska waterproof junction box, data cable and 5v power supply cabling to it. provide Wi-Fi to Shelly for car charger, ring front door bell and ring camera.

I’ve been quoted around 300 + vat ; so far . So similar ball park . Mine ain’t gonna leak nowt

Moving the CU to the other side of the wall and poking the cables through may well result in the cable drops no longer being in a safe zone. Easily rectified by say putting a socket on the wall in line with the line of the cable drops.

What about a WiFi bridge ? https://www.4gon.co.uk/ubiquiti-rocket-m5-ac-pointtopoint-wireless-bridgebase-station-p-6258.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwh4-wBhB3EiwAeJsppAu1ypJmsw2qKT8OqJ224j83XuC2IG1755UfcVB8t7cp182gu3rJShoCRjsQAvD_BwE&gad_source=1 for example . Line of sight would be best . Buy them on Amazon , test , return if shite ( Amazon is good for these things ; test and fail …. )

No ‘edge’ to the driveway so you could duct ( above or below ground ) ? Have another internet connection installed at the garage - then it’s all cloud based 🫤😊

If you have loft access which I believe you might, you can put a data cable up there going out of the facia board to a TP link external device. we are able to pick up the house wi fi from a great distance across the garden, well beyond 30m, but not measured it.

The free version of Fusion360 would probably be good for this. It's relatively easy to trace shapes to make a sketch, then extrude them upwards to the required height using the push/pull tool.

And those are the important bits to remember!! Our 9 month went into nearly 2 years... And we had some harrowing evenings crying over the spreadsheets and costings as it all slipped out of our control. I remember March last year asking the builder's office for the final electrician's bill, and her coming back to me and saying 'just over £23k'... And me mid motorway drive dull brakes emergancy stopping onto the hard shoulder in a blind panic... Only for her to go 'oh sorry... No that's the total months bill... Let me get you the right figure' and for me genuinely crying in relief as I accelerated off again.... For her to then come back to phone 5 mins later and say 'no, sorry again I was right the first time, it is indeed £23k' for me to then end up back on the hard shoulder. He was a (expletive deleted)ing shyster. BUT having been in for 9 months now, we do regularly look back and laugh at most of the horrors we went through, the panic, emotion, distress and anxiety which at the time were all consuming. The shit we stressed over which is irrelevant now, and the decisions we forced through against advice and shouldn't have, and the thinks we did get very right... BUT we are thoroughly pleased we went through it, I definitely feel it's made me a more resilient and philosophical person and I think I handled it pretty well at the time all said and done. It also makes us appreciate the place more, and you'll be amazed at how much you forgive and forget when all is said and done!!! End of the days, it's just a (expletive deleted)ing house. Most people won't know, care or take any interest in vs schools in the area, it looking nice and what are the neighbours like? Grit teeth, ensure and just survive. It's all worth it on the other side.

This is ours 9 months after cladding. It won't rust or have swarf on it. It was done by our joiner who would have used a grinder but was instructed not to and watched. The hire companies didn't stock nibblers which shows how little they are used. This wasn't intended to resemble a zinc roof. If it had, we would have used a wider pan. I think £40/m2 probably covers it. Re another current thread, that's a Lindab gutter on the new build and refurbished cast iron on the original.

I am a man of few words... until 2 pints go in and then you can't shut me up Give me a slightly cold home and I'll pop a blanket over me, but give me a warm house and I'll kill everyone within a 50m radius.

Maybe it's a noise problem, with two noise generators at a property in an urban environment?

Yes . Easier to test in lounge . Once satisfied can migrate to bathroom . Patience @joe90 I know you get off on these things 🤣

Not yet!. This test is in the lounge!

So you got this to tell you if she is having a dump or a Shower? 🤷‍♂️

Most of us are the same (but it’s worrying why he wants to know how many are in the bathroom when he only lives with his wife 🤷‍♂️)