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the replies from you all --and I am not saying you are not looking after your tanks or havibg a go --maybe you are correct it does not need desludging very often but suppose neighbours are not using correct washing powders or flushing wet wipes ,tampons etc !! It shows why when you are sharing with others why you need a solid agreement so you don,t fall out with neighbours on how often or when it needs servicing and there is money there to do it same as when shared road ways need maintainece so you want control over it if its on your property

Yes it’s what our tall cabinets are. Cupboard doors with low profile glass fronted pull outs.

Better people eh? Well recently (the last fourteen years) we've all had a first class demonstration of what some '... better people...' can do for Britain. They went to the best schools , the best universities, had the best tutors the best opportunities - and added thousands to every single one of our mortgages, preferred millionaires to tradesfolk. And brought early death to too many. As for increasing dishonesty, tattoos and decreasing church attendance.... Please do a bit of reading on Logical Fallacy. It'll help you to be kinder to those mendacious tatooed traders. And everyone else - BuildHub members included.

I don’t I contact our local authority they sent me a form

Do you have a water meter? Take a reading next time before you go away for a day or two.

Not really. The cold main is connected to the inlet group of the UVC, which is connected to the bottom port of the cylinder. The expansion vessel is connected either to the inlet group or cylinder contents via a port. So a closed main valve. A collapsed or punctured membrane on the expansion will alter system volume/pressure very easily. So worth checking. Also check the tundish at the UVC for drips. Good sign something is not right in that area could be a passing valve?

# 1. yes 2. no 3. £1 to £10000000 who knows, pay the fee and get a price.

Looks like a Charles Austen pump, and easy enough to get a service kit from any number of online suppliers, which would include a new diaphragm/s. Turn the thing off, get the kit and fit it yourself, very simple to do. Same here! Though in our case the hose had just come detached from the pump. They seem to go smelly when it goes anaerobic.

In the heat pump, just a single circulation pump. Everything run as a single zone or DHW heating.

Ours lasted a week before honking. Another vote for diaphragm issue here....

I would be very careful about going complex. All sounds great until it doesn't work or never works as you think it should. Issues are some manufacturers of combi boilers allow pre heated water most don't because they are not really sure about it. So their easy answer is no. PV and battery, let the PV charge the battery. Use the electric as you need Really would not bother with the complications of a back boiler. Why, you now have a combi boiler doing DHW and doing CH, you have a cylinder you have to charge up to get CH started, this could be heated via combi (via a coil as combi's need a sealed system) or heated by back boiler. Your cylinder will be a thermal store and really need to be pretty big if coming off a back boiler. Bucket loads of heat loss as it will be vented and get to high temps. Companies will do an integrated system and charge a pretty penny for their troubles. My view your heat loss / waste will be pretty big. I would Small wood stove if you must. Spend the money or most likely just time to get weather compensation working on the combi. Take as much gains in efficiency from condensing as you can. If you combi will take preheat, a small 50L cylinder is all you need. see attachedCombi-SuperFlow-White-Paper-v1-2-4.pdfCanetis-SuperFlow-Product-Sheet-WE-050318.pdf Leave a few thousand pounds in the bank. Save money every day of the heating season.

My situation's a bit different, but this might help ... We're going to demolish the existing dwelling and build a new one. The water meter was in the existing house and needed to be relocated. At the same time, I wanted to put in a new 25 mm MDPE pipe, running about 15 m across the plot, from the new meter. I got a moling company to that for £780 + VAT. No need to dig a trench. The moling company made the new connection to the exiting stop tap with a suitable Atplas fitting for the new meter. UU then came along and fitted a new meter at the existing connection in the street. Cost was £183. The stop tap is in the pavement on our side of the street. In your situation, I'd start by talking to a moling company to get a price for the new line and stand pipe. They might have suggestions about the best way to approach the utility. It was all cheaper than I expected. Not your situation I know, but might be helpful.

I applied for a rural grant Which took the construction cost down to about £200 They installed an atlas box as a temporary connection I simply dug a trench and installed a stand pipe in a timber box made from Scaf planksNo charge for the water we used over the two years building

Go through the normal motions. The motor only pumps air down a pipe to make bubbles go through and add oxygen (and disturb the contents), as in an aquarium. Nothing mechanical is happening. In the first chamber, the solid contents sink or float and don't move through. No harm can be done. Good toilet paper is a pulp by the time it reaches the chamber anyway. If it was my garden irrigation then I'd assume the pipe was blocked and blow along it. Don't do that unless with some device.. Or the rubber diaphragm in the pump has stuck. Again blowing through it....or not. Have you given the box a slap?

Breathing in the high level of particulate matter in the smoke I think. Perhaps more of a risk to your neighbours than yourself so long as you have the requisite supply of combustion air from outdoors.

WBS should have the priority when it is operating so there is some outlet for its heat. So set the immersion heater stat quite low to hold off the PV when stove is in use. You might want to inhibit it manually on a sunny winter's day if you know you are going to run the WBS all evening, difficult to automate unless your usage pattern is very predictable. Bear in mind there won't be much PV in winter and it is more valuable as electricity to charge the battery than to produce hot water. Check for limitations in the instructions for the WBS you are thinking of buying. For example our Woodwarm stove can only be used with an open-vented cylinder, which would require an expansion tank in the loft, and needs a thermal store if you are using it for underfloor heating. Don't know if you can take the output from the h.w. tank via the combi so it will top up the temperature only if necessary, check the instructions for it. Or you could have a diverter valve operated by a tank stat that determines whether it is hot enough. Most competent heating engineers would be able to sort this.

Mine used to come and go on its own. 🤷‍♂️

hire in a big'old diesel one for the retaining wall if there'll be a big timelag til the next phase of work

I'm sure that as a bricklayer, the branded one would be the wise choice. all day every day for a few years perhaps? thousands of hours and getting bashed with a shovel. For self build, not necessarily.

The screwfix one has slightly larger "official" capacity than the belle minimix 150 (100L mix vs 90L mix; 134L drum vs 130L drum). It's definitely full-full at that point though. No idea how it'd look if you had them running side by side.

gonna throw an alternate viewpoint re. accessibility. How well do high-level ovens and microwaves do if wheelchair-bound?

NI Water have a free annual desludge service

It's a shame ASHP manufacturers don't provide some kind of programmable "power level" control in addition to WC and fixed flow temp. Or even an option to simply prevent the ASHP from going below minimum power, with operation limited by room temp. That would at least be a step in the right direction.

Just to reiterate the point about the kitchen units being furniture in a living space. It was something we realised very early on but only after we visited another Heb Home similar to ours. The kitchen was awful as everything was greyish or white shiny laminated units so consequently it reflected everything else in the room. They’d also integrated the dining table with the island with the table being stepped down. It looked quite nice but it was an irregular shape so the dining table could seat two one side, three the other and one at the only end. The owner owned a kitchen design company too.

Work fine for us, but we do cycle on the heat pump (it's too big) so average is possibly closer to 16-18, depending on solar gain.

To @CalvinHobbes The utility room will, I presume intentionally, function as an airlock and a boot room. Yes it’s a use of space but if that’s valuable to you and you are happy with the resultant layout then that’s cool. It’s always a brave move asking for a critique of your design, but don’t take it to heart.

It's a great idea to think ahead and I would concur with the previous comments about a low oven being a poor choice. I would also suggest that drawers are very much more accesible that cupboards below the worktop, though considerably more expensive Have you considered putting the hob on the island (a downdraft recirculating one) and making the units where the hob currenty is three tall units Fridge/Oven+Microwave/Freezer? This would remove the unsightly and discordant fridge/freezer from its current location and give you some space to the right of the sink Regards Tet

cupboards below counter height are fine with pull outs and cab be more accessible than drawers. The main issue for op is there isnt enough room to make it nice with the open layout and everything crammed into a corner with a door messing it up. put up an irregular stud wall to separate the lounge gives a lot more feature space to work with and keeps the stink and noise out the living room and lose the separate utility completely.

Sorry to be blunt, that kitchen looks boring. Get yourself to a decent kitchen designer. It's in the living space, you need to think of it as furniture. Things I don't like, kitchen units finishing part way across a window, looks naff. The area where the hob is really needs to be tall units, and incorporate your oven, microwave etc in there. Your fridge in a different colour looks odd. Assume it's a stand alone, not integrated?

Weather compensation curve

We have thought about this one a lot - as we approach more advanced years, not so much for the ovens but for the fridge, we have no high units, other than one place in a wall for the ovens - maybe you could do that, in the kitchen only the utility. We have looked at the under counter pull out fridges - EG the Liebherr UIKO1560 which should make access easier and then have a fridge freezer in the utility room for deeper stock! PS - BUT before you take aboard your sons advice ask yourself how often they took aboard any of yours.

Sounds like a plan the PHPP software will tell you if it's a goer!

We're planning a certified passive house and are looking to install a Zhender ComfoAir Q450 with the Zhender Comfoclime bolt on that does heating and cooling. Assuming we hit the passive house standard, that should be sufficient for us. I see you mention above UFH (and also have seen your other post about ASHP), if you get a heat pump that can reverse you could do both via the UFH; heat the slab in winter and cool it in summer.

If your house is near passive it will be small. Don't bother to individual zone just one. We have a 8.5kw and 260sqm, better than the old building regulations for insulation just under 2 for air tightness. It has easily coped with our heating demand in mid Devon. I need to get mine to cool as overheating in summer is not so nice. Don't bother trying to get your mvhr to cool.

UFH system and fan coils in bedrooms, run everything direct from the heat pump at a single flow temp - around 14 to 15 degs via a simple WC curve.

So heat loss first. More likely the smallest heat pump you can get (around 4kW). Panasonic seem good (I don't have one, but everything I have read seems that way) You size the cylinder is based on the number of bedrooms and likely people living there. Our 3 bed has a 210L. Get a cylinder with at least 3m² coil, for heating efficiency. Cooling - matter of finding which do it. Panasonic do it out the box. Keep it simple, less outlay, easy to run, best efficiency.

I don't recall there being a particularly big difference between brands that offered cooling, but I last properly looked when I bought mine ~9 years ago! You might want to see how the ones you're looking at allow cooling mode to be enabled. In my case (Panasonic from 9 years ago), it was just a case of entering a sequence via the control pad. At least one manufacturer requires you to buy a module that plugs into the unit. After some investigation, it was found that the module (over £100, from memory) contained a resistor worth a few pence. Worse (or maybe better, depending upon your perspective!), the exact same module is used by the same manufacturer for another purpose and is sold for a few percent of the price for that purpose.

That is right. Used to be called Pizza ovens. (there is a load of shit spoken about kitchen equipment, easy to keep clean should be the overriding criteria)

Tuck, our air fryer, has proven itself invaluable, but like his fictional namesake he is a wedgie one so takes up a lot of space in me pantry. So I’m going for a combined fan oven/air fryer. Methinks all an air fryer is is a powerful fan and a nicely powerful heating element.

We like the hob on the island right across from the sink. We have an Island cooker hood, more for show that practical use. Rounded corners on the island worktop, to matching rounded cupboards can be expensive.

Deffo eye level oven. Under counter is a thing of the past. Btw your kitchen design is lacking storage. I understand your philosophy but you could make much better use of the space. I'd replace the three units where the hob is to full height, one with built in oven, another microwave and third storage. And put hob on the island and lose the overhead extractor. And extend the run down to the end of the second window, put the sink in the middle. Finally... We hardly use our oven these days, 90% air fryer. I'd have provision for one somewhere that's not in the way.

What is to the left of the picture? the obvious suggestion is extend the units under the window a little and have a tall unit just left of the window matching the fridge one, housing an oven and microwave.

My oven is likely to go below worktop. It’s not used that much and it’s not that hard to use in that position, and I am someone who’s knees are such that I have issues getting into the back of our under counter fridge. I think oven cleaning is harder when the oven is below worktop - but one could always use an oven cleaning company or get a self cleaning oven or both. My microwave will be a standard one in a cupboard. Cheaper and easier to replace, not in show and I like hidden, and when I’ve talked to sales peeps they’ve been cagey about whether a combined oven/microwave is as good as a simple stand alone microwave.

Here's a suggested strategy Bite back. Hard. Calmly. Why? Silence may result. Fail silently. Why? Passive aggression jangles the recipient. It will make them fail you... And that's not so bad is it... Plan your exit. Why? Calamitous change makes people suspicious Network Why? You won't be the only one who suffers the same fate. Read the book Stop Pissing Me Off - get it on Amazon.Lots of help there. Leave with good grace and simple politeness. Why? Because one day you'll meet those barstewards again. It's a very small world.

Go self employed, no boss, get a reputation for good work and you will never be short of work. If your interpersonal skills are good with customers you are on a winner. HINT, make your quotes comprehensive, no room for ambiguity with a Caveat that if unforeseen problems are found you will discuss how to proceed with the customer.

Definitely change employers.

Hi There, Very new to the forums so a warm hello to all. My question is, are the current windows PVC casement with double glazing units ? I work in the Retrofit Industry, and we tend to rarely recommend window replacements, as the energy performance improvement rarely justifies it. If you are able to just replace the individual glass units (assuming they are faulty double glazed units), this would be a cost effective/environmentally friendly option. You can order units online to size that use low e glass , meaning you would end up with high performance windows with minimum cost (higher cost= higher CO2 footprint). Hope this comment is not off topic as you may already have firmly decided to replace the windows (not liking them can be a strong and valid reason).

Yes, have a look at Solarlux Cero - not cheap but much better.

Kitchen extractors... Anybody used a downdraught unit? Fitted one? DIY made one? This looks attractive as a concept: Do they actually work? We have a cathedral ceiling to the kitchen/living space and would like a clear wall (1) for aesthetic reasons and (2) for cleanliness. I'm thinking of making one - perhaps the same thing but with the extract "grille" wall mounted into the splashback with a duct dropping down the service void. Hob will be electric induction. Why? I hate cleaning the things and she hates how they look. We have the IKEA 'underwerk' unit in the current house. It's relatively invisible (hidden in one cupboard and boiler hidden in the matching cupboard); it doesn't block your sightline and you don't smash your head on it (we're both 6'); and it can extract steam. Unfortunately the duct runs upwards before existing the wall and it drips condensation back when not in use. For example condensed grease from a previous steak fry gets softened by steam from a subsequent stew and will ooze back onto the worktop. (it has a mesh grease filter but it isn't enough) Or you get grease / tomato splashes up the wall and on the underside of the cooker hood that are a pain to clean. (you could say that we're clumsy) The buttons on the bottom of that...get sticky. That off white cupboard...also gets stickier and less white rather quicker between cleans than we'd like. It feels like a downdraught unit or a "letterbox" in the wall; with a clear wall and worktop; might extract the steam and make clearing up the grease/tomato/flying spaghetti from the flat surfaces easier.

Recirculation is still up for debate. I'm sceptical because life experience of recirculation to date has been awful (shitty flats with grease filled asthmatic mouse recirculation hoods) whereas extract hoods have been decent (at extracting anyhow). Too sceptical to rely purely on recirc. It's a newbuild. It's tight and it's having MVHR. Hob would be going to the left of the bucket. It could also go in front of the window to the left but I fear that would be insanity unless you like drawing on grease or you had a pop-up downdraught extractor / splash guard behind the hob. (such as http://www.hobcoversdirect.co.uk/index.html very practical but icky style) The MVHR has a bypass on the extract. It's a proper* bypass with motorised shutters to close flow through the core and a motorised bypass to go around it. By default it opens when the indoor temperature rises too much. It can also be controlled manually. Boost flowrate is 500 m3/hr at 100 Pa drop. It is very tempting to pipe the extract the hood into this. "Low" hob extract = boost and bypass the MVHR (only) and extracts steam in near silence. "High" hob extract boosts and bypasses the MVHR and adds the hob extractor fan in series to counter the duct / filter pressure drop. "No" hob extract is also an option if it's only steam. (allow the regular MVHR to clear the moisture) Or extract to outdoors. Or setup as a recirculation hob with the option to shove it through the wall later. It wouldn't be done for energy saving. (bypassed MVHR is the same as pure extract) It'd be for noise as much as anything else. Extracting from the oven is also up for debate. (if you roast meat or you roast potatoes in fat etc then fan ovens vent grease) Perhaps we should extract into the oven then bake all the grease out occasionally... https://www.berbel.de/dunstabzuege/zubehoer/umluft-zubehoer/umluftfilter-permalyt/ *Another MVHR unit that I bought had a joke bypass. There was a tiny flap next to the core with a wax filled actuator that would - slowly - open as the temperature rose. No blanking of the core. Just a flap that in theory moved with heat and in theory bypassed some air so that they could tick the box for having a summer bypass. The same absolute jokers (Brookvent) also refused to sell spare parts so the entire MVHR unit needs to be replaced if anything fails.