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Electrics all passed - just air test tomorrow!

The twin cylinder softeners like Harvey, etc regenerate when required by switching over to the other cylinder. I had different models in the different houses I lived in, in the SE. They were all ok. Fortunately moving to Cornwall means I don't need one any longer.

I have been using the Harvey twin tank water softener since 2001. No problems with pressure loss or noise. Suitable for a family of 4 and supporting 3 simultaneous showers with max flow rate of 56L/min . I have installed one in the new build which I bought from NE Water Softeners. https://newatersofteners.co.uk/collections/harvey-water-softener-range/products/harvey-twintec-s4?variant=44088604033260

Show off 😐 Prize will surely be the snagging list from the mrs 😬

Just remember you’ll need full building control evidence for the foundations if you wish to go up with the second lift retrospectively That’ll need photographic evidence and measurements recorded. Possibly get them signed off as if for a 2-storey extension first as last is the safest route. Strip founds are quick and simple, and for what you’re looking to achieve I’d prob stick with KISS philosophy here, more so to attract a simpler builder, if you’re not DIY’ing the whole thing. Raft is better, but you’ll need a structural engineer report before doing anything to check what options work; you may find only a raft will work here/with current soil conditions/being on made-up ground, for eg.

Then why ask for the household income If your wealthy Are you less or more likely to have a HP

We had exactly your issue. Exactly.... Answer? Micropolitics and experience. Our architect knows (knew) almost all the Planners (until they were outsourced a couple of years ago). Not good mates, but he knew our Planning Officer because they had workd toether in Lancaster. Our place is Scandi writ large on the end of a 'chocolate box' row of local cottages - but Passivhaus Quite similar to your set up it would appear.... We needed to set the house back - negociated with the Planner - and we needed to lose the planned bit of the house above the flat roof at the front - again negociated with the Planner. I love both your designs. Eye on the main prize - Permission. Adapt, talk, improve. Good luck!

Plumb toilets, kitchen and utility sink, and outside taps off unfiltered. Showers and taps off filtered. Filtered tap in garage (washing the car) Filter all hot Works like a Charm, we have a high flow Monach jobbie, works well no impact on water pressure or flow.

Ours are fitted like that where the 1970s cavity wall alterations were made. Apparently our uPVC soffits replaced asbestos ones as well.

Small progress. Just because my LPA were teeling me off, I submitted an application and then an appeal to have my PD rights reinstated. This is for a barn conversion completed in 2017 (not by me). My LPA seems to remove PD rights on all new houses. So, one small step forward. I'll post up a sanitised version of the appeal docs and decision notice when I get a few minutes.

Oh FFS - I'm just re-submitting my planning application and I find that my LPA has added this kind of nonsense since I did the last one. Yeah, war on all builders, yes! Keep those land prices high! This is my answer to Q6 btw: 1. Would you be willing to accept a condition and/or section 106 agreement clause confirming the development is for/includes custom and self-build housing? If no, please explain why. No, this is unnecessary and the CIL self-build exemption already requires the filing of self-build evidence e.g. self-build mortgage, self-build VAT reclaim etc. Also, some mortgage providers have said that they will not accept this style of arrangement.

My Mother had a Harvey softener (well 2 over 33 years). Was pretty good considering the chalky water in Bucks.

Interestingly Ovo is also offering a trial* of an add-on that incentives users to shift consumption away from the peak period (4pm to 7pm). It's a monthly refund for such usage shifting and can be taken along with the "heat pump add on". I wonder if the "Heat Pump add on" might be eventually replaced by a new version that has the same low rate but excludes the peak period. A combination of the two. * called "Power Move" and it runs to at least December as an experiment.

Because of the way the ions have to find free places in the chemical matrix. Think of it as an empty car park. It is easy for cars to park at first, but gets progressively harder, the more cars there are in there. A degraded battery will have the same amount of ions to move, just less places for them to go, the charging will therefore just keep moving them about, which makes the battery warmer.

I said that earlier, and that I don't generally favour expanding foam. In some discussions where the advice isn't wanted I duck out.

Thank feck you didn't use Denso tape!! The grease bleeds into the plasterwork and out to the painted surface, and you'd have had to hack that all off and do it all again in a couple of months, especially when the heat gets to the grease!!!! Denso is now banned in most instances, bloody ghastly stuff tbf.

Fix a triangular batten under the rafter against the fascia, and screw up into it?

We haven't. Can you borrow one? Can't remember the exact sequence of events but we installed solar - just needed the sparky sign off, not MCS. Then applied for Go (although we may have already been on it). Then applied for Intelligent Go - you need a specified type of EV charger - ours is OK (ZAPPI). Once you are accepted based on the EV charger, you need to attach an EV for the final step. Our nephew has a Tesla, so came along one Saturday morning for a bit of free charge and hey presto, we were on Intelligent Go. Which gives you and extra 2 hours cheap rate at night and the 15p export. We installed the batteries after being accepted onto the Int. Go tariff.

I believe using the same coloured wool as the sock was banned by law 😀

Yip, roller wave.

I'm not familiar with that sort of wall build-up, but the 50mm plasterboard and 150mm pir sound fairly decent. If it's timber frame, I suspect any cavity should be ventilated, but doesn't that render the external 90mm eps redundant?

If you only run the heat pump during the low rate periods then yes, but that will clobber the heat pump efficiency as you will need a higher flow temperature to deliver the same amount of energy. And you have to offset any saving against the extra daytime/peak cost. Ovo currently offers 15p/kWh for the entirety of your heat pump consumption irrespective of time of day, provided you have the right heat pump. I reckon that's unbeatable if you qualify, but also unsustainable for OVO

Hold my beer. There’s one obvious corner for the Christmas tree so I fitted two double sockets there just for that reason.

No reason to amend them. If you’re wanting to change any elements, then you may need their approval to copy or reproduce them. But do check the previous T&C’s.

I don't think they can. To date even my self-install has had a projected ten year payback. E7 only gives you one go at charging the battery (though I did actually have a gap but it was only an hour so too short to use). Cosy which as you say is as much a battery tariff as an HP one gives you 3 goes, quite widely spaced apart. It is early days and not really cold enough to tell but I think it will give me a better ROI than E7 did. Octopus notified me today that my Outgoing Fixed tariff is now operational so it now makes sense to import at 12.11 p/unit and export as much as possible at 15p. Victron s/w is optimised for battery charging from PV, which doesn't suit this strategy but they also have a Dynamic ESS upgrade. It has a Green mode which prioritises battery charging and self-consumption of the PV generation, and Trade mode which I am trying out - this is more aggressive and seeks to optimise the return by whatever means. Reviews of it are mixed so if it doesn't work for me I will have to write my own flows to do it in NodeRed. And I thought the physical installation of the HP was the major milestone...

Three years ago I bought an old bungalow that had a 4kW PV system fitted in 2012. It also has a Genersys 1.4kW solar thermal system.

3 years later. should this be a new discussion? It must be rebuilt. The bounce is an indication, but the whole floor is understrength. Did the builder save on joist cost or are they sitting around? It isn't just your comfort, but may make the house unsaleable.

Is my go to.🤷‍♂️ my drawings showed 600mm centres but as my builder knew (and agreed with me) that I hate bouncy floors he installed at 400mm centres.

>>> I had this, the local housing stock was a complete abortion of 1980’s fake Cotswold stone, there was no way they could say they wanted me to match in with a load of houses that shouldn’t have been built like they were. Yeah, quite, sometimes LPAs can’t see the wood from the trees. Soneone should tell my LPA that the objective is to improve the housing stock, not to bring everything down to a 1950s prefab standard.

I suggest it would be safe to assume that the CIL process should be followed meticulously just like any other self build. Rather expensive if it turns out later it was needed, and it’s just a few simple forms.

If just needs to drain the monoblock in order to prevent the monobloc from freezing. The ground is unlikely to freeze and would probably be reasonably resilient if it did (push water back into the house and expansion vessel rather than splitting pipe)

+1 for that response, KISS. One idea which has been advocated by an installer that has impressed me is this: Identify your main group of adjacent living rooms, ideally mostly downstairs (because heat rises). Operate these fully open loop thus guaranteeing sufficient engaged volume at all times = no need for buffer or separation or indeed any other 'add ons'. Then use trvs/timers on the remaining rooms only,those rarely used/those that you need at a lower temperature. I think the validity of this depends on the layout of the house and it's use patterns, but it is an appealing middle ground if the layout/use pattern fits. In the coldest weather it might be necessary to turn on the rarely used rooms.

It just there to separate the aluminium foil on your insulation from the cement, to stop a chemical reaction. It also helps stop the screed going under the insulation lifting it all up. Anything will do that does mind being walked on.

There are three different devices. Volumiser goes in either the supply or return piping, it just adds volume. It is a simple in/out devise, it does not provide any hydraulic sepereration. Buffer as above by @PhilT. Can be 2, 3 or 4 port, but separates the primary and secondary circuits, and is connected to both the flow and return circuits. Simpler to a LLH but with additional volume.

What, in the 1950s, your Mum used to do to your socks to make them even more uncomfortable. 😁