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Induction is the best. What isn't though, is the touch controls which they almost all have. Impossible to tackle with oven gloves. When something spalshes out of a pan it sends the whole thing haywire. I would love some remote knobs that fitted onto the wall behind the hob. It'd still be simple to clean then too.

well done, that is always the best. it is liquid running water you are looking for. you have a leak. Imagine the cost of such multiple inspections, and the additional premium for being responsible for all workmanship and all consequences. That red circle does look favourite as a problem. I don't like the gutter chucking uphill and clashing with other running water downhill. But there is definitely regular extreme wetness at the left end of the bottom gutter. If not from the gutter then from the confluence as you neatly describe it. In looking for leaks I start from the end point. so that is the left gutter end and support. water generally takes predictable routes following gravity, so straight up the slope is likeliest. My kneejerk solution is a metal flashing from gutter left, to underside of the flashing above it. And another catching all the water from the red circle confluence. Plus the red circle gutter could do with being cast away from the circle onto an area of complete tiles, using an additional downpipe and shoe. This will also m ove it slightly from the lower confluence.

I suspect @Pocster has a selection of these kept in his 'special' cupboard.

Changing your mind is part of this game. It's got more to do with learning than indecisiveness. My plans went from renovations of an ancient cottage, to a shipping container build, to ICF, to masonry with EWI, to timberframe, to stick build, to wide cavity wall. At one point, each one seemed like the best course of action. ........until I learned more. Similarly with heating and ventilation systems and a Plethora of other choices. When you stop changing your mind one of two things have happened. 1.you've arrived at an absolute truth or 2.you've given up thinking. Try not to do the later and mistake it for the former.

If waters getting to the other side of untreated wood, then don’t you need to solve the issue further upstream? Just saying…..

With a soppy sentimental story on the side. My great Aunt Gertrude rescued me from the slums. Her greatest wish was that some day I would fix a ceiling grid using self tapping screws into concrete. This is in her memory. But will I manage it?. Music "Dih dih daaaah! Fortunately a helpful group of blog members hear of this and offer advice.

first experiment underway. 5mm SDS bill. it seems pretty darn solid but will see how long it lasts.

There is absolutely no need to have a gas hob or oven in 2024. The fumes alone will reduce your life expectancy.

Hi all and @Muellar Here is a bit of a story but some ideas for you to have a look at. I'm and SE and Architectural designer but here is some of the stuff I've picked up along the way. Servicing a site can be expensive.. a decider often. I look after a house for a great friend who's husband died. It's around 500 - 600m^2 and well out in the country. We ( the husband who was the techy guy) both did a self build at the same time (mine was a lot smaller) but Clive (the husband) who was a scientist / technologist say like @SteamyTea and @Alan Ambrose were well ahead of his time and brought loads of info to the table as he use to work in Finland / Sweden etc. In some ways the bigger the house the easier off grid is to do. The house I look after also has some 5 acres of land so plenty scope to "do stuff". It was Clive that got me into UF heating systems /off grid stuff / electrical diversity and trying to get the maximum kVa out of a transformer on a pole that is several hundred meters away (voltage drop see later)... and that was 30 years ago. This worked for us as we were well out in the sticks and we use to have power cuts for days at a time when the temperature was regularly -15C and at one time hovered between - 19 and -23 deg for three days in a row.. even our drink froze / the diesel vans did not start, my German Shepard got a bit cuddly and that was a great experience big dogs are warm! This is the Scottish Borders I'm talking about when we used to get hard winters. Basically we flew by the seat of our pants and hoped it would work in the Scottish climate. We had no internet to research and a set of Y fronts each! they came before Speedos I think. .. for the younger these are male under garments that we use to wear. I'll come to the off grid stuff which I love later.. on my bucket list. Ok what Clive did was to have a LPG gas generator for when the power went off. My power cable which was right at the end of the line was a 95mm^2 aluminium three core cable, each core! What the electricity board was to connect all the cores together so we got single phase (220 -250 volt) but delivered through each of what could have been a three phase supply. This mitigated the voltage drop. But the big cost saving was me digging my own track and backfilling. DNO obligations, diversity and demand: My level of understanding is pretty basic @ProDave may chip in to clarify. Also @Carrerahill is off line at the moment, but I'll see him early next year and he does this stuff as a day job. Anyway @Muellar I would come at this from a different direction. Generally the cable that comes to your meter is protected by a main fuse. These tend to be sand fuses and work in a different way from everything after, usually the tails to the meter. I'll call it a sand fuse as there is a table in BS 7176 that lays out how they perform. @ProDave can you correct my interpretation if my laymans explanation is off the mark? Now lets say you have an 80 amp sand fuse. That is the one in the meter box that has a seal on it. Up stream you have a DNO cable ( belongs to the lekky board) which they are interested in protecting and everything up stream of that only. Your in house system is of little interest to them. Now a sand fuse / breaker does not blow like a fuse / MCB you have in your consumer unit. I'm trying to find the BS 7671 table but you could draw several hundred amps through a sand fuse over a few seconds before it blows.. and that is why you should not tamper with it!. Sand fuses work by heating up and then they blow, the sand stops the fuse blowing when say you blow a socket in the house and you get a surge of current.. but the MBC's etc on your consumer unit stop you getting killed as they trip quickly.. hopefully. The stuff in your consumer unit works on miliseconds.. the sand fuse in minutes. Now say you had an 80 amp sand fuse and you were drawing 100 amps.. it may last a few minutes before it blows. The whole objective of the leccky board fuse is to protect their equipment and not yours. Where I live here is a local transformer that has a fuse rated at 600 amps. but it I think serves 10 -15 houses. The electricity board apply diversity depending on the number of houses. Again their fuse at the sub station is not the same as the ones we have in our consumer unit. Ok lets put some sums to this and why. Copied from internet to be lazy.. In the UK, the declared voltage and tolerance for an electricity supply is 230 volts -6%, +10%. This gives an allowed voltage range of 216.2 volts to 253.0 volts. Now your supplier has a legal obligation to meet the statutory voltage range... and that is easier said than done! @Muellar this may lie behind the quotation you have. Try and get to the bottom of this. If you have long cable you get more voltage drop prid pro on on the cable area. It may not be the amount of kVa that is the sticking point... could be their obligation for voltage? If the cable is too thin / long it causes a voltage drop that could expose your suppplier to a claim if your appliances stop working. The sums are Kilo Watts = Volts * Amps. Say you have a 15 kVa transformer up steam. It's the current that overheats a transformer generally. How many amps could you draw if you were the only customer at 216 volts. ? 15000 watts / 216 = ~69 amps continuously... like for an 20 min to an hour say . Transformers are designed to cope with a surge in loading and that is why they are oil cooled and have fins for example. But if there are other folk using the same transformer it gets more complicated. A good example here is that you get a DIY guy that likes to do a bit of welding. They may be drawing a lot of amps but only for a few seconds. In summary I would try and understand what is lying behing the quote from the Electricity board. Most of their Engineers are quite helpful and will be happy to share their technical knowledge. You could ask the question.. can I have a 40 / 60 amp fuse, all sealed so it protects your network? Funnily they may be more than happy to engage once the find out your plans for off grid / with a bit of back up. They may support you a lot as they could use this as part of their environmental accreditation? Sell it to them! Write to the head honcho! Many ex council houses have 60 amp fuses so this is quite common. @SteamyTea has done a spread sheet on diversity.. but I would start with the main fuse to get this issue out the way and then you can play with you off grid stuff to your hearts content. To finish the DNO . I would love to have another go at doing an off grid house. OFF grid! Love this but the key for me is to do it and still be able to sell the house when you move on. Another poster has made the point that it is a neice market. True.. but if I was doing it I would keep it as simple and stupid as I can and keep some data on performance and an operation and maintenance manual. Make sure you future proof things like underfloor heating pipes.. the things that can't be easily changed. @SteamyTea Combined heat and power is fantastic. If you have a bit of ground then grow some willow, encourage wildlife and as it grows like fury it could well be enough to keep you warm in the winter. I'll need to stop here.. but @Muellar love your idea. Don't forget.. you can write to the head honcho of the leccky board.. lay out your case and they may suppport you! Get your ducks in a row and you may get a nice surpise and support.. this lunch won't be free but..

With a name like that @Pocster is bound to like it 🤣

I was looking for the old Seek 'n Seal we'd use around our windscreens as kids with leaky old Fords. Came across this and liked the name: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Captain-Tolleys-Creeping-Crack-sealer/dp/B003T6EJ9A/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?

You use an app which tells you what setting to use based on the size and type of radiator.

It is hard work, and very few people will do it. Dig a holeto the bottom of the footing. Get into the hole and dig under the foundations and down to the new depth, handing up earth all the while. earth to garden or skip. Pour concrete in the hole and pack it up super tight under the footings. Pay for the concrete and the small load premium. move on an repeat. Because it is difficult to pack up tight, the house may settle a mm or so. If there wasn't really a problem then this may cause differential expansion when the ground recovers. Your Engineer says it isn't necessary He knows the ground in your area.

Radiators all have thermostats plus there are room controllers in 2 distinct circuits, each with a hot water tank. Port valves? I don't know. On further investigation, I half recall that the radiator nearest to the boiler is on its own loop, for some reason of keeping a circuit open during maintenance????? may be wrong. That was the hot one. Others seem to be on and off without issues. Since my first post and turning the room heating (only) back on it has been working nicely. I haven't touched the controls. I will continue this for completeness and only turn the water heating on when necessary and then after a decent test period.

I don't think it is worth stripping the pebbledash if it is sound. You could remove any bellcast bead and strip of pebbledash that will throw the EWI out and make it up locally with some thin insulation. EWI is quite effective, especially if you improve airtightness and ventilation.

Like your bottom ?

If you suspect, or know that it has been done 'old-school dot and dab', rather than 'Full Perimeter beads and cross-hatchings' (often shortened to - wait for it - Dot and Dab) then there is a remedial course of action. 10-12mm holes at 40-50mm ctrs and a second or two of air-tight foam in each should 'stitch it up'. I have done this on a number of wall D 'n' D'd in the 1980's, with some success.

It should apply the profile you’ve set up to the thermostat. Easy enough to check just be going to the Neostat.

yeah. pretty tight. I'm sure it'll be fine and the final load on each screw for the ceiling won't be as much as a concrete block pulling straight down as the load is spread across the whole ceiling and all the screws. so maybe for the sake of a few screws I reduce it to a 600mm x 600mm grid and that will then be completely over the top for fixings and reduce the load per fixing as well.

Sorry - a bit distracted with Christmas and other responsibilities. To go through the feedback above (and thanks so much everyone for taking the time to respond) There's a confluence point (see pic detail) where an awful lot of water comes together. I initially thought that this was the problem and that the issue was that the guttering (open ended on the right) should be closed with a down pipe on the left side nearer the window (ugly, but if it works) I also thought the that existing down pipe not shown here but to the left on the other side of the window, should be directed further out on the roof in case the deluge was going under the flashing. However, I have stood in fairly heavy rain and observed what's happening on the roof. Yes, there is a lot of water coming together at this point but it didn't look as if the roof was failing to cope with it. The gutter certainly appeared to be coping with the downpour and was not overflowing, nor was there evidence that the gulley was too tight and the deluge was overwhelming it. That's just from my untrained eye though. I'm therefore disinclined to think that this is the root cause of the problem - though it may still be a problem, I agree - mainly because of the following: There does not appear to be any evidence of damp or water ingress around the area of the flashing on the inside of the house. I admit it may just not have come through yet and I also agree that the flashing - particularly at the bottom - is lousy. The issue of water dripping down behind the gutter onto the facias and rafter footings seems more or less consistent across the length of the lower gutter - not just at the far end above the side door, which implies to me that it's a issue affecting the length of the gable end, not just the valley on the left hand side. Even after very light rain, or when there has been no rain for a day or so, I can often find - like the original pictures - lots of drips and moisture across the footings when the tiles and gutter are relatively dry. This makes me suspect that there is moisture trapped behind the tiles/membrane. On one occasion, the roofer came back and lifted several rows (can't recall exactly how many) of tiles and laid another membrane. This did not make any noticeable difference. The lower guttering does not seem uneven or twisted. As you may see from the original picture, there's a bit of vegetation overgrowth from a neighbours side which I've tried to keep in check to avoid leaf blockage etc. Ideally, two downpipes on this section would have been sensible, I agree, though there is no room for a butt here and the only other drain is a foul from the washing machine/sink, which obvs I'd like to avoid running into. As for a rainwater/gutter calculation, I agree this should have been done. I've looked through all of the documentation that I have from the structural engineers but can find nothing giving such details. It seems odd, but I will have to assume that it was not done. ☹️ My plan is to get an independent roofer in once things start up again in January, and get an assessment of the issue. I will discuss the rainwater/gutter calculation - thanks for raising it. Finally, I agree that LABC would say that this has not been competently fitted. I would argue back that they had an inspection program that should have picked this up. Whether I am right or wrong in that, I would doubt that it will make a difference. My suspicion here is that the project manager did not pick up that the choice of rooftiles was not suitable for the particular pitch of one section of the roof and the roofer did not pick up on this. I could try to take either/both to the small claims court though again, I suspect I would be banging my head against a brick wall. In the case of the project manager, it seems there are a queue of customers and tradespeople with grievances/claims against him. I guess this answers my initial question of whether an LABC claim would be an effective move. I plan not to do any more on this until I get a detailed opinion on the issue from an independent roofer, with a view to how much it will cost to put right. If the cost to remediate is considerable, then I will have to weigh my options about how to proceed further. Again, I really appreciate all your feedback on this and I will keep the thread updated as things develop.

Yes, townhall would have to approve it. This is a suburb in the couronne rouge adjoining Paris (what Londoners would call zone 2 or perhaps the outer reaches of zone 1), and the people at the local town hall are pretty reasonable, but that’s why it’s a plus if things are not too visible from the street - easier approval.

You don’t need the Heatmiser Neohub to control the system though. It’s an add on to give you remote access and ‘easier’ control. Mine is still in the box somewhere.

Stone resin. Here’s the install instructions

Just some breaks in the vertical battens will allow air to flow round.

My drive is very dark (till you enter it and a little floodlight comes on). Seeing the gateposts was the biggest problem when reversing out (yes I know but it was like this when I bought it) so I put vertical LEDS on the gateposts which activate when the electric gate is open and also controlled by a light/dark sensor so no operation during the day.

Just been thinking and in it's simplest form, you would run both the boiler and heat pump on the same WC curve. All could be hard wired. Time based switching (cost) - £60 Then use a simple single channel time switch to deliver a run permission to either the HP or boiler. HP connected to the NC connection and boiler NO connection, with the other zero volt switching wire to common. Temperature based switching (heat pump capacity limited) - £100 Same as above but replace time switch for external thermostat. Time and temperature switching (combination of cost and capacity limit) - £160. combine the two above.

How about squirting several tubes of silicone in there?

I’m custom building a property in Swindon with a Timber Frame for the house and a separate garage that is brick only. Design finished and foundations dug.

As Joe has already pointed out There should be a continuous band of drywall adhesive around the perimeter and electrical boxes casings etc This is crucial No one bothers with Parge coat nowadays Except self builders 😁 You need to be sure that the builder isn’t assuming that because they have put Parge on the blockwork There’s no real need to bother sealing the boards You should be able to form a good seal with the boards and stop the air getting through to the block work in the fist place It’s also worth foaming around the bottoms (blue) prior to skirtings

I think although dot and dab can be unpopular, in this case your risks are likely fairly low. You've only got 25mm PIR, so most of your insulation is within the cavity. This means that while you have a gap between IWI and blockwork, that inner skin of blockwork is on the warm side of the CWI and therefore shouldn't go below dew point and cause condensation ordinarily. The parge coat should hopefully reduce risks further by making the blockwork somewhat airtight, meaning that air flow from living spaces into through small gaps into any void behind should be minimal.

Ours is slightly bigger than 120cm x 80cm (was cut to fit) and it’s fixed with low expansion PU foam as per the instructions. I was rather sceptical but seems to be fine so far.

Well that part I've emphasised is not true: keep with a Loxone install (per my original suggestion) and there's hundreds of certified partners in the UK that will maintain it after you're dead and gone. They are more concentrated in the affluent south so definitely avoid it if in the North, for now. OTOH if you're in Netherlands you can't leave your front door without tripping over one lol (I don't know what a mod box is, but the modbus extension is a standard Loxone part any competent installer will know their way around) To the wider point, totally agree KISS is much preferred to complex controls, but that ship sailed long ago in this post: adding ASHP to a existing dual fuel Gas + Solar thermal system is anything but simple. Hence the suggestion to use one of the more (the most?) established control systems for more complex domestic HVAC scenarios.

I absolutely love tinkering, inventing, thinking, experimenting. However the above setups are barmy. Internet connected, shelly controlled, bespoke hybrid, Loxone, mini servers, mod box extensions. If you die, get infirmed or sell you house NOBODY WILL FIX IT. There was a tale on here of one of our members very sadly widowed. Her late husband's similarly complex and bespoke setup broke and she was left with no heating. Nobody local could mend it. Very kindly a couple of good souls , I think @PeterW and @Nickfromwales drove to Scotland to fix it up. Keep the core mechanics of a house absolutely as simple as possible. The least tech savvy house member should be able to operate them with ease after 3 bottles of wine. If you must stray into complexity make sure that it is an off the shelf variant that there's enough public knowledge available hat Google will allow you to repair it easily.

@Dee Use the @ before a users name to tag someone (they get a notification they’ve been mentioned) and you should get a drop down to pick from If I was doing it again I would use the flow setting (auto balancing type) by either Drayton (I use Wiser TRV’s but they work also with conventional Drayton TRV’s) good explanation here or the Danfoss equivalent Either may accept your existing TRV Heads with adaptors (not sure if they are compatible or not) good explanation of the Danfoss valves here Fundamentally they both do the same thing - allow you to set up specific flow rates to individual rads that are not affected by system pressure changes (like when TRV heads start intervening in the circuit) Both types work with the lockshield valve wide open

Flexi tile adhesive works well I agree with Ice about the skate effect I put them in our last build Looked great Rubbish to keep clean Back to white this time

it was full of fridge gunk! I doubt it had been cleaned out for ages. Thanks for all the comments, will move it further away from the wall and will get that trunking on the pipes. I need to do that to all the new radiators in whole house as all of the pipes come down from the ceiling/attic. But thats a job for the New Year! Too much choc to eat and bottles of wine to drink for the next week!😄 Merry Christmas everyone!🎄🎅

Just for clarification when I hear the term column rads I think of this But I have this suspicion based on a google that you mean

I think we know the answer. A gutter and dp to a recognised design and properly installed will not overflow. An old one might, because of recent changes in rainfall. This one is sortable but needs some technical skill. @Paene Finitur can we have your thoughts and response to whats above? The answer is probably in there. It's OK to acknowledge and say , let's have a few days off the subject.

Just looking back at the pics and there are two down pipes above that end of guttering so a large area of roof water into a small area at the end of that gutter, I would suggest too much.n Has anyone done a rainwater/gutter calculation? https://www.briarwoodsupplies.co.uk/pages/guttering-calculator?srsltid=AfmBOoo8gRgO1_cK0F4fUQ1bIhBmLiimLUEswuW8F6dS6vdLUkEriGFP

My thoughts, additional to the good advice above. Usually rain is fairly vertical and not severe. The water will run nicely down the slope and not go in. In very severe storms and especially with wind, it might drive up between the tiles, but it is unlikely as the overlap is considerable. Then there is the membrane to catch it. We cannot know if the membrane is intact and lapped properly. The eaves and gutter is a mess. For now I would cut out an overflow from the stop end so that any extreme flow can escape...into a butt perhaps. An additional downpipe may solve it. More on that if requested. It is a plastic gutter. They often distort. Can you check if it is in a straight line or twisted....the lowest point will shed water, perhaps inwards. Is the gutter on a slope downwards to the pipe? Downpipes work very much better with flow from 2 sides. You have the additional pipe shedding onto this roof....lots of water at the wrong end from the downpipe. PLUS the flashings are random here....extend the lead fiwn to the gutter and complete the longitudinal flashing. LABC would say that this was built incomptetently and they don't cover that.....unless they had checked it....had they?

There is a lot of water arriving at the left hand end of that gutter, but the only down pipe is at the right hand end? Have you stood outside in heavy rain and observed how the water flows into the gutter and does it over spill? I would be looking to re jig the downpipes so there is a downpipe from the left hand end and try and route the upper pipes directly into that rather than onto that roof.

Is it the water hitting the outside of the gutter and splashing back onto the facia and rafter ends, it looks like a big roof into a small section of gutter but might be the camera view?

Just looking back at the pics and there are two down pipes above that end of guttering so a large area of roof water into a small area at the end of that gutter, I would suggest too much. In fact all the roof above that arrowed line ends up at that gutter end. Add to that the downpipe from that lower gutter appears to be at the opposite end, the lower gutter may be overflowing as it carries all the water from the roof that’s visible 🤷‍♂️

Why not a generator and some battery storage? You could, with a bit of simple plumbing claim some thermal energy from the generator. The main thing with off grid living is to reduce usage to a ridiculously low level. This will probably mean a total redesign if your home. May be too late to do that if you have planning already. Small, domestic, wind turbines are pointless. The physics is against you. It is very easy to think you can live with a log fire and a couple of lights, but realistically you want a washing machine (about 2 kWh per wash), a fridge and freezer (0.5 kWh/day), extractors, maybe off grid sewage and lights (another 2 kWh/day) and you have already used up your winter PV production. Find a decent mechanic and make a small CHP unit on a petrol engine (gasoline us 15p/kWh).

Sorry!

Thanks @Joshdobbins - that's very reassuring on the ability to hang things, I was wondering if plastic screws for this purpose (given they're not supporting much weight) might be a good option to prevent bridging? On the breathability front I got the technical information which I needed (from 21 degrees which i think is the new name of Ecological Building Systems?). The paint needs to have an SD (steam diffusion) value of 0.0225 or lower for the diathonite to function properly. I did some research as to paint brands/products that fit this criteria, how much they cost, and what their advertised coats/coverage are to give a cost per m2 of finished wall in each case. This is not definitive but might be of some use nonetheless....

To add a more rounded picture, MVHR isn't all about cost recovery / return on investment - the same as many kitchens and bathroom suites will never recover their investment. Apart from any cost savings (which can be real), if MVHR is properly specified an installed it can filter the outside air, maintain a healthy internal atmosphere, avoid noise transmission through trickle vents, reduce condensation & mould risk, and avoid blowing warm air out through rattling extractor fans. And probably some other things I've not thought of. As for air-tightness, the Building Regs standards are very unambitious. Passivhaus requires no more than 0.6 air changes per hour under 50pa of pressure, and values as low as 0.2 are possible. However that is only achievable if the architect designs-in adequate airtightness measures, if the various contractors and installers know what they're doing, and if someone is checking the quality of the work and materials used.

so, after all of that I decided to just buy the manifold and fit it now! when I started to add it all up it was almost half the price of a manifold. thanks for everyone's advice and I think this was a good example of not seeing the woods for the trees as I got so blinkered about using elbows that I didn't see the benefits of just skipping to the end result. it's amazing how focused you can get and it takes a moment or two of stepping back from the problem to see and consider all the other options.

I’ve got a cheap endoscope from Amazon which is useful for looking in difficult to access places.

I really don't think it would be the boiler heating the hot tank that hot, much more likely the immersion heater is turned on and the thermostat has failed. Immediately find and turn off the immersion heater switch. Boiling water venting to a plastic header tank has been the cause of more than one very unpleasant death and why the law was changed for a secondary thermostat in immersion heaters. Don't ignore it, act NOW before even replying to this thread. I would add, turn off the boiler as well, and run a hot tap to run off some of the boiling water out of the tank.