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@Chris D, I have a warm slab (essentially 17 tonne of slab + another 10 tonne ring-beams wrapped in 200-300 mm EPS) with the UFH loops running in the slab itself. The house is a near-passive design so the slab only needs to run about 3°C warmer at its surface to provide enough space heating to keep the house at ~ 22½ °C which is what we like. Here is a plot of the last 7 days manifold out & return temps: I do my heating using Octopus Agile. The CH algo calculates the total heat required daily and heat the slab at the cheapest ½hr price slots, which are mostly (but not always) in the overnight period -- hence the jaggies. The house is treated as a single zone. Currently the return peaks at 26-27 °C and decays to room temp through the day. The outs are ~4°C hotter during heating. With your house, you will need the slab to radiate more heat, and a conventional heating control will tend to keep the temp in tighter tramlines so the core of the UFH will run hotter, say 30°C, with heat conducting up the surface and then radiating into the room from the floor, but also a lot conducting down through the subsoil because you don't have that 300mm EPS layer. Given that the P/A U-value estimate is relative to external temperatures, then you could be looking at a Δt of maybe 25 °C when you are heating the slab, or 25 × 0.5 × 250 W loss or 3 kW or up to 72 kWh / day of ground heat loss on top of what goes into the house itself. So you need to do your figures carefully. The bottom line is that putting UFH in an uninsulated slab is nearly always a very bad idea. ☹️

Some success, Internorm directly have responded (I have their Techinal Managers details after he came and sorted some issues with a fingerprint sensor on our front door) and they say it can likely be done, that said they are just waiting for JK to provide the specific order details of the original item to double and then we can get a quote from Internorm (will involve a visit from their Service Department).

thanks for replying, I managed to get a manual and you're right, that's the way to change it. what I also found out is that our control that came with the boiler has some hidden settings. one of them was modulation. essentially, every time the boiler kicked on before, it was running at full power, heating everything up to 75 degrees and consuming a lot of energy. since I turned modulation on, the boiler only heats up to the required temperature. it's much quieter now and the temperature rarely goes above 60 degrees, as that's all it takes to keep everything at temperature. gas consumption seems to have go down a tad as well. it's so sad that every boiler installer is only in to connect the pipes and the flue, really. no gas engineer cares about efficiency or talks to their customers about their boiler's capabilities. thank you!

@JackofAll Hi, below a few photos - in the big kitchen, dining living space, we split this into 3 areas, each on/off and dimmable seperately. In the evening we'll only use the living space leds. You can see this on one of the photos, where I've set different levels on each of the sections. On one of the photos, you can see the end of the coving - the sparkies specced this and supplied it - it was incredibly lightweight. To put it up, they lasered a line in and tapped some pins in every 50cm or so and then simply 'no nailed' it to the wall. The end of the coving you can see has had the slot at the back disguised - essentially there's a step down from the edge and the led trough and diffusers sit in there. We used the ARC Led controllers -> https://arc-led.co.uk/controller/1689-arc-led-universal-12-24v-4-channel-receiver-with-push-dim-input.html They now do a wifi version but we're happy enough using a remote - you can can program 3 scenes on the remote -> https://arc-led.co.uk/controller/917-arc-led-single-colour-4-zone-remote-control-black.html. We also put in an RF wall controller but never use it - similar to this one -> https://arc-led.co.uk/controller/1278-arc-led-4-zone-single-colour-battery-operated-touch-wall-panel-black.html. Actual drivers and led strips were all specced and supplied by the sparkie. The leds are simple warm white - no fancy colours..... Here's some photos - let me know if you want any more info - I can probably get the spec for the covings if you need that. Also, in the bedrooms with vaulted ceilings, we did the same but also have 3 spots on the long side of the vaulting (they're uneven, i.e. come down further on one side). Again I can send photos of this if you are interested - we used BG wall touch dimmers for these. The 3rd image is a bit blurred, had to reduce it's size to be able to attach all 3. Simon

The water pipe should be 750mm deep. The route is normally a fairly straight line from the point of entry to your house via the meter to the connection in the road.

Some pics, work in progress still

I paid for the application in August 2023 to allow me to get on with getting the footings in for the extension (and have them inspected). I then spent 3 months maybe, doing the plans in the evenings. I finally submitted them in October. They came back after about 6 weeks and asked for some ammendments (that are included above) and finally got approval 19th December 2023.

This is when having a good read of the installation manual helps if you have it I think 75 Deg is the default for the heating temp - you can change it in the diagnostic menu d.71 should be where you adjust it All glow worms seem to have differences in how to adjust parameters but fundamentally the process is the same Don't know your particular boiler but on mine diagnostic codes/adjustments to parameters that can be changes is press and hold mode button for several seconds untll you see 00 then + or - till you get to 96 then press mode again you should see d00 Then you can scroll thro using + or - to get to d71 Press mode again and it will show the value - if it's 75 then it's almost certainly the one you want Press - to decrease or + to increase - example change to 60 Press and hold mode to confirm and again to exit (it gets a bit sketchy about this point) To check the setting has been saved start again and get to the same place - if the display shows 60 result it's remembered it if it doesn't try a longer press of mode to make it remember it A proper installation manual for your specific boiler model would tell you exactly what you need to do

Just heard about this tariff. Very interesting. According to the blurb on their website it offers low prices over the summer and higher prices over winter. For most people this would be a problem, but I'm in an unusual situation with two properties used as holiday lets. They're predominantly occupied in the summer and nearly empty all winter. Anybody on the forum using this tariff? https://octopus.energy/smart/tracker/

The strip out continued through the months of July and August. The old shed coming down Loft insulation out (the itchiest job known to man) Cielings down Conservatory down Floors up Loading up the skip with non burnable stuff. And burning the rest The old garage briefly before being sold, dismantled and collected

I think you need to read the post (properly) and all the replies - if the OP has a drawing where the next door elevation is drawn slightly smaller than in reality AND has fully dimensioned his proposal AND there is no condition attached to the approval referring to having to tie in with the height of the neighbouring property then the OP shouldn’t be concerned - it has been built in accordance with the approval. Context drawings are there for one reason - context and unless they are required to establish critical dimensions are for illustrative purposes only. And I have no idea what checking an architects PII will accomplish.

@Adrian Walker, a bit off topic I discuss this in my blog posts, but to summarise for your Q, I have added the manifold out temperatures. This is a Home Assistant plot. My CH system is a standalone RPi running Node-RED. It publishes temperature and other stats ½ hourly to my local MQTT instance and these are tracked by HA, so the jaggies in the plot are partly because of the 30 min subsampling, and partly because the heating is only on when the electricity is cheapest. (Octopus actually paid me to heat the house on a couple of days over the Xmas break.) As you can see the out whilst heating is ~4°C hotter than the return and the temp gradient is pretty even along the loops so the UFH pipework peaks at ~6°C hotter than the slab surface during heating. The heat flows out radially from the UFH loop throughout the slab and within 15 mins of so of the heating stopping the bulk of the heat has spread pretty uniformly throughout the slab at around just over 25°C or 3 °C hotter than room temp. It is noticeable and Jan really like padding around in the kitchen in her bare feet in the morning when the slab is at its warmest. My ripple is was little more that J's: when I measured it with a spot IR temp meter -- about 1°C.

Unless the elevation is dimensioned it won’t be enforceable and a separate condition stating a height requirement will be required.

Cheers for the guidance all 🙂 i think it's in hand now 🙂

Not much cheer here although oil has fallen recently. However I see that battery prices have fallen (with lithium) and Fogstar are about to offer 15kW.hrs for £2,500 which is a total game changer. Time shifted night rates and heat pumps - nice. Looking for an inverter/charger for said battery I see that the Victron Quattro-II has a spare 240V input which could connect a V2L from a car (the plug behind the back seat on a few). That would be very interesting.

It will be set as a condition. Ie. Built in line with submitted drawings, no's xxx, xxx No need for a separate condition.

Scaremongering.

Rubbish. If the height of a neighbouring house was critical to obtaining planning permission it would have been set out as a condition not merely relying on an elevation which may or may not be correct. Lol @ PII - what good will checking the PII do?

When I was fighting fir my planning permission the LPA quoted next door as being “X” meters high (dormer bungalow) after extensive works and I questioned it, my builder and I went around with a very long piece of wood (when they were out)and we estimated it was 1200 m (4ft) higher than their plans with the LPA, however I was not fussed and they dropped that argument (and I won anyway 🖕). Frankly I would crack on if they passed your plans.

An Architect, capital A, should have the skill to establish the size of the neighbouring property, even approximately. They should also have the knowledge that it is important to give accurate representation of the relevant surroundings...otherwise why even show it? Anything else is deceiving the planners, whether intentionally or not. In real life, it isn't likely to be pulled down but would require a re-submission at the very least, modification of the height as likely. So if this theoretical building was being constructed right now, it might be best to pause and discuss it. If it hadn't been started then get new permission by discussion with planners and accurate drawings. And get the Architect to resolve it all free of charge.

Are there physical stated dimensions between the existing and proposed dwellings? If not and there are only dimensions for the new dwelling and it is those that have been built to, then fine and no issue.

I reckon that could be serious. In an urban area Relative height to neighbouring properties is more important than measured ridge height. Not sure what the LPA could do, but I suspect they could void the planning. But, they'd only do so if it's materially different and if they would have rejected the application had it been drawn correctly. Check the Architect's PI insurance.

The scale of the original submission in comparison to your neighbors is often incorrect As long as the dimensions of what’s built are the same as the drawings Your fine Our neighbor pointed out that the house is much further back than the planning permission drawing But there is a measurement from the curb to the West corner of the house Which set out from He stated that the drawing shows the two houses inline

If your drawings include measurements and they were approved, I don't think they can disagree with you building it to drawing. It was after all, approved.

You only know the future price 1 day ahead so you'll not know what a particular nights rate is until the day before. Historically I believe the tracker tariff has worked out cheaper than their standard variable price capped rate, but you take the risk that it doesn't stay that way!! I'm guessing that if the OPs use is only/mainly in the summer then there could be some quite low rates to be had??

You can be very creative with office led lighting if needed.. Simple trim around the edge can make it look like a faux skylight. Most people assume it is one! Without the risk of leaking.

Just make sure your boarders and Plasterers are good enough to have their work spot lighted!! For examples, find any house rendered with downlights installed. What looks outstanding in the day, suddenly looks like whipped cream under side lights! Alternatively, boarding and Plasters, immaculate during the day, but with the wrong angle of light... My example below...

Sketchup make 2017 free version

yes that’s the intention

PUR insulation does contain artificial blowing agents that give the product an enhanced thermal performance and yes this does leak out over time reducing the thermal efficiency. Check the thermal performance of foil faced boards against that of tissue faced flat roof boards. Foil faced is always better as it delays the escape of the gas. The test method for the thermal conductivity accounts for this with an artificially accelerated aging process prior to testing so quoted values are acceptable longer term.

Ok, the. The pipe will be coming out to the RHS, bending round before going in to you pretty. At a guess, 1-2m to RHS of the box. Bend radius on a 25mm MDPE is pretty big.

Horrible stuff I would just strip and re felt/membrane, new battens and better detailing with original Slates.

I've seen 1000s of meter box installs. 90% of the time it'll run straight. The other 10% could be anywhere. First, is the outlet side of the box pointing towards your property? I.e. in your photo the customer side will be at the bottom of your photo, the meter side. The valve side is the incoming mains. Sometimes they are installed at 180⁰ if the supplying main is close to the property and they need to loop the pipe back to avoid the main or other services. Post a photo of the surrounding area, camera facing your property. Also, are you sure that's your meter?

Thanks. The original membrane is the plastic with the mesh in it, the ad was a pic of Geoff Capes standing on it between rafters, holding two rolls. Just not knowing anything at the time, stretched it tight, and may not have detailed it well at the eaves. Felt tray this time. With cross battens there will be more clearance over the wall, I may have to replace the 3in thick wall plate with thinner. The insulation is all up to scratch 250mm. Since then I got quals as a site chippy and found out how much I did that was wrong.

@Mr Punteris correct. Unless there is any obvious reason for a detour, such as a tree, rockery etc it will be the easiest route. Either 90° to the road or the shortest route to your internal stopcock. What depth is the inside of the meter box? Dig that deep and a bit. Carefully.

I should add, i did all the drawings myself using SketchUp and Layout.

Funny that, I get turned on, randomly,

No and no are the short two answers to the questions posed. Internorm won't say any different to JK, the whole unit will be compromised if you start trying to make changes to it, so they'll never entertain it. You could try any number if things but you're wasting your time, they'll never work well or properly.

We have quite a few inward opening tilt turns and it would be useful to have an external handle / lock, but I think the only option is replace whole unit. You can't just chisel out a triple glazed ali sash.

Unsure if it's still the case, but a couple of years ago you could sign-up to a AutoCAD course online, and then get a 1yr free education license. I also found https://viewer.autodesk.com/ useful as, while you can't edit dwg, it allows you to annotate and share drawings. Also good for quickly measuring things from drawings. Also, while it may not be an issue in practice, you need to be careful you aren't breaking any legal terms with your architect, especially if your edited drawings continues to include your architects names and logo etc.

15 day free trial of AutoCAD, and if you need it longer £60/mnth for AutoCAD LT https://www.autodesk.co.uk/products/autocad-lt/overview?term=1-YEAR&tab=subscription

You can't get away with tongue in cheek here can you....... But while you say it's impossible - it's also important to do the homework - how many appliances might be on - can the inverter and batteries handle that and how long can they handle the demand. As @ProDave says - most modern appliances will simply give up the ghost and go into standby - so not a problem - unless your washing is sitting in a vat of warmish water. Simon

Yep I have reached a dead end completely. Seems like there is no solution.

It’s not random . I’m turning it on / off for my amusement

Probably not really helping the cause but:- CLEVO Wooden Pull up Bar For the Ceiling For Climbers (clevo-climbing.com)