MJNewton

A five degree bend over a 1m length should be easy.

I can't quite picture your exact setup/scenario from your description but I have found that plastic ducting (assuming that's what it is?) can be persuaded into taking on a slightly different shape/bend if heated with a hairdryer or heat gun if that'd help?

It might be worth you recapping/clarifying what you are asking for in this thread? The original post only has one question ('any timber minds out there?') and given you've only had positive vibes from planning and have got the basis of a design what are you asking for from here? If you are specific with questions you will likely get more specific answers.

It is more a case of what is said, not who is saying it.

I am fastidious when it comes to marking up cables (and pipes), but I just use a fine-tipped permanent marker (Staedtler 318-9) and haven't found a need to go beyond this.

I suspect they might only want 'untouched' filters otherwise if they've been cleaned mid-cycle it could skew the quantitative assessment of how dirty the air is, unless they are only seeking to analyse pollutant types and not quantities (which might be meaningless given varying flow rates)?

Understood, thanks.

Howcome? (Note we never use it; relying solely on the (gas) boiler to heat the cylinder).

I did wonder whether there'd be any access via the immersion heater i.e. whether it is in direct contact with the water or sits inside something sealed to the tank. I suppose I could scoop out what I could from there, and then chemically treat the remainder if that idea isn't a daft one to start with?

We've got a Range Tribune 150L indirect unvented cylinder, installed when the house was built in 2007. I have seen at least one other (possibly two?) houses on the estate with their cylinder being pulled out by a plumber and whilst I didn't think to ask why I have assumed it could well be down to problems with scale given the very hard water we have here (22.7 on the Clark scale). Whilst we don't currently have any issues (as far as I am aware) I was wondering if there is any means by which I could descale the cylinder as a preventative measure? I am thinking something along the lines of disconnecting the hot water outlet on the top, pouring descaler in and then flushing out once it's done its stuff? A few issues immediately spring to mind: 1) health risks from mixing chemicals with what should be potable water (even if we don't drink it), 2) creating a problem when none previously existed (e.g. causing a leak by messing with the pipework, damaging the cylinder if thread connections are tough to undo), and of course 3) I have no G3 ticket and so shouldn't really be messing around with it! Any thoughts?

If I could have my way I'd quite happily leave cabling and pipework etc exposed - I hate covering it all up when I've spent so long installing it neatly! Better still, I'd use transparent pipes (soil pipes excepted!).

All electrical work falls under Part P (which essentially requires compliance with regs) but only installation of new circuits, replacement of consumer units and/or work in a special location (near baths/shows, in swimming pools and saunas) are notifiable. Extending an existing circuit is therefore not notifiable (being outdoors used to make it notifiable but that changed in April 2013).

It sounds like it must be a subscription-level thing as I've got access to BSOL (through work) and can download the standards as PDFs. They are, however, watermarked with my name and company before any one asks for a favour!

Yes, I believe the standards specify any bend to be <10mm over 2.5m and I reckon mine might have had more than that. For my application it didn't matter so, for once(!), I didn't kick up a fuss.

Happy to. One day (when/if I finish it!) I'll do a proper write-up as I think some aspects of my system could be of interest to other retro-fitters that don't the have the luxury of open ceilings, webbed joists etc of a new build (okay, we don't the stresses either! ) As brief background, my system was born out of the desire not to spend loads of money and effort on insulting our new open-plan extension only to have (at extra cost) trickle vents added to the already-expensive lift-and-slide doors. As with many of my ideas and musings next thing I'm doing is looking to ventilate the whole house with MVHR... I could see strengths and weaknesses with different components from different manufacturers/suppliers and so, taking advantage of the cross-compatibility of the 75/63mm radial duct systems hand-picked different parts for different reasons: - MVHR Unit - Titon HRV 1.25 Q Plus Eco - Had all the features I desired (e.g. right size, summer bypass, generic filter baskets etc) but most importantly was available cheap (£350 I think?) from a seller on eBay who was involved in ripping out hundreds(?) of them from a development to replace them with the next size up as per the contracted spec. They'd only been commissioned and the properties yet to be handed over to residents. I visited the guy at his house to collect it and am convinced by this back story. Came fully boxed with all the extras (from the new units), and seem good quality with ebm-papst EC fans and Recair heat exchangers. Happy to pass on the contact details to him if others are interested as I think he's still got some left. - Control System - My brother keeps reminding me that he never touches his MVHR unit (other than filter changes) however the engineer in me still wants to monitor/control it. Rather than spend hundreds on the proprietary Titon control units I will eventually be building a Pi-based controller to monitor/graph performance and operating states, as well as to provide more configurable automatic controls (holiday mode, humidity-based switching, summer bypass/purging, PWM motor control etc). In the meantime I will leave the unit to do its stuff but I am fitting momentary boost switches in place of the existing extractor fan isolators just to give some manual control should it be required (and also in case we ever move on - I don't think the new owners will appreciate being left a hand-written user guide and downlink link to my bespoke Android app!). - Ducting - Airflow Airflex Pro - Whilst all 75/63mm ducting is seemingly interchangeable that is not to say they are all made the same. I've handled some that has been far less flexible than the Airflex Pro stuff and so went for this as I knew it was really good quality. - Distribution Manifolds - Blauberg 8-Port - I was going to make my own out of ply but at only £35 each I couldn't resist. They were easy to line with acoustic foam and I will be combining them with their own ducting adapters and (expensive - might DIY) restrictors to adjust the flow at this end rather then the ceiling terminals (reduces room noise and avoids unauthorised fiddling!). - Silencer - Blauberg 600mm - Again, another cheap offering from Blauberg at less than £30. Opted just to fit one on the supply side, but have designed the extract pipework to allow an easy swap-in if need be. - Ceiling Terminals - HB+ Conus Airvalve - Chosen after I saw @JSHarris's setup and liked them both for their aesthetics (slightly less 'office toilet' than some as my wife put it!) but also that they are designed to work with manifold-mounted restrictors (i.e. they can't be screwed in/out). I bought them from a supplier in the Netherlands as even with shipping there was still quite a saving over UK suppliers. - Terminal Adapters - Domus - I went for these for those locations that I could easily access (kitchen, lounge, dining room due to ceilings being down; top bedroom, en suite and dressing room due to loft access) as they were a bit cheaper than some others, are nice and compact etc. Not much to choose between really, although some seem very expensive for what they are. For other locations where I only had through-the-ceiling access I've gone for a bit of a Heath Robinson lash up that I could install through a 125mm hole from below consisting of a 125mm 90 degree elbow combined with a 125mm to 75mm reducer. I think that's pretty much it, aside from all the ancillaries, fixed piping etc. In total I think I've spent £1200 in total which I don't think is too bad for a 100m 11-port (12 duct) system. Yes, more than the trickle vents in the doors that kicked this adventure off but hopefully of more functional value. Edit: Apologies to @j_s; I wansn't intending to deviate the thread with all this!