MJNewton

Great to hear about your successes with the Anti Reflex 2 @wozza. I must say; I entered into the world of paint and selection with some bewilderment about the choices on offer but actually the more I've read about Anti Reflex 2 the more confident I am about it being a perfect match to our requirements to the point where the only way I could up this will be from having first-hand experience. We too have a local stockist, although I'm paying a bit more than you at £40 (incl. VAT). I was prepared to buy direct from the manufacturer if required though, and I thought their delivery charge (£7 I think?) seemed reasonable enough for a few 10L tubs of paint. Might that have been more to do with it being Dulux Once? Note so much the Dulux bit but more the one-coat aspect? I always feel that benefits of 'features' such as this always have to come with a corresponding drawback somewhere else (otherwise it'd be a standard feature across the board). Might poor adhesion have been it? I could imagine that the the one-coat ability must be due to viscosity and so I could also imagine this meaning it doesn't get the same level of 'grip' on the substrate.

Yes, I know exactly where you're coming from. This aspect is probably the main concern for me using DIY Kitchens - not being able to just pop in and pick up a another drawer, extra shelf etc whether up front or further down the line. I don't mind so much having to wait for damage/missing replacements as our extension has taken a rather leisurely pace as it is and this will be new kitchen in a new room so we still have a working backup that I suspect we'll use for some time still.

Yes - same here. One day someone will be able to construct a layer-by-layer 3D model of our extension from all the photos we've taken! I often scribble on the building fabric too detailing where things are or why I'm taking an otherwise obscure photo. Yes I noticed that. Being a tight Northerner I opted for the cheapest delivery package (£75 at the time) and was a little nervous about having to bring everything in myself and work around being at the office. With even the lowest tier providing an into-the-house service and me still working from home I don't anticipate any issues. I got an interesting email from their worktop supplier detailing their Covid work plan which means they and us can never be in the same room at the same time - they'll template up and leave the room, we'll go in and give the thumbs up or make comments, they'll go back in - rinse and repeat. I suppose a lot of kitchen sizes are such that social distancing can be difficult but with ours being a large open plan room perhaps they might be a bit more relaxed - or the 'non present' party will just have to stand in the garden shouting orders through the sliding doors!

Great to see I'm not the only one that takes photos of things like a kitchen delivery... Also great to hear we're not the only ones to have their kitchen build slipped - we ordered just before Christmas (to get the sale prices) and were just about to set a delivery date when Coronavirus struck! Now that that excuse is slipping away we finally set a date and it'll be here in a few weeks... Thanks for the pointer about some bits being inside cabinets...

Thanks for the comments everyone. I've been reading up on all these candidate options (it's no wonder my extension is taking so long - I spent most of my available time on the Internet!) and think I've settled on the Tikkurila options I mentioned. I found a professional decorators forum who recently had a poll on the 'best ceiling paint' and the Anti Reflex 2 won by a fair distance given how well it copes in tough lighting that would otherwise how up even the slightest of imperfection or application issue - just what I need! I think I might also try the Optiva 5 as it sounds like Dulux Diamond Matt will have too much of a sheen for us (we really are after flat matt, and the '5' refers to its reflectivity of 5% which sounds broadly like what we're after) and the Johnstones Perfact Matt seems unnecessarily expensive (but good never the less). Agree also about the Harris short pile rollers but I seem to be having trouble getting hold of Harris stuff at the moment - I wonder if lockdown has affected their production? I'll be passing a particular Screwfix that have a couple left when I go to collect the paint so might grab 'em.

Apologies for the reply-to-self (after only 5 minutes too!) but I stumbled across a review of the Johnstones which, whilst positive, happened to mentioned some alternatives so I thought I'd throw these into the mix of options: For ceiling: Tikkurila Anti-reflex 2 at £47.40/10L: And for the walls, the Class 1 scrubable Tikkurila Optiva 3/5 at £88/10L: Again, they both sound ideal and a fair bit cheaper too...

We're on the final stages of our our plan lounge-kitchen-diner extension with the walls and ceiling having had their white mist coat. The matt white finish has really impressed us so the with the colour decided we've just got to settle on brand/product for the top coat. The room is very well lit with wall-to-wall sliding doors and roof lantern which, whilst aesthetically pleasing, is really unforgiving on paint finish - particularly on the ceiling where the slightest of imperfections (roller marks, tramlines etc) seem to stand out a mile. I happened to stumble across Johnstones 'Perfect Matt' which makes some bold claims about quality of final finish: Has anyone ever tried it? It certainly sounds like it would fit the bill; the only downside is the cost at ~£65/5L! Reassuringly expensive perhaps? Keeping the theme of expensive paints we've also been looking at Dulux Diamond Matt for the walls as, with it being a kitchen and having a toddler around, we like the idea of it supposedly being easy to clean and more withstanding of abuse.Not quite as expensive as the Johnstones, at ~£45/5L. I've heard it mentioned on here a couple of times - do you recommend it? I know I've mentioned cost twice now and whilst I always keen to get value for money I really don't mind paying extra if it really does do what it says on the tin. Hopefully we won't be repainting for a good few years yet and so the extra £50 here and there really doesn't matter. If the Johnstones is as tough as the Dulux (both meeting the Class 1 scrub resistance standard), *and* can give a more even coating then I'd be happy to pay the extra and use that throughout the room.

Yeah will definitely give them a good inspection. I've convinced myself there will be some issues and so will just go with it if/when it happens. I noticed on the invoice they've sent my drawer choice (ie the internal blum components) have a product code of 'Recently discontinued product' so it's anyone's guess what's going to happen there! I've raised a support ticket but no response, which again was a bit surprising as they've always been great with support so far). Trying to relax about it all though as my extension has been stressful enough as it is!

Perfect - thanks! The packaging looks ideal too for our situation. I had visions of it being bubble and shrink wrap, with tape thrown in for good measure, and which can never be reused in quite the same way once removed.

Can anyone confirm how the units from DIY Kitchens arrive in terms of packaging and protection etc? A photo would be perfect. There's a chance I may have to move them around a bit before installation and so wondered how shiftable with a sack truck they might be without damage and too much effort. It's a large open plan room but Sod's law there'll always be in the way of whatever it is I need to do. Obviously I'll need to unpackage them to inspect for damage but hopefully will be able to package them back up again. Am I right in thinking they don't have their feet installed?

I doubt you'd be able to prove acoustic performance - it is a highly specialist and complex subject, and I imagine almost impossible to properly demonstrate outside a laboratory environment. That's why manufacturers commision independent testing of their product such that, if installed in accordance with the method tested and prescribed, should be sufficient for BC acceptance.

I guess it's the nature of I-Joists, and their thin webs in particular?

Noting that they specify a 15mm plasterboard, would 12.5mm plus a 3mm skim be expected to perform to the same level? Asking for a friend...

The JJ I-Joists Technical Manual confirms (pg 9).

Ah yes, and indeed they don't look out of place.

Is fitting of noggins to I-beams standard practice / needed? I don't recall seeing them in product literature, but perhaps it's just that I haven't been looking for them. I'm surprised there aren't resilient bars fitted, as I assumed they were a standard fit now given that even our 2007 Persimmon house has got them.

Just a guess, but based on the extent of what you've written might it be due to the risk of not hearing the alarm soon enough if you're in the shower (coupled with the fact you don't have a protected escape route so waiting in the bedroom for the fire brigade might be the only option)?

I've used a lot of both but now always favour Hep2O. As Peter says the inserts are a bit better (assuming he's referring to the bigger bore and barbs helping prevent pullout) and they just feel a bit better quality to me. I also like the 'In4Sure' feature which proves the pipe is fully inserted. All Hep2O pipe is polybutylene (PB) and so of the 'lay flat' variety (unlike cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) which has a coil memory so can be a right pain). The tool-less feature of JG Speedfit might be considered an advantage for some (perhaps a disadvantage for others!) but the Hep2O release tools are compact enough to have never been an issue for me even where space is tight. You can get a free sample of Hep2O here. Both systems are perfectly fine though and well regarded. P.S. You should've started off with the question 'copper or plastic?' Guaranteed to get a hundred replies (and you'll still be left undecided).

An easy way to do this could be to feed the alarm relay output into something like a Shelly 1 smart relay (~£10) and set its 'Auto On' timer to, say, 30mins. After the trigger signal is received from the smoke alarm it'd power down the MVHR and restart it after 30mins - if the smoke still persists the cycle will be repeated. It'd allow manual override (on or off) via your phone too if desired.

Yes, I think you're probably right (Edit: With the luck bit, not reading too many DM articles... Edit 2: Although on second thoughts! ).

For what it's worth, ours is a 2007 Persimmon estate house* so I am sure by any measure it would unlikely satisfy this criteria yet despite this it works really well for us and I don't think we're missing out on any of the claimed benefits. * Which if I didn't have first-hand experience I wouldn't touch with a bargepole but I've actually found it to be very well built. Perhaps it being the showhouse might've helped?

To add to the responses above, in winter this wastes heat and on hot still summer nights can be really quite ineffective. MVHR isn't a perfect solution on either front, but the claimed efficiencies (80-90%) are actually realistic and it does keep the air moving (in a consistent and controlled way).

As some others have mentioned, the heat recovery aspect is bidirectional - it simply transfers heat from the warmer side to the cooler. If the outside air is warmer than that inside then the heat recovery cell will cool the incoming air slightly, however looking at the graphs from my unit this tends to be only by 1 or 2 degrees (if the outside-inside differential was higher this would increase but it's an unusual scenario). Again as others have mentioned though, regardless whether it is cooling the incoming air the effect is limited by virtue of the relatively low flow rates with MVHR systems and the low heat capacity of air. On a different note, we find that there is what could well be a *psychological* cooling effect with MVHR, particularly on a hot, still, night purely on the basis of knowing there is fresh air being pumped through the house and being able to feel this up close to the vents. Whether the effect is real or not arguably doesn't matter as it is only the 'feeling' of being hot/cool that matters when it comes to comfort (the extremes of heatstroke and hypothermia notwithstanding!). We're fans (no pun intended) of MVHR but it's not air conditioning.

It should only do this if the external air temperature is higher than internal. So, for example, if it is 25C outside and 28C inside then it should be allowing the 'cooler' external air in (without heat recovery cell in-circuit otherwise it'll take on heat).

Best way to learn! (Seriously; I find you learn far more from your mistakes than your successes, particularly if the latter are accidental ones!) One suggestion I would make is to shorten the overflow pipe... Not only does it keep it out of your way whilst working but a dip might catch some dirty water going down the plughole and end up causing smells.