Meabh

Thanks - did they come with the silicone or was it done on site? I have something in there - but as we have black windows and black silicone it's tough to see. The one on the opening windows just looks so much neater and more practical (cleaning) than the site applied/hidden version int he fixed! Just googled MVHR stuff - damn it I thought it was going to free us from a life of condensation on windows.

Many thanks - its the bit between the glass and the wood frame. Our opening units have a bead of silicone type material (top pic) but the fixed units don't have that so there is a groove/dip between the glass and wood where gunk can collect (I cleaned this one!) They are factory sealed units so it's more a practical/hate cleaning issue and the fact they look different to the opening units.

Hi Does anyone have images of their Internorm 3G (HF410) windows. In particular fixed windows so I can see the internal seal. It feels like we are missing something on these units. Images attached - Our opening units are fine (and have a seal that looks clean and stops gunk getting stuck) but none of the fixed units have this and they are collecting tons of gunk (there is a small amount of internal condensation as we are recently weathertight but no MVHR/heating yet - screed this week and dehumifidier coming in). Thanks

Hi - we are getting ready for the electrical first fix in our (almost watertight) house. We have already noticed that in some areas of the house we have bad mobile phone reception so it's got us concerned about wifi etc. I have spec'd Cat 6 sockets to all the places we will possibly have a TV and in the office. This covers all zones in the house. Can I connect a wifi extender to one of the Cat 6 sockets if people wanted to use mobile devices in that area? I don't want to put Cat 6 in all the bedrooms but have 3 kids who will all need to do homework on computers in a few years so I'd like them to be able to get wifi in bedrooms if needed. Any other electrical first fix tips much appreciated. eg just been told data cables and regular cables can't go through the same hole (to get out of my concrete plant room - FYI - concrete plant room was a bad idea....I focused on in staying hot and keeping things quiet.....but we've had to core loads of holes to get services out....MVHR/Plumbing?electrics! Thanks

Thank you - I'll try switching to Octopus and then decide if I should move meters again. EDF did send a technician for the Gas meter - but it took 2 months of photos from us & a letter from SGN who capped the gas to convince them that their technician turned up and removed the smart meter.....

So we demolished our old house in March - had the gas capped by SGN (and smart meter removed by EDF who then asked us to prove it was removed by them...) - had the electric supply & smart meter moved to a white meter box on a boundary wall facing the street (again dealing with EDF & the smart meter was a total nightmare, SPEN were great). The new structure is up and ....almost watertight! We are now deciding what to do about the supply and meter - Options 1. Leave it where it is and the electrician will run the supply through the underground duct already installed under our raft slab into the plant room (builder concerned it could get hit by a car and suggesting we move it onto house....but it could still get hit by a car there and will look ugly) 2.Move it inside the house using the underground duct into the plant room and dealing with SPEN and an electricity supplier. Which option would you choose? If you choose option 2 do you have an electricity supplier you like (that is not EDF who either remove smart meters and deny it or don't turn up to move the smart meter at all). Thanks

- House is 226sqm ground floor and 100sqm first floor (it's like a bungalow with a bit on top so that ups the heat loss). - UFH on GF only (no heating on first floor) by someone else - U values all low - floor 0.11, walls 0.14, roofs 0.14/0.16, triple glazed, MVHR, airtight target 2 (but should be lower) It's cheaper than some of my other quotes - but they were going for 13-16kw ASHP's.

Our ICF build on the coast east of Edinburgh is well underway. We put a pre-insulated Flow/Return pipe under the slab from the ASHP location to the plant room. We will be applying for the Home Energy Scotland grant of £7,500 towards the heatpump (and £2,500 towards battery & PV). I'm looking for a sense check on my quote for the ASHP (my comparable quotes all quoted much bigger heat pumps - too big). Are the below numbers the sort of amounts people are paying? Many thanks Total supply & install £14,638 Less grant of £7,500 = £7,138 Supply £7,488 - Mitsubishi R32 8.5kw Coastal heatpump - Mitsubishi 250 l unvented hot water tank - Mitsubishs controls, anti vibration feet, flexi pipes, drain kit, Glycol/Antifreeze - Preinsulated flow/return pipe for under slab £666 Supply £2,200 - Plumbing kit (pipes, fittings, insulation) - Install, test & commission £3k - Electrician to connect up heating system & controls £850 (wants to use his own electrician rather than mine) - MCS prep of design/size/paperwork so we can apply for grant £1.1k Total Labour £4,950

Roof pitch is too low at 12 degrees and it's standing seam

Yes - not great in Dec/Jan - anything in particular I should be looking for?

Hi All So we've had the quote updated given the feedback above. We will also be getting an ASHP (7-8kw) and have UFH downstairs & MVHR and everything else will be electric. We are in Scotland so the HES grant will reduce the PV/Battery quote below by another £2.5k making it £10.5k for the below fully installed. We are a family of 2 adults (work from home) and 3 primary school kids. Roof is SOuth facing but 12 degrees pitch and unshaded - East coast near Edinburgh. Does this seem sensible? Many thanks Solar PV with Battery Storage 7.29kw - 18 x 405w DMEG Solar Panels 6kw - 1 x Solis Hybrid Inverter 10kWh Battery Storage - 2 x 5kWh PureDrive Batteries On-Roof Standing Seam Mounting System (assumed use of onsite scaffold will be available)

Hi - how deep did you have to go (and across what distance) to get the pipes like this? Thanks

We are doing groundwork for a passive raft and the walls will be ICF. ASHP will be located outside the pantry window area) which is about 5/6m from the plant room. Opinions on how to install the flow/return pipe please? Option 1 - pre-insulated twin pipe under the raft insulation but with a 90 degree fixing to get the pipe up to the plant room or Option 2 - through the walls. Many thanks

Thanks - only contacted them as building control requested proof of contact with Scottish Water. This is exactly what I thought re the fees - we aren't touching their assets and we aren't making any new connections

Hi We have demolished an existing bungalow and started groundworks for our new build. We are using the existing mains water connection (just replacing/extending the pipe from the boundary box into the new house) and the existing waste water (connecting our new drains onto the existing clay pipe on our driveway which runs into the sewer). I had to contact Scottish Water as part of our warrants and they want to charge me an application & inspection fee for both water supply & waste water even though we are really only changing the parts on our land and not the connection to Scottish water assets. They also refuse to zero rate the VAT on these fees. I've had them remove things like infrastructure fee (argued we are not an extra house but a replacement one) but they won't budge on the application/inspection fees or the VAT. Do people normally pay these fees when the connections already exist?

We have now demolished our old house. The gas was capped in the old driveway (marked on the new plan). We will reconnect it as we are having a gas boiler in the new build - located in the plant/utility along with all the other plant (water tank/UFH manifolds/MVHR/Internet etc). The house is ICF with a raft slab so I want to get all ducting in during groundworks in May. Where would you put the gas meter? Inside the plantroom or outside on a wall? Same question for the electric meter (although it is in a temp box where the bins are on top left but can't stay there permanently) - Inside the plantroom or outside? Thanks

THanks - We have a raft slab with 150mm so all good there. I'm not confident we'd get an ASHP set up properly and the initial cost vs gas boiler (already have gas connection) for a house that shouldn't need much heating isn't making financial sense at the moment. Hadn't thought about the hot water cylinder - although I think that's what was spec'd by Chelmer.

We'd go for a condensing boiler and unvented water tank (think the line boiler/UFH combo has been misread as combi). It is all set up as heatpump ready but the cost of them doesn't make sense and we already have gas connection....plus others in the area who have installed heatpumps are having trouble with them (partly installer knowledge plus being in a coastal area where temps are quite low in the mornings and heat pump struggling in defrost mode)....but mostly it's the cost of them at the moment is not making financial sense. A heat pump was in the original plans.

Hi - our new ICF build starts next week. We will have MVHR &PV (sorted with suppliers & installers). I have a couple of quotes for UFH downstairs/gas boiler combos that will be installed by local plumbers although they may want to supply their own products. We will have electric towel rails in bathrooms & electric UFH in an upstairs bathroom. I know I need to look at total heat loss etc but am struggling to understand which bits of SAP to get the info from to check sizes of boilers etc. What is the best thread/website/book to read to understand - getting info from the SAP report - sizing boiler/water tanks - how to set the system up to link with PV (storing excess in the water tank but will consider battery once all costs in) There are so many decisions to be made and I feel like I know a little bit about everything....but not enough to question. As we will use local plumbers I want to make sure they understand the house won't run like a traditional build in terms of energy etc. Many thanks

Roof is only 12 degrees so installer has said not suitable for in roof? From the SAP Heating 13,841 kWh/year so 45kWh/m2/yr Water 2,392 kWh/year so 8kWh/m2/yr So total heat demand 53kWh/m2/year - these will be from a gas boiler, everything else in the house is electric.

We are 0.14W/m2k for walls, triple glazing...we are coming out as a 91/92 so A/B. I think i'm using the word "pass" wrongly - when I asked the architect why we needed that particular amount of PV they said it was a plug to "Pass" the SAP. I know about DNO approval - but do there has been no mention about 3 phase? We are 0.14W/m2k for walls, triple glazing...we are coming out as a 91/92 so A/B. I think I'm using the word "pass" wrongly - when I asked the architect why we needed that particular amount of PV they said it was a plug to "Pass" the SAP

Our old house is now demolished and groundworks start on the new build at the end of the month so we are now making lots of decisions and need some help. - We need 4kW of PV to pass our SAP (using a gas boiler with UFH & MVHR. Heat pump ready but ££ didn't work out for it). - Location - near Edinburgh - The roof is south facing, 12 degrees pitch (so can't do in roof) standing seam metal. Plenty of room for solar & it's on planning. - Plan is to divert any excess solar to an immersion and HW tank (as we don't have an electric car and not getting a battery yet) - Family of 2 adults & 3 kids ages 6-11, work from home. Any thoughts on the quotes below - sizes/price/products/advice? Thanks Solar PV 1 4.05kw - 12 x 405w DMEG Solar Panels 3.6kw - 1 x Solis Inverter On-Roof Standing Seam Mounting System Fully Installed Price of £5919.55 Solar PV 2 7.29kw - 18 x 405w DMEG Solar Panels 6kw - 1 x Solis Inverter On-Roof Standing Seam Mounting System Fully Installed Price of £7375.55

This is our concern - if there is a gap between contractors (even for a few days)...

Who did you use? Thanks

We are knocking down a bungalow and rebuilding using - Demo Company - ICF company to weathertight (they will do windows) - Flat roofing company - Render company - Builder for the interior fit out (he will manage the subcontractors) They all have their own insurances but we are concerned about gaps between handovers or eg if the render co is on site at the same time as the internal builders. We aren't using 1 main contractor but we also aren't "employing our own trades" so can't get our head around where we sit on the "self build insurance" scale. We are getting quotes of about £2k for 12 mths for public liability & rebuild. What have others done? Many thanks