newhome

I’m not on gas here so moving to an ASHP from my current electric boiler and non working solar thermal seemed to be a no brainer. The RHI scheme seemed to be a decent way to go for a property of this size but despite contacting quite a few installers I have only managed to get 1 quote which is for an 11.2kw monobloc and 300l UVC. It comes in at 14.5k. Even with the RHI I can’t make the numbers stack up and it seems cheaper to stay on electric. My biggest fear however is not having any support when it needs to be serviced. This is the reason the ST lies broken. An approved installer was paid 2.5k to fit it (installation only) and he won’t come and service it as he ‘no longer fits them’ and I can’t find anyone else to come. If I had gas here I would choose a gas boiler over an ASHP simply because the more mainstream nature means that finding someone to fix or service it should be easy. With the RHI scheme not allowing any backup heating unless on a metering for payment system that I wanted to avoid I could be stuck without heat for a very long time before I found someone to come. The RHI scheme does not even allow ST to be used for space heating alongside an ASHP without using a meter for payment which I find nonsensical.

Hi @Ed Davies this forum is pretty good at support. Just coming on here and off loading like you have can be quite cathartic. It also helps with self analysing why we are feeling like we are. For those people who are self building as a lone venture it really is a lonely place to be, and even for those with families it can be quite isolating, especially when a few things go wrong in close succession and it feels like a downward spiral. You just have to cling on for a bit until the storm breaks because it invariably does and things start to pick up.

I have googled! Some of the things I'm scared to try in case they make things worse, so abrasive powder, acetone to name 2. There are just too many people saying use this, use that, but it would be easy to make things worse I imagine.

Lol, it’s funny when you read it like you did ?. I bet @Christine Walker‘s dogs could do a better job especially if they are a working breed ?.

Although this is Christine’s 3rd self build this is the first one where they have contracted most of the work out to a builder to do / arrange and whereas in the past they would have worked like Trojans themselves to catch up the builders don’t have the same sense of urgency. It’s not their build and it’s not particularly inconveniencing them so they don’t have the same motivation I guess. Frustrating I know.

It’s not quite as bad as this as I stuck the flash on to pick it up and it’s also the reason the colour looks weird. This is the worst one and I have a couple more.

Will it remove rings from quartz do you think? We nearly went for Corian. Mind you I have rings on my quartz so not sure I'm any better off

I stayed in a hotel in Barcelona that had this. Looked great!

I've got black quartz and it shows all the marks. As you say it looks great when it's clean. I have also got some marks on it now where cups or similar have stood. Not sure if there is a way of trying to get them off but I've tried a few things and I'm not comfortable about trying something too abrasive in case it wrecks the whole worktop.

People like me you mean . Always up for a beat the search engine challenge

Sorry to hear that @Christine Walker. I'm sure it's the sudden change of the weather that hasn't helped. From scorching hot to back to normal, and it's been bloody cold here today too. When does your main builder return from holiday so that he can kick some arse? Hopefully he will be displeased that there has been little progress, and I'm damn sure that you will make him clear that you are displeased too. It's pretty grim building when the ground is wet and muddy and I know your dogs won't like their current situation as mine hated it too, leading to us having them in the caravan with us at night. Maybe you could consider doing that? Won't be easy but if it's something that's upsetting you then it will be one way of addressing it. Mine weren't actually on mud during the day as I don't think I could have coped with that TBH. We had the garage foundations put in and had a run with kennels erected around that. And I live near the beach so beach walks are sandy rather than muddy. A warm shower to get them clean might help too. There was no way I was going to try that in a caravan shower so I bought one of these. Fill the thing up with warm water and use to get mud off. Mobi Pressure Washer And believe me we ALL wish we hadn't started at some point, and you've done amazingly well so far so hopefully just a blip.

You don't seem to be too much of a novice to me. An hour into your introduction post and you're already arranging a BuildHub meet up over a beer! Sounds like you'll fit in well ?

@ProDave you should know to ask on here where the cheapest place to buy something is. Someone here always comes up with something

Here is @Onoff's suggestion re those copper pipes. If you do that you can hopefully slide the Celotex and PB behind the pipes but that's a decision you need to make. If you don't want to do this then you will have hassle fitting the Celotex etc.

Welcome! Exciting times for you. A year is pretty ambitious but it's also achievable with a good team and a bit of good fortune. I just read your unanswered question. It's not one I can answer but maybe someone else can. Generally people are pretty reluctant to answer posts that mention a company name in someone's very first post because 9 times out of 10 it's someone wanting to advertise a company they have a relationship with. Now that we've established that you are a self builder someone may possibly be able to help although it sounds like a bit of a niche area maybe. Ground Heat Exchange for MVHR. Please feel free to start a new topic on anything in the appropriate forum if you don't find what you need from other threads already on here. One thing I would advise is starting a blog or similar to note every stage. You can either start one on here or elsewhere but I frequently go back and refer to mine more than I ever envisaged because a few years down the line I have forgotten how something was done and it helps when considering maintenance etc. in future years if you have documented the original construction well. It's a good way of keeping friends and family updated too if they are interested in your progress.

Yep, it wouldn't work for me. I wouldn't even like one of those pop up socket things. I like the worktops nice and smooth and easy to wipe down.

@Onoff will knock you some up while he's contemplating his tiling

Within the hour too! Impressive . Hope you're keeping up ...

Bah humbug. Sell the plot, cash in on the crazy prices, move to a retirement flat and be nice and cosy . Alternatively, finish the bathroom (hint) and move onto insulation as your next task while you're still a spring chicken . ZooT can give you lessons as he will have done his whole house by then .

Mine is 1350 x 2500 but has no hob in it. It does however have a fridge on the side opposite the wall units, hob, oven. There is 1100mm between the island and the wall units which seems ok, and 1500mm between the units and the sink. One of the reasons for the larger space there was that the dishwasher is there and you really want to be able to open it and get past it easily. I also have double sockets on the side of the island like @HerbJ. The island is a magnet for all sorts of crap being dumped on it. I love it when it’s tidy but most of the time it’s not that tidy. That’s probably just me though ?. The island is not fixed to the floor as with a massive quartz slab on top it isn’t going anywhere but there is something more structural under the bottom of the units as the base unit legs wouldn’t have been strong enough. It took 4 guys to lift the slab when it was fitted.

It's called living as opposed to sitting eating beans on toast cos your shit flows the right way .

Assuming you want the hob in the middle of one side of the island where do you plan to put the fridge?

Mine is done like this, plus base units mounted sideways at the ends a la @PeterW‘s suggestion. Leaves a 350mm overhang.

1200 seems pretty tight to do all of that. 1500 would be better IMV. The island here is on the slab and we tiled up to it. Same as the base units round the wall although we should have tiled under the dishwasher we found out later.

That patio is getting ever nearer!! Go and get on with your damn tiling!