ragg987

If you mean the weekly boost to prevent legionella then I would use the ASHP to the maximum possible, in our case 55C, then immersion after. Or PV of available. Yes the cop is surprisingly good, I am guessing we did not have defrost cycles at that point. So far with space heating plus dhw on in November I am getting cop of 4.3 on average, despite external temperatures being closer to freezing.

Provided the cop remains above 1 despite the defrost cycles, why would you use an immersion? With external temperature of around 10C in October, and dhw target temperature of 50C I was seeing COP of between 4.2 and 4.5. This was before the hearing season started.

Tread with care and maybe ask to speak to previous customers. There was something in the news about similar schemes (I am not saying it this company was invloved) where a reasonable offer was made, then once seller had committed and was well into the sale the company dropped the value. Buyers had committed a lot by this stage e.g. were in a chain, had paid solicitors etc and so felt trapped to take the lower offer.

Sounds good. Your thermodynamics lecture is probably an excellent place to start - the controls are only one part of the whole system, the house, orientation, slab, windows, insulation etc all contribute as well. I suspect understanding these factors first drives your controller solution.

I think keeping it simple for the end user is essential. IMO a "wires and stuff" approach does not lend themselves to this. Of course we are curious so monitoring comes to the fore, most householders would not give a monkeys. At least not beyond "it's cold in here let me boost the thermostat" and "i need a hot bath so going to boost DHW".

With our ASHP's built-in compensation control this is actually how it works - the difference between set and actual temperature is part of the calculation for flow temperature. So raising the stat will boost the flow temp and heat up the room faster. Hot water circulation causes heat from the DHW to be emitted by the hot water pipes into your house. Which may be useful in winter, but I would not recommend that as a valid approach. Maybe put the circulator on a simple timer that comes on when you are likely to need hot water - e.g. morning and evening. It should be off 80-90% of the time. I agree with @ProDave, we leave it on all day between 8.30 am to 8.30 pm. The setback for night is 1 or 2C lower - so in case we get a very cold night and the temp falls the heating will come back on. Still experimenting with this - last winter I left it on 24 hrs and let the logic in the controller work it out. Also think aboutin the human response. I find we can get away with a cooler house first thing in the morning compared to in the evening. e.g. 20C morning is fine but would be too cold in evening. I cannot explain this, but maybe we have less "sitting-around" time in the morning or perhaps body core is really warm from sleep under a duvet? In terms of timing of these events, if you have PV or an ASHP then think about these as well. ASHP is going to be more efficient at the warmest time of the day and PV can also lift some (or all) of the load rather than export to grid.

We paid approx £100 / m2 which includes some large flat areas, cills, beads and expansion gap. Labour and materials but excluding battens on which to mount the board. Sto flexible render system.

Potentially. Our planning did not show fencing, but after demolition we needed to replace it. We included it in the groundworks package.

Yes we have experienced something similar, but it has been intermittment nd I suspect that one source of the "cross-talk" is the external inlet and outlets. In our case they are both on the same external wall about 2.5m apart. Also the MVHR does not seal 100% - I think some of the manufacturers publish figures about this, I recall seeing figures in the upper 90% for sealing against cross flows.

Auro 321 sprays well. The cheaper 320 also works but there are bits in the paint that clog up the filter so it needs flushing our frequently.

Are you confusing estate agent speak with English? When agents use the word character to describe a property they seem to refer older properties. I agree that modern houses can, and indeed should, have character, but in estate agent speak they are still modern. I suspect most self builders will build character into their house, else why bother, just buy something from the volume builders.

I should add, we found a great architect who took his time to understand us, our brief and our plot, then we iterated through a few layouts before he designed the finished article to PH standards. After Planning was obtained we asked them to detail it as well.

Those are very brief briefs. I could not let go so much so we gave more guidance in respect of the outcomes we wanted from our build (plot already purchased at this point so we knew how to orient certain features e.g. lounge / kitchen to patio). As above, we were not prescriptive about the look and most of the layout. Here it is, I have deleted personal details. We also provided a "scrapbook" of appealing things and colours etc which the architect asked for as a way to gauge what look we were after. You may be able to spot that this was heavily influenced by A Pattern Language - one of 3 books I purchased early on. Essential reading IMO. In terms of the compromise we arrived at, I have marked in red the stuff we dropped along the way. Design brief for a self-build house Objective An energy-efficient home that must delight, as well as provide an environment for the growth and nurturing of an extended family of six spanning three generations. Budget of £400,000, including services. Client ### Background This ~0.4 acre plot currently has a 3-bedroom c1950s bungalow near the front boundary. It is serviced by mains electricity, water and sewage, plus uses LPG for heating. Our intention is to demolish and build new. We may wish to use the bungalow as an interim home so we can sell our existing home and fund this project. Only feasible if we agree that the replacement dwelling does not need to be sited in the same space and can occupy the middle or rear of the plot. Google maps: ### Planning history: ### Occupiers me, IT professional with engineering background (50) mrs, teacher with publishing background (49) son, pre-teen son (12) son, second son (10) ###, father ex-businessman long retired (80s) ###, mother was homemaker (70s) We see this as home for the next 10 years, while the children grow up and move on into adulthood. Requirements General The new building must be efficient to run - resource conservation and efficiency with low maintenance effort and costs. We see that this could be satisfied by Passivhaus or CSH code 4 or 5, however we see no necessity to apply for formal certification to these standards. We intend to live as two ‘separate-but-joint’ families - an annexe permits our parents to live separately whilst still being a part of the main house. We believe that it requires approximately 300m2 of floor area to get what we need (this is an estimate and not a target). Prefer to avoid cramped spaces, balance with not-too-large spaces. Prefer simple and clean lines to fussy, however require attention to detail and will not be happy with a warm box - we could do that ourselves. Natural materials and finishes - wood, stone, cotton, lime, clay, (rubber, lino). Function with form. Long-lasting over cheap and cheerful. Durable design and not because it is in fashion. Avoid creating areas that will not be utilised much, e.g. our current home has a separate dining room that is used infrequently as we eat in the kitchen. Plenty of storage all round the place. Closed (cupboards, drawers, doors). Specific attention to noise attenuation through all rooms - reduce noise leakage through location, orientation and materials. More detailed requirements by space or function below - number in parentheses refer to relative priority: (1): must have, we believe this is non-negotiable, but might be willing to discuss alternative solutions (2): would like to see most of these incorporated (3): nice to have if space and budget permit Commons Kitchen, living, dining, (~65m2) patio, plus associated larder, toilet, hallway, utility room etc C01 (1): essentially open plan but probably not one massive rectangular area C02 (1): the kitchen to be at the heart of this space C03 (2): no L shapes in kitchen - much prefer galley layout - reduces dead spaces C04 (3): separate larder area - fresh and dry foods storage, plus fridge C05 (1): separate washing / drying room. Incorporate drying space with dehumidifier. C06 (2): distinct boot- and coat-room (might be possible to combine with washing room - dehumidifer function could keep coats and boots dry as well?) C07 (1): easy access to sun-patio C08 (2/3): vaulted ceiling in living room C09 (1): external patio (wood or stone) permits extension outside in good weather - seating, barbecue Annexe Lounge, bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette (~60m2) A01 (1): self-contained unit for our parents A02 (1): small kitchen area with storage for basic cooking etc A03 (1): shower to cater for infirm - flat for access, seating A04 (2): separate entrance - option to separate out for grown kids or rental in future A05 (1): step-free access within and to commons Kids realm Bedrooms (~15m2 each), den (~15m2), bathroom K01 (1): bedrooms afford privacy from couple’s realm K02 (1): sufficient space for large / double bed, play area, storage etc K03 (2): separate kid’s den, potentially in basement Couple’s realm Bedroom, en-suite, wardrobe (~25m2) O02 (2): walk-in wardrobe O03 (1): en-suite Bathing space B01 (1): showers separate from any bath B02 (2): large bath for shared bathing, potentially in bathroom adjacent to kid’s realm Entertainment space Home-theatre / audio room (size is function of ratio) E01 (1): finished ratio of 1 : 2.16 : 2.96 (height : width : length). Height should be 2.3m minimum. E02 (1) sound-proofed (vibration and air-borne). If using room-within-a-room concept, then ratio is finished size after all soundproofing. Study / work space T01 (1): space for three people to work / study (### works home-based so need to think about noise / privacy). Would open-plan library work? Combine with Library / quiet-room? Library / quiet room L01 (2): space for quiet-time - reading, resting Spare bedroom S01 (1): guest bedroom with double-bed and access to bathroom (does not have to be en-suite) (~15m2) Garage G01 (3): garage not essential, covered area for 2 cars would be nice to have G02 (1): bicycle / storage area G03 (1): shed or similar for gardening tools etc, plus storage overspill

Would you not normally have battens prior to drywalling? I guess it depends on the construction but our MBC timberframe has racking board on both sides and then battens onto which the drywall is attached. 40mm cavity by virtue of the battens.

Thread here with some discussion on kitchens. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/1015-megabad-for-kitchens/

We got a Hacker (Haecker?) from our local supplier and imported from Germany. I would say much better than a previous generation "IKEA with granite" in our old house in terms of quality. Prices of assembled Hacker vs flat-pack IKEA are perhaps 40-50% higher, but if you are paying someone to assemble the IKEAs then the difference reduces to ~20%. This is a personal thing, but is she sure about handleless? Not as straight-forward to open as with a good handle and grubby handmarks (unavoidable when cooking) get everywhere. I also happen to think a nice handle breaks the monotony, especially if you are going with full-height units.

When we applied we pushed the footprint from 92m2 (existing bungalow, excluding various outhouses) to 178m2 (which includes a detached garage). We felt we had taken care of any concerns with the increased size so just went for it - my architect did caution that there may be an issue in this approach, however Planning accepted it without any comment. From our Design and Access statement: I think that statement sums up the possible objections pretty well. I do not recall our council publishing any firm foorprint limits.

Yep sounds like a plan. One for the weekend. Along with preparing for a small courts claim brought to me courtesy of one my trades who over-charged and under-delivered then had the nerve to tell me I did not qualify for the prompt payment discount despite every payment on time - shark!

Update - the Depstech camera arrived today and I drilled a few holes to try and figure out the source of the leak. The good news is that the camera is pretty good. Strong dimmable light, cable is semi-rigid cable that helps guide the camera and it plugged direct into the micro-USB of my Android phone to display and record the view. Image quality is pretty good, though focus is fixed to a few inches. Great tool to have, IMO. The bad news - I had asked my builder to stuff the cavity and SP box with insulation so all I can see is sodden insulation. I spied a bare and insulated copper pipe and drain pipe behind the sink but these seem dry. Back to removal of tiles and / or drywall. The drywall I drilled through is damp through and rotten and will need replacement in any case.

We have Heatmiser Neostat in shiny white. Look very nice, but a pain to operate and the off-white "buttons" against the shiny white background are difficult to see (at least to my middle-aged eyes!). Around £50 + VAT, though make sure you get the right model if you want UFH probe with it.

Is this "man enough" for the job? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Endoscope-Depstech®-Inspection-Megapixels-Smartphone-iOS-Android-Wifi-5M/dp/B01N97TRO4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1508272056&sr=1-1&keywords=depstech

All good points, thanks for the input. I do not know what the leak is from, just that the penetration of damp is centred where the soil pipe is. We have a floor level shower tray one side. I unscrewed the drain and it is bone dry below, so I have ruled that out. On the other side is a geberit cistern and WC, plus a wall hung sink and wall mounted hansgrohe taps on an ibox. All this is boxed and tiled, so not sure how to inspect these. On the other side of the partition wall is a kitchen sink and dishwasher. These look fine put cannot say if water pipes or drains are ok as they are boxed up. I like the idea of an inspection camera, will try and rent one, I could drill some holes on the plasterboard side and take a peek, easily filled and painted. Tile is relatively large format, something like 300x600mm so the opening should be sufficient?

We seem to have sprung a water leak which I suspect is the soil pipe in a bathroom. The SP is fully boxed in and sits adjacent to an internal stud partition. One side is boarded with fermacell and tiled, the other side is fermacell + plaster. I think the best option will be to try and remove a single tile to get into the space, the other option is on the plaster side but this becomes a bigger repair (I think - happy to take any input here). So, assuming I am right about removing the tile being the best option, how can i remove a single tile that is firmly grouted and fixed to the fermacell without destroying adjacent tiles? I accept the one tile will need replacement and have a spare. I estimate approx 2-3 mm gap for grout between tiles. The porcelain tiles are really hard and I had a hard time drilling holes into them. I assume once the tile is off I can cut out an aperture in the fermacell, leaving a 1" border on all sides, to get to the problem. My thinking was to attach the replacement tile to the fermacell "border" around the hole I cut. Any thoughts?

Sky Q still needs satellite cable x 2 to the primary box. Their wi-fi is unreliable in my experience. In theory, the wi-fi for the main Sky box can connect to your wi-fi router. This acts as the primary route for on-demand video, validation, firmware upgrades, TV guide etc. The wi-fi router needs to be quite close to the Sky box to work properly, else it keeps dropping. If you have a SkyQ mini box then the mini box needs to speak to the main box which it does by creating a "private" network. If using wi-fi, this requires both boxes to speak direct to each other and not via the router (I am told that if you have a Sky router this can be part of this private network, not possible with 3rd party routers like our BT router). So now both Sky boxes need to be within wi-fi range of each other and the main box needs to be within wi-fi range of your router. It is flaky, to say the least. Ethernet cable to both Sky boxes solves all issues with this. I pre-installed all Sky cabling and satellite dish and transponder as I did not want Sky to do any drilling - all they did was connect up the boxes. I got them to knock off the installation service charge as they did nothing. Satcure supplied all equipment except for the Sky LNB, which is proprietary to Sky but I manged to source from eBay. As per @le-cerveau this is specialised. I personally think 2 x ethernet to every room is overkill. I went with certain rooms having 2 or 3 ethernet points and rely on wi-fi for the rest. For me the key aspect is to position your wi-fi router as centrally in the house as possible so that you can avoid dead spots - our wi-fi for TV, xbox, printer etc is very reliable and can handle streaming of HD video. I use ethernet for specific requirements e.g. to distribute media from my server, for certain desktop computers, for our alarm system and for monitoring of immersun and PV. We have a 24-port switch which serves us well and is not full - 5 bedroom house.

If you are planning for Sky as well as terrestrial TV you will need multiple cables. The new Sky Q requires only 2 cables to the box and this permits simultaneous recording and viewing of up to six (if memory serves right) channels. For terrestrial 1 cable will be enough connected to an aerial / booster as above, though of course if you have Sky you will not need an aerial as terrestrial channels are also available on satellite. +1 to Satcure - excellent advise on the site (though takes some working out), I purchased my hi-gain aerial with aerial mast booster and satellite dish plus cables and connectors from there, great prices too.