Ralph

This, I think may be at the bottom of a lot of issues. I've had weird, bordering on hostile, reactions to fitting a heat pump. People convinced that I'll be freezing in winter and ripping it out next year, kind of like some reactions to Greggs doing vegan food the other year. On the other hand I've had an ASHP installer telling me that it will be roasting warm in the house and there's no way I should be even thinking about a things like a wood burner. Turns out both are talking shite.

That's my understanding yes. CAT7 is something produced by some companies but I don't think it's made to an agreed standard like CAT6, I think you also get CAT8 which is in a similar position to CAT7. You can DIY fiber but I don't know if it limits you with regards to what you can connect to it. Definitely worth thinking about.

I looked at this and stuck in CAT6. CAT6A requires better, more expensive connectors, wall sockets etc. I seem to remember that 8k is really meant for fiber as it can need more than 40Gbp/s to get the full benefit of it. CAT6 and CAT6a do up to 10Gbp/s, the difference being CAT6a can achieve that over longer runs, 100 meters compared to 55 meters for CAT6.

Interesting. Our DHW is at 45°C. I might try taking it down a bit. I also need to look at it's schedule 12:00 to 5:00 - Economy Mode 5:00 to 8:00 - Comfort Mode 8:00 to 15:00 - Economy Mode 15:00 to 20:00 - Comfort Mode 20:00 to 24:00 - Economy Mode I'm not entirely sure what the modes really mean.

I have noticed that anything more that a 3°C fall back makes for a more expensive day when the system is trying to get back up there.

It's a good point. I had been assuming that 20/21 would be more than enough but where we sit in the evening is beside a lot of glazing and it feels cooler. I also think the open and double height aspects adds to that. Last week heating was 3.1kWh per day and hot water was 2.5kWh per day. We're also not far from the Cairngorms so it's a bit colder.

Something not quite right there. I'm working from home full time, everything is electric, including waste treatment plant and we have the ASHP heating the main zone room temp to 22/23°C We are using on average 13kWh.

We moved in months before we even had building control round for an inspection. We registered for council tax and had wheelie bins as well. If you ask BC they will tell you to get a temp habitation certificate. As long as you're not moving in with anything obviously dangerous you'll be fine.

Same here.

Thanks folks, this confirms what I was thinking.

My wife is always concerned about damp and condensation in the showroom, so always opens the window despite have a humidstat fan in there (we don't have MHRV) I've noticed that now the weather is colder, the inside of the open window (triple glazed) is running with condensation when the windows is open. So are we causing problems leaving the window open while showering? Not to mention heat loss.

Yeah probably a good call. I am thinking of a direct air stove.

We had a wood burner in our plan which we did not go ahead with. I'm starting to think about putting one in, albeit on the other side of the house. Ideally I would want it to be an external flue but there are a few things I'm not sure about. A. Coming out through the lapped cedral cladding and how that would be finished without it looking crap B. How to attach it to the standing seam cladding on first floor and roof C. As I've moved it to a side with opening Velux windows I think I need to be 1000mm above the top of the window (even though they are never opened). Would that mean guy wires? Just typing this makes me think it might not be sensible, any thoughts?

Funny that, I stopped watching about 1/2 way through our build. My wife immediately switches it off, not interested.

We're very open plan.The company that set up my system said they have found that simplifying to a single zone, or as few as possible gives the best efficiency. We have a single zone that includes the UFH downstairs and the four rads upstairs.

I did wonder about this, we have quite a high standing seam roof. From what I read on some US sites there's no evidence that metal roofs attract lightening any more than other material and they are more likely to survive a strike and not go on fire.

If you're after volume and efficiency it's chest freezer. Ease of access, go for an upright. Chest freezers tend to be colder and quieter. Most people I know around here have one in the garage for meat.

We have two Rationel triple glazed sliders both 480cm wide and 208cm tall . Each came in two parts comprising of a two panel slider and a static window all glazed. The two panel slider was 281Kg and the static window was 145KG I may be misremembering but I don't think we took the sliding door out. Just man handled it plus a Manitou for the first floor one.

I'm sure you'll be fine. We had a lot if issues outwith our control, not the least of which was breaking ground two weeks before first lock down. Indeed, but now they are all plus VAT😩

Just looking back at our original planning for a different design and from in principal planning to completion it's two weeks short of being exactly 7 years. With this design it was 3.5 years. It's not been easy but it has been worth it.

We finally got our completion certificate! Now I can move from my high rate self-build mortgage to a nice low rate high street mortgage... Bollocks.

100% this, and it's a two way street. I was told on a number of occasions that having a proper and detailed contract was overkill but it paid for itself many times over, especially when my contractor went into administration. I wish I was that on the ball with other parts of the build but you live and learn.

Those are both pretty impressive but jeezo £380 is a bit more than I was thinking of. That FLIR is very nice.

Anyone got recommendations for a infrared thermometer for finding cold spots? I've looked at a few on Amazon and the reviews and error margin seems to make some of them pointless.

A mate of mine got a robot vacuum and a puppy about the same time. It was like a dirty protest 🤮