Nickfromwales

Percy-verance. Lol. Gotcha. 😉.

Driving rain is pissing in through all the missing pointing. Leave until after April and then sort it. Is the down pipe blocked or do you have any leaking joints? If so fix that immediately.

Percy time.

Managing draughts is the biggest issue here, so get that right and the lesser insulation will be of far less consequence. . If it’s blowing a hoolie through there, it won’t matter if you’ve got 400mm of insulation; it’ll still be cold because of ventilation heat losses.

This just needs a decent clean down, and a rebuild. Unless there’s a crack in the plastic, or the flush pipe was originally cut too short. If it leaks whilst flushing it’s either from the connection under the cistern, or at the conical washer that pushes into the small hole in the pan. I sometimes put a block of packaging type polystyrene behind the flush elbow, grid in place with some tape, so that when the pans offered back into the flush pipe it can’t move backwards.

You don’t need to change the cistern. Just get some good old CT1 and fit this one back in properly. Those big rubber washers get put in dry by most, and go the distance, but if they’re not put in right first time obvs they leak. Clean all components and dry everything off. Then rebuild with CT1 as the saviour, either side of that washer, on all joining faces, and do not over tighten it when reassembling.

The combi is full of weak components and no cylinder, ergo something would just go pop if it ever super-heated the water. Loads of failsafe avenues there. If you heat a sealed cylinder, it becomes a bomb.

You won't have a choice, if you put an immersion heater into a sealed system.

If you give these a decent flogging over the years they start to give up. I only use these for condensate or D2 these days, unless there's no other option, so they only see clear water and very low volumes or none at all (D2 in normal use is dry).

What he said.

One is indiscriminate, the other is a targeted and sensible insurance. A drain (singular) vs drains

Please mark on the calendar, each year from now until the next house, just how many times you needed the floor drains. Then realise why nobody in the UK fits them. . FWIW I am specifying a plant room with all plumbing in, with a new insulated raft, and I am going to recess the slab by 25mm in there and add a drain (sump), plus I am going to spec Fermacel and then tank it and the slab. In the event of anything 'wet' giving up in the plant room, the water will just disappear 'down the plughole'. The issue is, keeping these drain populated with water so the stink doesn't rise from the sewer, or worse (vermin etc). I'll install a gulley with throughput, so the constant use of the washing machine or utility sink replenishes the body of water in the trap.

Replacement riser rail kits are cheap enough, and if you buy one that's too long, you can cut the pole down to match the screw holes in the tiles. Done this a hundred times or more in rentals etc.

Have you considered ICF, if you have a basement?

How much insulation is under the slab?

Ok, so you’re installing a constructional slab over insulation then? If so, as your pics keep suggesting a thinner screed , then yes, just install it for the depth of the concrete for belt and braces.

Don’t take pipes so close to the perimeters. These should observe around a 200mm gap to allow heat to diminish before a cold bridge is encountered; this reduces heat loss to the fabric of the build as is generally observed as ‘good practice’.

Ok. Let’s stop. The perimeter around external walls is a different detail to the internal ones; one has heat loss outwards, and the other is part of the heated envelope. The external walls need the 23-30mm PIR up-stand (or a bit more if your flooring can cope) for a thermal break. So that’s where that’s needed. Size it to be at least an inch higher than top of screed, so your screed doesn’t spill over the top during the pour. Then, the perimeter insulation (foam “skirting”) is applied over that at external walls, and is simply stapled to the studs for all other (internal) walls. Some 30mm screws will be suffice to pin the skirting to the PIR, literally pushed in by thumb. Some have the self adhesive strip, that is also suffice (I mention screws for the ones that don’t have this, as not all do). The screed rolls out over the taped-down apron (the affixed membrane of the foam skirting) and that stops any movement, and stops screed getting under and out. Nothing ‘floats’ as you’re not pouring screed under it. Friction from the weight of the screed pushing out against the foam skirting holds it very firmly in place. Do away with this perimeter insulation skirting at your own risk, but some screed companies will insist upon it so check before they arrive; you don’t want them refusing to pour because of some cheap strips have been omitted. The skirting sits on the floor insulation, tight down against it, and should also finish at least an inch higher than the screed. Once cured you just lay a multitool or old handsaw against the screed and cut away the inch excess of both PIR and skirt strip. Lay flooring, move to next problem. PS, I’d use a cementitious screed vs gypsum. Much better / easies eg less time, mess, fuss as you’ll be mechanically scrubbing off laitence etc so you can stick stuff to it.

Hi. Something’s not right if your design flow temp is as high as 35°! GF UFH, I assume, is going into a slab? If so, 35° into that will cause the house to overheat. You should be mid-high 20’s and certainly under 30°, if well built, airtight, and you have heat recovery too. Buffer “delete” may be subject to the manufacturer’s installation instructions, and an MCS reg’d installer may refuse to stray from that. On a recent Heat Geek install I witnessed they put either a 25L or a 50L 2-port volumiser in, on the flow which makes more sense to me, as that was stipulated in the MI’s vs what the low heat demand called for. That was a refurb, prob got to EnerPHit levels, and the flow temps at 25° made the place almost unbearable to work in. @jimseng As we don’t know much about your particular project we can’t possibly size a heat pump here yet, but 3.5-4kw will be quite slow to reheat a decent sized UVC; your game plan needs thought which considers your DHW needs / frequency / number of occupants. Heating is a doddle to resolve, DHW needs to be considered in isolation and planned for pragmatically. You can, for eg, use an immersion strategically to boost for times of duress, so many ways to ‘make this happen’. Do you have solar PV in the plan?

@junglejim Does the picture depict your situation? Masonry build with a cavity?

The frames provide the support, the walls around them just hold the tiles. No need for ply or doubling up of anything. Done a load of these over the years and never any issues whatsoever, ever with the Duravit, extra-long projecting pans. 6’2” Canadian was asking if they would move, so I stood in my socks on the very front edge and bounced up and down. MBC TF house and all supports / studwork done in chunky timber, and client was going white waiting for the pan to snap off the wall (which it didn’t). These are rated to allow for a human to trip and fall onto them, so landing your arse down with a less-than-graceful ‘thump’ or slipping and falling onto these is accounted for; impact rating of 60-odd stone / ~400kg or something iirc. Just do NOT use the stupid gasket they sometimes include, instead I mask the tiles and set the pan back into a bead of clear CT1, tighten up and level off, and then remove the displace sealant with a load of cheap baby wipes.

Hi and welcome. Are you aware of the zero VAT rule, if you decide to use either a bulldozer or an excavator to knock it down?

You can have the heat pump tbh as most modern, inverter-driven heat pumps have a very low inrush current as these ramp up vs ‘turning on’. Also, if gas is available, you could go for a hybrid ASHP with a gas burner (Grant do these); whenever the heat pump becomes overwhelmed the gas burner kicks in to fortify output. They’re a bit pricy though.

I have to ask about the exterior 'screen'? Don't you feel it interferes with the views? Lovely corner windows, great views, and then you look out onto (into) the additional timber screens.

You'll be surprised at just how much you can abuse an 80a connection. You'll not actually be doing as much 'constant, full-wallop' consuming of the juice . These things are a lot worse on paper than in reality. You'd not believe what one previous client was running off a 60a connection previously, when I was approached to refurb and add PV, and that was a large property full of electric showers / all electric cooking / fully occupied, and a self contained annex with the same all-electric setup in there sharing the same supply.