Nickfromwales

I know of one where they followed ‘common procedure’ and every window leaked rainwater in through the sides / base of each opening (nothing to do with the units, purely down to lazy / uneducated installers). This was on a 7 figure project, expensive / reputable fenestration provider, and only showed after the first winter; this meant the render had been done, and was all a total loss. Get digging as it’s not a walk in the park to get this right.

IIRC it was a Brink 400 that wad used for the indoor one, and the caveat was that the fans don’t like the job, so they become consumables of ‘pool ownership’. Significantly cheaper solution vs the Recotherm and requires far less real estate, so I suggested that the client bought a load of spare fans at the time of commissioning to future proof themselves. The genetic MVHR unit could be changed out relatively easily at any time for a new unit, which is your parachute against lack of spares / service / terminal failure. The MVHR units condense like crazy so there’s a good amount of heat recovery, so some small wins with this compromise. We did a Recotherm on a project with a same sized swim spa, but mostly so I could dial in this deficit to preserve the fabric of the dwelling as it was a very ‘compact’ pool hall. Not many people look at these things holistically, which is why having a consultant can provide information that normally doesn’t get exchanged.

The last one (indoor 15x5m) we were involved with was detailed in ICF, have you considered this? And also UFH pipes in the structure to reduce the size of plant etc. Next one we’re quoting for is an outdoor, 15x5m again, and looking at ICF again for that one but with a bit more insulation layered under / around, and a bloody good motorised cover. Last indoor one we did I fitted a Recotherm 25+ air handling & dehumidification unit, which seemed a good bit of kit. We have specified large MVHR units for smaller pools (and tighter budgets) which seem to work quite well; caveat is the fans tend to need changing more frequently with those. You should have an AHU which allows you to create a deficit of air pressure in the pool hall, so air naturally gets drawn into that area vs possibly finding its way ‘out’. This helps preserve build fabric and the Ferrari. Im a merc guy myself 🇩🇪 🚗 💨

One of the major failures here, is not testing the pool out properly after completion. It’s a bit of an imposition, but I guess if you asked nicely, and there was maybe a bbq and some beer, a few of us would be willing to accept the burden. 👀🤞

Winner winner, chicken dinner 🫡👍

Before paint and any final finishes, but ideally after you’re boarded and all 1st fixed with M&E. Members on here have posted about a ‘residue’ on window sills etc, which needed attention. Remember it’s a positive pressure test only, on the day AB attend, and your ‘as built’ for sign off will be another test with the score being the average taken from 10 positive and 10 negative.

You can contact this person to say you will escalate it to RIBA as a complaint, if they continue to fail to respond pragmatically and in good time. They should have elasticity as it’s not uncommon for these things to happen and you shouldn’t feel like there’s a compromise.

Depends on the spacing of the battens. At 600 oc you want then perpendicular, but at 400 oc you can go landscape without any issue.

Yup. Getting your hands dirty isn’t for everyone!

Nail clips if you want tight to the wall, as all other clips have some type of spacer to purposefully keep the pipe off the wall. I only ever use nail clips if it’s under floorboards tbh. What’s the reason for needing to go tight up against?

Welcome aboard! What did you do, and what are your skills? We’re a diverse bunch in here so all add to the mix!

You’d have stated this when you took out the policy? Ergo your non-standard home will be fully covered, less any exclusions or caveats.

Easy tiger. It’s all good.

Second coffee is crucial!! Should be law afaic. @flanagaj you can turn the 10 down to a 2, I’m just assuming things and am confused as to why your molehill has snow on the peak. The issue with written text is it can be interpreted many different ways by many different people, so I don’t take offence (and vice versa I hope). I like to assume the best of people which keeps my blood pressure in check, much better that way. Plus I’m just some random guy on the internet whose opinion is his own. Yes, I’ve wired umpteen new builds for previous (and now current) domestic self-build clients, single phase / 3 phase and more, Royal Naval fleet and cruise liners, and am very well versed in electrical regs / installation standards, but I’m not a qualified sparky as I don’t want to be one. I paid NAPIT the 4 figures to get on board, then I had the text we all got to “stay at home” (C19) ffs. Cant be arsed with it now, as I’m flat out helping folk make new homes and that keeps me busy 24/7, so nowadays I get suitably qualified sparks in at key points who then sign my work off. Far easier, and I don’t need to be sitting exams every feck knows how often, being insured, etc etc. life’s too short to be doing everything, in a nutshell. It makes sense that he’s not got an account, it’s my fault for assuming he was a self-employed spark vs an employee. Now this makes more sense. It also means (potentially) that he can’t sign this off? Anyways….. Theres defensive, and then there’s concerned, I am both as death is permanent, and simply put some folk dabble beyond their capability / competency; irrelevant here as you’re delegating to a qualified spark, but that is my default position when dealing with lethal items such as combustion and electricity etc. You say you hate going to visit “assholes in merchants”, so I guess that made a few hairs stand up. Get your big boy pants pulled up past your waistline and march in there and demand to both be nice to each other. You’ll find your concerns soon evaporate; if you don’t like what they say, they don’t get your business, it’s literally that simple. If you’re buying a couple of items for the first time then please don’t expect the rates an account holder will get as you very likely won’t, but instead try going in less guarded, speak to the branch manager, explain you’ve a full house to build, and the chat will soon change (hopefully). There. All good. 😊 🫡👍. “As you were, people!”.

1), if you’re out of warranty, and they’re travelling for a service or repair aka call out, then of course they’ll charge you for it. BTW, £324 seems quite a nominal amount for such service, and one would assume if it is a quick adjustment of a hinge or lock they’d just do it whilst they were there. 2), if a tree fell on your house, you’d ring your insurance company, not Danwood!! Your insurance company would then invite them to tender, or you would request to nominate Danwood. You’re out of warranty I assume, if so then agree to pay the fee; your other option is to just find a local carpenter who will likely resolve this for you in a single visit, possibly at a reduced cost.

Ok. Do you know what a bleed nipple or AAV / automatic air vent (aka bottle vent) look like? We need to know if you have these, and where they are. What he said When we see a pic of your UFH manifold and adjacent / connecting pipework we will see if you have isolation valves on your UFH manifold. If so, you shut the system down and switch these off. Then you purge the UFH loops with cold mains (a couple of hosepipes required for this) and then open those valves back up to recommission. The buffer should have a vent or AAV at the top. Hot water cylinder should be less of a concern. Leave that out of your enquiries for now

It’s simple, if it’s too good to be true etc etc. I used a QS (sub £500) to weigh up a job this year. Architect set the client up for a fall by quoting the works complete, and them refurbished and moved back in, for circa £200k all in (10% contingent iirc). I was approached by said client for a fresh set of eyes and ears. I quoted £340k and told them not to start (with a £200k pot) as they’d fall at the 2/3 line. For sub £500 all I presented to the client was a worksheet that could edit themselves, input figures, and arrive at their own conclusions of what was possible / impossible / certainly non-achievable. Result: the client wishes to proceed without compromise in early ‘26, now forearmed with the reality / truth; they have accepted my feedback and are now off to secure the additional funding to get the house they want. No QS, no success. My favourite is when novice self builders approach me and say “we’ve X budget”. I say “how did you arrive at that figure?” They say “that’s how much money we have”. FFS. 🤦‍♂️. “Iceberg, dead ahead…….” ⛴️ ☠️

It’s down to cherry-picking; use the likes of TLC for the bread & butter, then look elsewhere for whatever they cannot supply.

Where the rad is missing, you need to bleed the air out of those tails. If the problem then persists, turn the TRV of EVERY other rad 100% off and leave the rad not working 100% on, and run for 30 mins. Once (if) you see heat getting to the lazy rad, then open the rest of the TRVs back up and put the telly on.

CEF I use in desperation. TLC has been my go to for best part of 25 years.

The hot water tank has a coil which heats up the water that comes out of your hot taps. The 2 are completely separate hydraulic circuits. Would you like to post some pics, half a dozen or so, so we can see what’s going on and spot any obvious faux pax? Someone on here a week or two back was about to start open heart surgery and I just said bleed something for 5 seconds, problem gone at £0.

Doesn’t he have an account if he’s a qualified spark? His prices will be fixed then. Odd situation. You’ll find some of these arseholes are very approachable and pragmatic. I never use accounts, I pay as I go as I’m up and down the country all the time, but I walk in and say straight away “give me the prices as you would for an account holder or I’m buying my stuff elsewhere”. They then tap a bit more on the keyboard and adjust the rates. If you’ve a whole build ahead of you, you’re going to need to embrace this not hide away from it. Some more advice is to do your ‘online shopping’ and then email those prices to a few local merchants, and say “I dare you to beat that”. Then see what happens. Not always a good idea to keep grabbing low-hanging fruit.

Happy days. 🤝

If he’s doing it, why are you asking? He should be just calling the merchant with a list and you go fetch. Good to hear there’s an earth rod going in. What’s the supply type? PME?