JonJump

Been reviewing this stuff for a couple of weeks. +1 for RIBA domestic I have used JCT Intermediate for a partial demo/ big refurb before. It was fine, but a pain because it was really designed for commercial work, so it was probably over the top. Looked at the Home Owner JCT stuff but am unconvinced - looks a bit noddy. RIBA Domestic looks like the sweet spot, for me at least. Big thanks to @Dan F for the pointer. Also - I looked at the survey results and CANNOT BELIEVE how many people are undertaking big projects either with no contract, or the contractor's. I would not do that for any amount of money greater than I would happily lose on a horse.

I currently have a project at about 250k+ - have to decide between JCT HO without consultant or RIBA. Any update on how it went? (I hope it went well ...)

Wow - you're so much less paranoid than me AND - you need a DigitalOcean droplet! Seriously, nice to meet another nerdery addict.

Oh yes - I forgot to say - your sparks sounds like a keeper (installed RJ45 WITHOUT being told to). Don't know the latest UBIQUITI kit, but mine has a female RJ45 port. Your bloke/lady probably terminated to female RJ45 ports on the walls. You CAN connect the AP to that with a patch cable, but I would have him remove the Box on the wall, terminate the cable in the wall with a MALE RJ45 plug, and then stick that into the back of the AP, which then sits flush. You can do it yourself, but without the correct crimping tool it's a pain (and even with the crimper I am terrible at it)

FWIW - not a gamer (which has very specific latency demands) but am a software dev who often spends all day online and has a house full of kit. Oh yes, and if my wife can't wander from room to room chatting to her sister on Facethingy she goes ballistic .... I have tried multiple solutions, including various consumer routers/ APs , a network of routers wired, and then a network of consumer routers flashed to Open Source firmware (so they would all be the same). What I learned is ... Now we have mobile devices, for most of what you want to do the biggest issue is not bandwidth - apart from UHDTV(maybe). I am assuming, of course, that you are not running an OnlyFans competitor or similar application from your house ...... The biggest issue is MOBILITY i.e. switching between zones. 2 years ago, I ended up with - a Virgin Router (in "Modem") ie. dumb mode. This means that I can switch from Virgin without having to change a single other thing. - a draytek vigor 2862 router - most consumer routers would work fine for my needs, and I suspect yours (I ended up with this relatively expensive kit to connect to a client's VPN i.e. it was a work requirement) - a Tenda 9 port POE unmanaged switch to power the APs - UBIQUITI 2 wall mounted APs (with 2 RJ45 ports each) and a ceiling mount The BIG benefit of the UBIQUITI APs (apart from the fact they look OK on the ceiling) is the switching. My wife still shouts at me, but not because she can't wander around with her ipad. The wifi service is as good as an office/commercial environment with a professionally designed network and WAY more expensive pro kit. So - if I were wring your house I would .... Stick a dumb POE switch in front of your router Put a Ubiquiti wall mount AP on the end of at two of your existing Ethernet connections (you don't lose the ability to plug in direct - the wall mount ones have ports). If you CAN - plug your TV and any gaming machine direct into one of those RJ45 ports . You can install the UBIQUITI app on your phone to control and set up the kit. You shouldn't NEED a Ubiquiti router. I don't have one and it works fine. WOW - I just looked at the price of these - they are up 30% since I bought mine - but I have to say, I WOULD buy them again. Put in a couple and see how you go would be my advice. NB - there is a DISADVANTAGE to having too many wifi APs - you clutter up the channels in your house, and you end up with lots of collisions, which is also a bandwidth killer. Oh yes - and mesh is a bandwidth killer, but more importantly - a LATENCY HOG. I avoid it if I possibly can.

Peter - thanks for the response .... Yes as 50°C is too high for UFH Interesting - what flow temp would be OK? Yes Cool - no issues with lag? Expect UFH above 120mm insulation, then vinyl or carpet Most controllers do that now - use the self balancing actuators from Salus and save yourself a lot of issues. Those look interesting. Thanks No you won’t as condensing is a function of return and flow not just flow temperature I see your point. So it's actually a function of load/demand i.e. which parts of the system are actually live, and thus increasing the diff between flow/return. Hadn't spotted that. Expensive and pointless - use a manifold and actuators. Very possible - I clearly need to spend a bit more time understanding actuators. What happens when TRV closes and blocks the flow while the pump is running ..?? Is that not what the bypass in the combi is for?

Hi Glad to be aboard. Bought an early 50s PRC bungalow a year ago, which had been reskinned in Bradstone (fake stone) and extended in the 80s. We intended to be here 2 years to enjoy for our first grandchild, remove the PRC, and move on. well THAT plan didn't last long - we love it here. In 2 weeks we had decided never to move again. So a year in, we now have full planning to "renovate" (although it's pretty much a rebuild apart from the slab). I used an excellent architect (whom I had worked with before) BASE up in Shropshire for the planning, and for the detail have engaged a local architect (not a reflection on BASE - I had used them very successfully for detail before but we are now a LONG way from Shropshire). I hope I shan't be looked down on, but I will engage a prime for the shell and a quite lot of the internals. My wife says I am too slow and too old, and that she doesn't have the patience for how long it would take me DIY. She was also quite hurtful about my joinery. I am, however, secretly grateful - please don't tell her. I will be doing the computer controls because it doesn't involve any digging, and because that's my bag (I think you would call it a smart house). For those of you interested in thus stuff, I am planning Node-Red + MQTT + mainly shelley devices. The heating controls I bodged together using just that for the existing building 6 months ago when the heating control broke seem to be working very well. My biggest concerns after a prime are finding a plumber and electrician who will do what I tell them. I looked at PH and heat pumps, but given the insulation levels the new BRs require and which I would specify anyway, but here in the warm South West, I can see neither the financial or ** TRIGGER WARNING ** the "green" case *** for either. So plan is to insulate the hell out of it, put in an MVHR and keep the existing excellent 2 year old combi until 2029, then buy the last combi they ever make. That should see me out, without massive capex, at an efficiency level of 85% to 90%. Delighted to be here. regards Jon Jump

I am very interested in the views of the knowledgeable people here, because I am very excited about this project, but mistakes are expensive. I am engaged on renovation (although it's basically a rebuild apart from the slab). Any advice/opinions gratefully received, and in particular - do I NEED mixer valves if I can set boiler flow to 50 and use a motorised valve? - can I get away with ambient sensors, and not have to embed some in the floor itself? - since I am computer controlling, I can easily arrange it so the boiler only runs if one of the MVs is open. But belt and braces, the Bathroom towel rail is a bypass loop IF I OMIT the TRV. Do I need to do that? Thanks, peeps - really look forward to hearing from you. OTHER INFO - total floor area ~ 180 sq metres, and insulation will be to at least latest building regs. - retaining existing 24Kw condensing combi with built-in bypass valve - MVHR system - 4 zones UFH, + Bathroom Towel Rails + (possibly) 2/3 rads - computer controlled (I have the skills to do the software and electrical part of that) - floor coverings vinyl/carpet/engineered wood. The idea of Mixer Valves in inconvenient places gives me the vapours ... ideally, I want everything in the plant room with the boiler. So here's my plan... 1. Set the Combi flow temp to 50 (hoorah - we'll be condensing and save gas) 2. Use 2 port Motorised Valves (computer controlled) for UFH zones (all in the plant room) - increased pipe lengths but simpler and neater 3. Simple unswitched (no MV) zone to bathroom towel rail with TRV 3. Ambient temperature sensor in each Zone