Jeremy Harris

If the buffer tank thermostat separately controlled the isolation valve and the no-volt contacts on the ASHP, then perhaps it would over-ride the Command Unit? I'm not sure, TBH, as I concentrated on trying to decode and reverse-engineer things from the Glowworm manual, before you found the Carrier information, but it seems possible. All the buffer tank control has to do is over-ride the heating/cooling selection, set the ASHP to heating mode, open the isolating valve to allow the buffer to take the heat pump flow and, perhaps, close the UFH isolating valve to prevent heating the floor if the ASHP was in cooling mode. A simple thermostat and a relay would do this OK, or a thermostat and an isolating valve with a dry contact switch in it to select the ASHP mode..

The Command Unit is definitely useful, as apart from allowing all the myriad of settings to be programmed to the unit (flow temperatures for heating and cooling, weather compensation curves, cut off limits etc) and acting as a combined thermostat and timer/programmer (if you are OK using its internal temperature sensor) it also has a display that tells you pretty much exactly what the ASHP is doing, so shows the flow temp, whether it's heating or cooling (or defrosting) and gives a one-button way of putting the unit into "holiday mode". You can use the Command Unit as the primary thermostat and programmer, if you wish, although I'd be the first to say that it isn't a particularly intuitive thing to use in this way. Had I realised that the Command Unit was as versatile as it is, then I would have run the cable for it to the hall, so I could have used it as the main thermostat and programmer. It has the ability to programme spare relays in the ASHP and they could be used to operate valves, an UFH pump etc, I think.

Seems pretty good for a medium power four stroke generator, especially an inverter one which tends to give a more stable output. Whether it will run a mixer depends on how it handles the motor start current. It may be able to supply the brief high current needed for a capacitor start/run motor, as used in a lot of electric mixers, it may not. My guess is that it might be OK, but they only way to be sure would be to test it. Maybe someone here will be tempted to buy one and test it with a mixer to find out.

The Romans made a visit to the toilet a social occasion, they often had several seats in a row in the same toilet, so they could all sit and have a chat. The toilets themselves sometimes had a gulley with running water running along beneath the seat, a bit like a small stream, to flush everything away. They really were remarkably civilised when you consider that we didn't invent the flush toilet until around 1800 or so years later. Presumably they passed the vinegar-soaked sponge-on-a-stick along the line, a bit like passing the port after dinner............

Just provide a stick and a knife - it'll give the first occupant something to do.................. Alternatively, emulate the Romans and just have a bit of foam on the end of a split stick that rested in a bucket of vinegar, rather than use paper.

Personally I'd try and avoid the use of flocculants, like Aluminium Sulphate, both because of their toxicity and because they often only work over a limited water pH range. Rain water is likely to be slightly acidic (it absorbs CO2 as it falls through the air and so contains a very low concentration of carbonic acid), but could be slightly alkali is you have a roof covering that tends to neutralise it. Better by far to use a filter media that has a much greater ability to capture small particles, as that then avoids the need to use a flocculant in order to achieve good filtration. The Turbidex I mentioned above will filter down to below 10µ, which is around three to four times smaller than a sand bed.

I shared an office a few years ago with a chap from the Met Office who had just come from running the Hadley Centre for Climate Science. He was a climatologist who had moved across to MOD proper (the Met Office was a part of MOD then) to run the defence met research programme (climate and weather plays a massive part in defence research, as it helps determine how we need to equip our armed forces for the future). He was a fascinating chap to talk to, and listening to him relate all the hard research and the challenges they faced in trying to get historic data calibrated to a common scale, I realised that the very simplistic rubbish spouted by the ill-informed climate change deniers was based on a fundamental misunderstanding as to just how damned complex climate is, and how every single indicator pointed towards an acceleration in climate change that seemed more pronounced that those in the historic record. I'm not going to get embroiled in any argument as to cause, suffice to say that at that time (2005) I made a big lifestyle change. I sold my 2.3 litre supercharged Merc and bought a Prius hybrid, with less than 1/3rd the emissions. I added a lot of insulation to our house. I changed our boiler to a far more efficient condensing one, with lower emissions. I fitted the best double glazing I could find and I started thinking about building a low energy house. I doubt that any other individual has had such a profound and life-changing effect on me as the quiet chats over coffee we had in the office back then.

I'm intrigued by the "U value doesn't matter" observation in a warm and damp room. How do you prevent the window, and, perhaps, more importantly, its frame and surround, becoming a condensation locus? If anything, I'd have thought that a utility room was more critical in terms of prevention of any cold spot that might act as a condensation locus than any other room in the house, barring a bathroom.

Glad you found them useful, their customer service to me has always been very good indeed, even picking up an error I made with an order and emailing me to be sure that I really wanted the fitting I'd ordered (I'd ordered a load of 25mm MDPE fittings and one 20mm fitting by mistake). Did you get a free tape measure? I have three free ones from them and they are the toughest and most reliable tapes I've had on site - all three still work like new, pretty good for freebies, even if they do advertise the company! They've outlasted a "tough" Stanley tape I bought just before we started the build, and I thought the Stanley was quite well made for the price.

Last time I looked there was little to choose between Fakro or Velux, except for the ease of fitting the insulated flashing kit. Both can be supplied unvented, AFAIK. The opening mechanism varies, so worth looking at how the ergonomics of that are going to work in your layout, things like where the handles are positioned and whether it's easy to get at. When we were looking at fitting a roof window (we opted not to in the end) I found that it was very useful to go and physically examine all the fitting parts. When I did this it highlighted several issues with the way the insulated flashing fitted, but I think these have now been resolved. Fakro have been consistently good, ahead of Velux in terms of performance and design for a fair time, but the last Velux I looked at, last summer, seemed to be very similar to the Fakro, and it looked as if Velux had made some significant improvements to their design. I have a feeling that it may well come down to which best fits your application, though, certainly that was the main issue when we were looking.

Looks really great, Mike, and thanks very much for the kind words, they are much appreciated. Given the lovely rural outlook from your new house, I think it's going to look absolutely stunning when the landscaping is done. For me, getting the outside tidied up, paved and grassed has been a big psychological boost to get the final details finished. Unlike you, we're not moving in until it's finished, as I know what I'm like - stuff will remain unfinished for years unless I stick to my resolution to finish it properly before we move in!

I found the Soudal low expansion foam to be pretty good and easy to control when filling narrow gaps, better than a couple of others I tried. I used the cheap Screwfix guns and they've lasted for the build, but are on their last legs now, as the teflon coating has worn off the valve and they tend to now gum up and jam if left. They were OK for a couple of years, though, so that may well be the realistic lifespan of a fairly cheap-ish gun (IIRC they were around £20 each).

I ran into this refusal to accept printed online statement a few years ago, but was told that it was only a temporary problem, when I complained that asking for printed statements could add a week or so of delay. Given that Screwfix (for example) accept you just showing them the screen of a tablet or phone with payment details on now, isn't about time that the building societies and banks caught up? If it was an effective anti-fraud measure then I could understand it, but when I did get printed statement all they did was photocopy them and give me the originals back, so there was no proper authenticity check on the original all. I could easily have made a statement that was an exact facsimile of a printed one and given them that and they would have been none the wiser, and my guess is that this is exactly the sort of thing a fraudster might try. I never understand daft "security" checks that just inconvenience ordinary customers and provide no effective barrier to a fraudster.

My comment was purely pointing out that TWO DIFFERENT SUPPLIERS had BOTH given quotes for a product that was completely different from the product they were asked to quote for and that it seemed very much as if something very unusual was going on behind the scenes for them to behave in such an odd way. I've never had that happen to me and it seems to be very unusual behaviour, given that the builders merchant doesn't know the detail of the construction in which the asked for product will be used. The fact that somehow the Actis rep seems to have been informed makes this seem as if at least one, perhaps both, of those BMs has been in contact with Actis and agreed to offer Actis when a customer asks for rockwool, a product that has completely different performance parameters. Like many here, I've had dozens of quotes from builders merchants for materials, and not once has one of them given me a quote for a totally different product, with a very different range of performance parameters, than the one I've asked for. The closest I've had is one Builders merchant who gave me a price for a Marshalls product alongside the quote for the Bradstone product I'd asked for, as he had the Marshalls in stock and would have to order in the Bradstone. It is a fact (reported in the first few pages of this thread) that Actis have misrepresented their product performance in the past, they have had approvals revoked or withdrawn them and have been found to have made misleading advertising claims. That isn't a personal view, that is fact and is easily verified. My arrangement with Sunamp is transparent, always has been and has never been a secret. Peter has reiterated the arrangement I and others have above accurately.

The cistern has had it, sadly, and it's a close coupled one, which means that the toilet may well be no use without it. The small washbasin might come away from the wall cleanly, I'm not sure how it's fixed (seems to be just screwed to the wall without brackets). The green is what I think was popularly called "avocado" in the early 1980's when it was installed. The bathroom was the same, but I ripped that out years ago and got rid of it. There's some "nice" green cushioned vinyl flooring in there too, along with floor to ceiling pale green wall tiles on every wall. Whoever built this house liked green a lot.....................

That's exactly what I have. Works fine. no problems at all. FWIW, it's exactly what's at the bottom of the stack in our 1983 built bungalow, too, as unforeseen problems before we sell have resulted in me having to rip out and replace the separate WC (the cistern has just cracked, and as it's a lovely green suite in there we've decided to bite the bullet and replace it all before we stick the house on the market).

I hate to say this, but you do know that you can get a torque driver head to allow your digger to place screw piles, don't you? Useful gadget, as it uses torque measurement to determine soil bearing strength. It's also another useful addition if you already own a digger.................................

I used the screwfix or B&Q cheapest PVA, watered down and applied by swilling a bucket load over the floor and spreading it with a soft broom. Quick, easy and a tremendous benefit in terms of keeping the dust down and making cleaning up a LOT easier. One tip, if the house has been plastered go around and chip off all the trodden in bits of plaster BEFORE you spread the PVA, as it's a real sod to get them off afterwards................

If the pipe's cut dead square and with a slight chamfer on the inside top edge I can't see why there would be a problem with just fitting a normal swept branch on to it. It's nice to have a socket poking up at exactly the right height out of the slab, but my guess is that this is very rare. We have a swept bend, just like the one illustrated above, under our slab. However, because the insulation is 300mm thick and the slab another 100mm thick, the swept bend is way below finished floor level. We therefore had a tall stub of pipe sticking up out of the concrete, with a plastic cap taped on it to ensure it stayed clean. When I came to fit the swept branch at the base, all I did was very carefully cut the pipe to length, making sure it was dead square, with the required external chamfer to go into the fitting and a very light internal chamfer. The pipe abuts against the stop inside the branch which is, by design, fractionally smaller than the ID of the pipe, specifically to ensure that there's no upward-facing lip to catch anything. On one external 110mm pipe connection (the one from the kitchen waste external trap to the inspection chamber) the only way I could fit it was with a slip coupler. These have no internal lip, so it is essential that you cut the ends of both pipes absolutely dead square. I'm sure there is probably a tool for doing this, but I made up a jig, using a bit of 6" x 6" x 1/4" aluminium alloy angle that I happened to have. I stuck it in the band saw and made a dead square saw cut through 3/4s of it, and I then used this to cut all the pipes dead square. I found that this made life very easy, as I just marked where I wanted to cut on the pipe with a Sharpie, put the jig on so I could just see the black line in the slot, duct taped the jig to the pipe (both sides), then used a wide mitre saw blade in a hacksaw frame to cut the pipe. The wide mitre saw blade is better than any other saw blade, IMHO, as it is wide enough to stay square in the jig and has no kerf on the teeth, so doesn't wear the jig away, plus it makes a cleaner cut through the pipe. To clean the inside of each pipe end to get a very slight chamfer I used a self-aligning metal deburring tool (like this: To chamfer the outside of pipes fitting into push-fit connectors I just clamped my belt sander into a Workmate at the right angle, turned it on then rested the pipe in the gap in the Workmate bed and rotated it against the belt. This gave a nice even outside chamfer every time, and only needed a quick scrape with a Stanley knife blade to get the fluffy bits off.

Out of interest, is your view of lead-free solder similar to mine? I find the stuff a real pain, compared with the ease of using tin/lead.

I found that a swept branch fitted with no problem at the bottom of the stack for our downstairs WC. I ran a length of 110 along the wall behind the WC, put another swept branch on that which led out to the WC connection then fitted a bend at the end pointing upwards with a reducer to take the waste from the basin and next door utility room.

Varies a great deal with the size of the slab, as some of the fixed costs remain the same for larger slabs. As a guide, we had quotes from three suppliers, Kore, Isoquick and Supergrund, all excluding the UFH pipework (but that only added around £400 to the price for any of them). The quotes were really hard to compare, as they were all based on supplying different levels of stuff. None included concrete, one included the steels, for example. I worked back to get a common standard to compare prices and they ranged from around £9.5k to 11.5k for a slab with an area of 86m². The biggest price difference was that one of the systems (Isoquick, I think) needed a 200mm thick slab, whereas the others were 100mm thick with ring beam reinforcement around the edges and where there were load-bearing internal walls. All of the suppliers only quoted initially for the insulation materials and design, one, when pushed, quoted for the steel. I had to estimate the labour and the cost of concrete (which varies locally as well, and is a significant part of the cost). In the end our Kore slab took 4 days labour from two guys, from starting with a roughly levelled and compacted layer of clean stone that our ground works guys had left, to a finished power floated slab with UFH pipes installed. You could very roughly say that it cost around £100 to £140 per m², including the UFH pipe, but that could vary a fair bit for a bigger or smaller slab in an area where labour or concrete (or both) was a different price.

I have to say that I'm a great fan of zinc chloride based solder fluxes and proper 60/40 tin lead solder. It might not be "legal" for use on copper water pipes any more, but it is a heck of a lot easier to use and, for an amateur with limited soldering experience, far less likely to result in a bad joint. For similar reasons I still always use 60/40 tin lead solder and rosin-based flux for electrical work. Not only are the joints easier, but they are far more reliable. Modern electronic equipment failure is, in my experience, likely to be caused by the failure of a lead-free solder joint. Lead-free solder is more brittle, and as above, being non-syntectic it is extremely sensitive to slight movement as it cools, leading to crystallised joints that are prone to early failure. Yes, lead poses a risk, but the regulators have got the risk to the end users completely out of proportion, as any bit of reasonably conducted science will show. The real lead risk is in mass production, where lead vapour is expensive to eradicate from the atmosphere, not someone making a few soldered joints.

Isn't that the truth! We found that concrete truck drivers were universally crap, in one case one of our ground works blokes got so pissed off at the truck drivers complete inability to reverse that he physically hauled him out of the cab and reversed the truck up the access track himself. We had more damage to the access track caused by incompetent concrete truck drivers than any other deliveries. By contrast, the drivers from our local builders merchant, Sydenhams, were bloody marvellous. The always, without fail, put the truck in exactly the right place to unload every time, no fuss, no drama and they followed the directions I'd given them (to avoid using their sat nav and ending up in a very narrow lane) every time, without fail. About 70% of all other deliveries ignored the note they were given with instructions for the last 500m to the site and blindly followed their sat nav until they got stuck in the narrow lane, then tried to phone or walk down to moan about the poor access. One driver even just turned around, having driven down from Coventry with a load of drive pavers, when he saw the narrow lane. He was an hour into his trip back to base when I phoned, got his base to phone him and tell him to turn around. He ran out of driving hours before he got back to us, so slept in the cab and delivered at 7 the next morning. He was not a happy bunny and starting going on at me until I told him to read his delivery note out to me, which had the instruction to ignore the sat nav and come in via the main road...............

The La-Co stuff uses ammonium chloride and ethanalomine hydrochloride as cleaning agents rather than zinc chloride, I believe, so is nearly as aggressive at cleaning copper as the older stuff like Bakers Fluid (still my favourite!). The paste also uses a non-grease stiffening agent (not 100% sure, but I think it may be PEG based) so doesn't leave a toxic, burned on, residue.