lizzie

OK thanks...confused.com here now but I will give it a whirl on @Nickfromwales suggestions. Like @newhome frost setting is lowest I can go. I think the floor sensors were suggested by installer as he said that with high insulated house and mvhr floor would not kick in on air temp alone......thats as best I can recall it. Here is a pdf of what I think is the schematic as suggested by @PeterW The whole thing is run from a Vaillant Eco tech mains gas boiler. That chart is is clever @AliG presumably I will have the same somewhere, will look for it Thank you all for the input - may take me a while to work through it all and come back with results. ufh_.pdf

Ah good to know that about the pop ups! I do have the schematic I have to dash out now but will put it on when I get back later and thank you.

@PeterW yes all rooms have a stat they are in separate zones. These are wireless stats and connect to a hub from there I can comtrol via app. I can also use up and down keys on stats themselves to change temp settings. I have now found the way to see room temp and floor temp, they are set to show room temp only. I have no idea on the way this whole thing works, I have a plant room I do not understand. Pre move in I bought a lable machine in anticipation of a handover where I could lable things for future ref. That handover never happened. I was never shown anything on the heating system (or anything else) at all and have been trying to work it out via trial and error....and very much error. Pipes only seem to get warm if I do as @Nickfromwales suggests and ramp the floor temp right up into the mid 30’s I dont know what the floor temp should be relative to air temp and which is controlling which. All I want to do is get it so that the house is at an even temp of mid 20’s say from 7am-10pm with a little cooler overnight. Those little blue bits on the actuators seem to pop up randomly - when pipes are cold and there is no heating. My installer is not local and I have been waiting weeks for him to come and look at mvhr which has issues, I will add heating to the list and hope he comes before the really cold weather meantime all help to get it working in some fashion gratefully received.

thanks @Triassic I looked at those but oculdnt make a lot of sense of it.

Yes floor sensors on every stat and air also except en suite which is floor only.

Thank you both will spend the evening monitoring.

Thank you @AliG at least I have a clue what some of the dials are now!

Hello all and thanks for the suggestion of a new thread. I have UFH powered by a gas boiler. It is in an MBC slab. It was commissioned last December and left on by installer. Over the following months all the builders working in the house messed with it, too hot, too cold etc. None of them ever asked or told me what they had done I just had reports from others that the heating was up and down like a yo yo etc. We moved in end April just as heatwave hit and so have not had UFH on until now...well not tried to have it on that is. I have a Frankishe Robbens system with Heatmiser controls via wall boxes and an ap.The system is split between manifold 1 (bedroom wing) and manifold 2 (living wing). Bedroom wing terminal lights up, pipes get hot never felt a warm floor but clearly something is happening, woud be nice to get some heat into the bathroom floors. Living wing terminal does not light up (other than power light) and pipes from boiler do not get hot..ergo no heating. Have tried upping temp on ap and wall boxes, flame shows and boiler kicks in but still pipes are cold at manifold and no heat comes. There is what looks like a TRVnear the pump but I dont know what that should be set at. Yesterday I gave the motorised valve and the pump a good thump in case they were stuck. I started to get fleeting heating up of pipes but it only lasted a few minutes, the house was still cold. I have driven myself nuts with Dr Google. I have floor sensors as well as air sensors. I think must be the floor sensors that are stopping heat from kicking in. Does that make sense? Ive upped floor sensors to 28 degrees on the thermostat and have some heat in the manifold pipes now. If this is it can anyone tell me now how I control the heating to keep the house warm. MVHR running in the background. Any help greatly appreciated. TIA.

Wish you had been here saying that this time last year! Welcome to the forum.

@ProDave been there done that thank you!?

I cant get my UFH working and after frying all summer am now searching the garage for a fan heater. MVHR keeping it at circa 20 but thats way too cold for me. UFH thermostats show a flame but floor never gets warm on checking the manifolds I find the pipes are cold so there is no hot water coming in from the boiler even though the boiler is firing, hence flame symbol on stats. DHW is fine so it must be a prob from boiler to manifolds. The system was commissioned last December, builders were here for months afterwards and I know now fiddled with it all because the house was too hot. Now I come to use it for the first time and it doesnt work. Begining to wish i had DG with tricklevents and rads at least I understand that system. Been waiting two weeks for installer to come back to sort the issues with mvhr - he installed ufh too so if I tell him now no heating will that hurry him up or be ignored...if he doesnt come next week I am going to have to find a plumber to come and look at it all but because I never had a proper handover I dont know what most of it is no doubt I will get the sucking in of the teeth and the which cowboy did this comments and a four figure quote to sort it out. @newhome I understand your frustration with it all.

@Alex I have the Bora basic flexi induction with recirculation. I am very pleased with it and no problem on the extract it works well for me. As to flexi Ithink really thats a decision for whoever cooks. I like it, the bridging of zones is great. I use the large Bora griddle pan that straddles two zones and it cooks steaks etc fantastically well.

@Gary G I would get yourself to a good independent kitchen designer tbh. That design by your architect seems to me to be all over the place in terms of a working space. Do you have any worktops near the ovens ........they seem to be stuck way over in the corner. Your hob sits central but a long way from sink (for draining veg etc). Where is the fridge? There is a good reason that the kitchen ‘work triangle’ developed.

Someone was asking about free tickets to the GD show. There is one ticket in the new magaizine just out. My magazine was delivered today (still on subscription from when I signed up at the show) so its the current one Octobef 2018 issue. If anyone would like the free ticket I am happy to pop it in the post, its paper not e-mail link.

The self build policy is a structural warranty (limited) and you cant cover that via an indemnity as far as I know plus no mortgage lender would take it. There is the retrospective option as @newhomesaid but that is more limited and very expensive. I understand there is a new player in the field now to replace CLT....CWT or something like that........Can check if you want. I would bite the bullet take a policy with buildzone or one of the other mainstream providers. Its a very small cost in percentage terms of your build and if you do need to sell or take a mortgage further down the line then you are covered. I know there are others on here that do not believe in warranty insurance, its up to you, personally I would take it. An architects cert is a different animal and does not provide the same cover.

Premier Guarantee still have the self build application form available via their own website. We took ours direct with them didnt use a broker or third party. Maybe its just that company they have withdrawn from not the market as a whole. I would contact them direct and see what they say. I looked through an old link it seems... no self build now on their web site sorry.

We used acres of polythene as it rained solidly for weeks after our frame went up. Will see if I can find where we got it.

Lots on Amazon. I have mine set into one of my gate pillars (postie cant get through the gates as I don't have it set for trade entrance) I didn't want anything visible on the outside other than the letter slot. I went for the Stamford as it was the one that fitted the depth of my brick pillar. Glencall do quite a range not sure if there would be anything to suit your TF house wall. https://www.glencall.co.uk/1gi/king/stamford-menu.html

That detail was copied from my build.

My friend (5ft 1) has no wall cupboards either for the same reason!

There is an offer on tickets for GD 2 tickets for £18 Quote ' Build18' when booking If I get any free ticket offers I'll post the links

I have been to Grand designs a few times - I live less than an hour from the NEC. I wouldn't bother again myself unless I had a day with nothing to do but thats because most of it is stuff you can find anywhere plus the candle maker, glass pictures, vegetable choppers et al....those even seem to find their way into Crufts these days. My top tip if you do go is to get there at opening time, the place is heaving by lunchtime and its difficult to get to see much with the crowds, also take your drinks and snacks in with you if you can, the queues and prices inside are horrendous. If you have never been you will enjoy it but not sure you will come away with much of any real use. If you are looking for interior design ideas then as well as the usual Pinterest Houzz etc I would suggest you do a tour of the show homes in your area, go to see the pricey ones with more upmarket finishes too there is nothing like seeing things in the flesh so to speak. If you are unsure of yourself on interior design then yes go on a course if there is one available, it may give you confidence. You could always employ an interior designer to give you some pointers, you don't need to employ them to do the 'scheme' just give you some ideas on things and help in pulling the look together. Would probably cost less than your trip to Birmingham. Very worthwhile going to upmarket kitchen and bathroom showrooms too, ideas are there for the stealing. A good independent is very useful for kitchen planning - a cut above the sheds etc, you dont have to buy just get ideas ditto on the bathroom showrooms. Get tester pots of paint, paint onto big pieces of card or the back of a piece of wallpaper and pin up on the wall to see how it looks, get samples of everything, paint, flooring, upholstery etc and put them together, you will soon see what 'goes' and what doesn't. Its easy to do mood boards - just get a big sheet of card and from your short lists stick on the paint swatches, flooring, carpet and curtain samples etc, photos of lighting, all that stuff it gives you a good idea of how things come together and you can note details like suppliers etc.................I prefer an actual mood board that I make myself better than a virtual one on the screen because I think you also need to consider the feel of things not just a flat photo. Texture, not just colour, is an important part of interior design in my view. When we moved a few years ago I came across my mood boards for the house we built in the late 80's........Hoarder LOL When I am doing something be it a whole house or just a room I always carry with me samples of my colours, bits of wood, tile etc (very heavy handbag) so that if I chance upon something I can whip out my samples and see how they look, you never know when you will spot a gem that is just the piece you need. Don't be afraid to mix bargain buys with more expensive designer options along with a few treasured pieces that you already have. Confidence in your own personal taste and style is what you need, who wants to live in house that looks like its come from a catalogue, you need to inject your own personality into it, make it yours.....but not lime green and purple of course! Anyone visiting the NEC for GD wants to pop in to me for a visit and a cuppa you would be welcome.

I was hoping to feel the same sort of benefits but for various reasons I have not as yet and I am 4 :months in. The very hot summer has meant windows open (overheating issues) and the trap drying out and drains smell that I get is unpleasant. I just dont think my mvhr is working properly all the time, I think I need the installer back its more than house settling I feel. I am so pleased for your wife. She is a beacon of hope for the future. Thnak you.. @NSS

@JSHarris thank you............... so I need to change the exhaust filter back to the bigger one, I didnt realise I should have different on each. I measured outside, on the drive, no vehicle fumes or plants out there its a hard surface desert LOL. TBH I was expecting a meter that measured more than these 2 items but I think I bought the wrong one, got dizzy from looking at so many. I just feel the air quality in this house is not great and the intermittent smells are not helping. Its almost better with mvhr off some and windows open on tilt. Maybe the filter thing is why I am not getting great air quality. Will order G4 filters tomorrow.

@JSHarris thank you! I dont think my mvhr is as effective as it should be so I bought a meter. I have F7 filter in both sides. My indoor air quality is the same if not worse than outside. I am sitting at my desk and getting readings of 23 for PM2.5 and 38 for pm10 in this room. Outside is reading 25 for pm2.5 and 35 for pm10. I wonder if its the drain smells that may be from the gurgling trap they are always more evident in this small room.