SilverShadow

Yeah, we're hoping for our sounder & main control unit to be wired to the mains. But the keypad and sensors will be wireless. I have an electrician friend, So provided it's not a mare to setup then i'm sure he could do a job for us. From the look of the Orisec site they seem focused on professional installers. I might be wrong, but that might mean limited support (if they don't speak to us peasantry)

Hey @Indy - how did the Orisec turn out (if you've had it installed and don't mind me asking)? Was the installation and day-to-day operation a breeze? On AI tool really rates them, and says they are DIY friendly. The other AI i tried says they're deeply unreliable. In fact, the more i delve into the murky depths of AI the more i spot occurrences of it contradicting itself when you rephrase the Q 🫠 I'm thinking the Orisec might be the one for us - though i'd want the version without the integrated keypad in the panel

Yeah, i think they might be a little too rich for our blood The few kits i've seen only start around £600 and go a few £100 upwards from there 🤑 We obviously want a reliable piece of kit, but we don't like in Buck Palace, or an area renowned for high number of break-ins

Re: the last post - AI says no. So I guess that's settled that part 😉

Ps, are there any compatibility issues with linking any old external sounder box up to the alarm panel? 🤔

Wow, thanks for the advice guys 😁 I think my AI skills are lacking in that dept. When I did try it the Texecom one was suggested to me. Which is where the OP originated from I will definitely take a look at those suggestions. I have an electrician friend, so we were looking at options of self install, if it was a possibility The idea of wireless sensors really suits our needs. Especially if we're looking to link them up to one in the outbuilding at the bottom of the garden. Doesn't have to be graded, but it helps Thanks again 😁

Cheers Ragg - most useful Out of interest, does anyone have any manufacturers or models i should consider or avoid? For me, this will be invaluable when speaking to an installer - if they pick a quality firm/device then i'll know they are potentially savvy. It'll also help me decide what options/setup i can request

Thanks guys - most helpful For the record, it doesn't have to be Texecom by any means. I only selected it due to what i'd read online, but happy to consider anything reliable and cost effective. What we're after is: Alarm & Sounder - wired to mains for power Separate keypad - wired or battery for power, wireless connectivity to panel 4 or 5 Wireless motion sensors and maybe similar for door/window sensors One motion sensor will be 20m away from the alarm, in an outbuilding Pet friendly 2 or more areas If it has a free app, then great - but not a biggie if not No subscription fees Reliable / well built We just want a decent system for a normal home, rather than Fort Knox

Yip, yip - we would get a professional to do the hard work for us. However, i always like to have a good basic knowledge of what to ask for, so we don't end up over/under spec-ing the system

Hey gang, This is probably a very niche subject, so maybe not many have any experience of this...... We're looking to install a new security system (full system) & it seems like Texecom have a very decent range of suitable products. The only snag is, they have a large range of products, and it's a bit confusing which one is most suitable without doing overkill Does anyone have any knowledge/experience of these products, please? I'm looking at maybe the premier elite 24, with one of their wired sounders, wireless keypad and up to 8 wireless sensors (one of which will be in an outbuilding up to 20m away from the panel). I presume the Elite 24 handle this without the need of the Ricochet Expander? 🤷‍♂️ TIA Shadow

Sorry guys, been a manic few weeks 😅 I dunno if an indemnity would cover a WBS or not. Our last house we got 1 for the windows, but a potential fire hazard is a different matter altogether We had a fireplace fitter around & he thinks we won't need HETAS (as the outbuilding is exempt of BR). However, we'd likely ask for 1 anyway, to be safe with insurance or if we ever sell The stove we're after has built in heat shields, allowing 100mm rear & 200mm side clearances to combustibles, with a 12mm hearth. So I think we will hopefully be ok Thanks again for the advice guys Shadow

Cheers for the input guys Apologies, but had a busy few days, so unable to respond until now.... In response to the above: 1) Alas, i don't think there is an existing HETAS certificate - the previous owner did a self-install (single flue pipe through breeze block wall). Although the outbuilding strictly doesn't need it (as it's not subject to B Regs,), i wanted to obtain one, from an insurance point of view (if the unthinkable happened, and i needed to claim) 2) Agreed, i was planning on using a HETAS certified company/person to undertake this. However, to save on cost i wanted to build up the fireplace & let them just sort the stove/flue. As part of this, i was hoping they could certify the fireplace during the install. If i did the install myself then i'd need BC to sign it off (i guess)< as i can't find any companies that specialise in inspection/approval 🤷‍♂️

Ie, me! 😁 Hey folks, please forgive my naivity, but a couple of quick Q's around HETAS certification, if you would indulge me, please 1) In terms of obtaining a certificate for an existing wood stove/flue/hearth system - can any authorised fireplace installer inspect & grant certification? 2) if not a fireplace installer, then is there a recognised trader/entity who can undertake this? 3) if so, does anyone have a ballpark figure for inspection/approval? (Afaik, the certificate itself is approx £36) This is purely from a research perspective, for potentially renovating an old stove in an outbuilding (which is exempt from building regs) Many thanks for your time 😁 Shadow

Ps, regarding your last paragraph: may I ask how long (or how many) systems you've used it on Just helps give me a perspective of reliability 😉

Cheers, Simon - very sound advice! 😁 I'd not heard of it before, but this plumber swears by it. He's invested in the tooling - which means he has the kit & know how. Although probably means he'd push this as his preferred option regardless I was concerned about the joints - I've heard push fit on plastic pipew can give over time & leak. I presume with these, having them sealed on the inside is preferable to anything push fit & will be sturdy enough From what I gather, this has been used on the continent for a while, and also on commercial heating. So (to me) it definitely sounds robust enough. Being slightly insulated probably also helps with any freezing problems too 👍 My only concern is: if in the highly unlikely scenario of needing to maintain it later (eg: some leak), it would limit options on emergency plumbers We'd be looking to extend the heating layout later (after house extension), which I presume would be easy enough to do with this set up A good many plumbers shun it, and I'm trying to figure out what (if any) disadvantages there are. Or if they're just old skool & stick to what they know Plenty of useful info to consider tho mate 👍

Indeed - the last one i mistakenly put in the wrong thread, so opened this one here

Hi there, We're looking to replace our CH system from the Jurassic era. This will involve installing a new combi boiler (to replace old gravity fed boiler) & 8 double radiators (replacing the old single panel ones). As the system is so old (i'd guess >30yrs at least, probably 40+) we imagine it'll need a whole new pipework system (especially as the combi will be in a different location), so plan to replace the old pipes One plumber mentioned using MLCP - has anyone any experience of this type of pipework? While it's cheaper & more flexible, i wasn't sure if anyone had concerns over durability and if the connection joints degraded over time with systems like a combi? We'll probably end up with copper pipes & soldered joints, but always worth asking around before making a choice - Pros & cons are always worth thinking about up front! Thanks for your time & thoughts Shadow

Cheers, Gus - very appreciative of you taking time out to explain all this to us. I'm not bad at most DIY stuff, and despite doing Tech Drawing many years ago, a house extension goes way beyond my mere mortal skills. We're opting to go with this company: https://planning-by-design.co.uk/ Our reasons being: All-in-one, solution - so there should (in theory!) be minimal issues with mis-communication & time delays between parties, prior to commencing construction We prefer to let somebody else take the strain with the design aspect - they're the experts & should know all the wrinkles, and ultimately be responsible & have the know-how for planning submission / approval & revising the design if approval is not granted The photos below, perhaps gives another insight into our proposal, as it shows the orientation of houses & rough size & scale of the extension. It's a good point about curtilage, but as you can see - the extension is almost completely built upon the existing garage (shown in red), so shouldn't increase the footprint. The only slightly contentious bit, is extending the garage front (1st pic - shown in green, which is approx 0.5m by 3m of extra footprint). Being flush might bend the subservient roof rule slightly, but if the pitched roof is lower than the main dwelling i'm hoping we'll be ok. I'm not 100% sure, but i'd guess our chimney will need an extra 1-2m of height, to accommodate the new pitched roof area Appreciate that pics can sometimes give a slightly skewed perspective, but these (imo), give a reasonably clear illustration of how our extension would avoid any terracing effect. I think they also underline how much lower than our neighbours the extension will be, so won't impact their light too badly In the meantime, i need to make sure we arm ourselves with plenty of examples of nearby properties where side extensions are flush with the front profile, and formulate clear documentation as to the reasons why our proposal should be approved. The draining (hopefully) won't be too much of an issue - there's a downpipe between to the garage/front bay window (in the green area of 1st pic) for the front roofing, and an old downpipe (disused) at the back corner of the property. Provided these are still in good working order we should hopefully have this aspect covered Thanks again, buddy - really invaluable stuff you;ve shared with us

Hi again, Gus - hope you had a great Xmas, buddy 😁 Apologies for the late reply, but it's always a hectic time of year! 🍻 I've enclosed some very basic drawings, which I hope help a little. Apologies, if they're a little crude, but hopefully they give a clearer idea. I can also provide a rear elevation if that helps - but maybe this already gives you a clear enough idea. Please ignore our property's exact roof layout, as it depends on final plans. But it should show it's (currently) a pyramid shape & the neighbours have a gable end facing us I've shaded our new extension a little, to highlight the changes we're hoping to construct I've also put a few rough measurements & projection lines on, to give an idea of overall perspective of us with the neighbour To recap: Their property front elevation is at least 2m forward of ours (& ours probably 2m further back from theirs, at the rear elevation). I'd guess their ground floor is 2-2.5m higher than ours. We also have the 3m gap between properties. The sun hits the rear elevation 1st & swings clockwise (the side away from the neighbour) to the front Hope that gives a better idea, buddy - feel free to ask anything else & I'll happily provide 👍

Cheers, Gus - those documents are excellent!! Really informative & clear. From what i can tell, the 2 main factors to consider in the design are: Orientation - avoiding a 'terraced' effect with other properties & being overly imposing Daylight & Sunlight - ensuring the proposal has no impact deemed significant enough for loss of light I've considered it as follows, for our side extension: Orientation: Our house is set back approx 2m from the neightbours There is a 3m gap between buildings The neighbours house is 1-2m naturally higher than ours Their roof is gable end, ours is sloped Our extension is 1m from the boundary line (neighbours building is 2m from theirs), making the 3m gap mentioned above Our side 2 storey extension 1st floor guttering is likely to be about mid-point between their ground floor and 1st floor rear windows Neither property has windows overlooking the boundary, nor will the extension There are a reasonable number of existing 2 storey side extensions in the neighbourhood, where they have built flush with the house front, and closer to their adjacent house, and in some cases not subservient in terms of profile or roof height (we'd add more details of the properties at submission time) It's likely we'd apply for party wall agreement, due to being only 1m from the boundary line Daylight & sunlight: Neither property has side windows, so the 25' rule shouldn't apply The 45' rule (horizontally from their kitchen window) - i can see by eye, that we currently don't cross this line with the existing garage, so wouldn;t anticipate the 1st floor extension to either The 45' rule (vertically from kitchen window - i wasn't aware of this until now!). It's unlikely we'd cross this from our 1st floor guttering level, but it would be within a meter i'd imagine Pitched roof - as ours will be a pitched roof, then it seems like we take the 45' vertical rule from the midpoint, in which case we'd definitely be fine. Is this pitched roof midpoint interpretation correct? Sunlight - both houses rear gardens are Southern facing (South-East, to be precise, so there might be some shadows cast early morning on their front lawn, side of house early afternoon & maybe the rear late evening/sunset As the roof is sloping and 1st floor halfway between their ground floor and 1st floor window, the amount of shadow is far less than it would be on even ground. The shadows would likely hit the side of their house (with no windows) likely no more than halfway up. There are a number of mature trees on the road that could obscure their property from sunlight, regardless of our extension, so hopefully we won't be causing any major impact We don't believe a VSC would be required, given the above All the above is only a high level appraisal, and would need more accurate measurements and assessments. But we feel this is a good starting point for our case This is a crude drawing of the proposed side extension (in orange). The footprint remains unchanged to the existing one, except for moving the front edge forwards 3/4m, in line with the existing front This is not to ask whether you consider the proposal would be successful, but more to enquire if there are other things we should consider when designing & applying......

Thanks again, NFW 😁 Several architects have advised us, but it really seems like a mixed bag. Some we've spoken to err on the side of caution, and would produce a 'safe' design. Others seem a little more open to interpretation of the rules, and think that in our case we might attempt trying to maximise our footprint, due to the orientation of ours & the neighbours house Obviously no-one knows till it goes for submission, & we don't expect any cast iron guarantees. But this (for us) is where we really want their gut feeling & experience to shine through . This is where we feel they can really provide their worth. From what some have said, if the council rejects & asks for a wall to be moved slightly to comply, it can be classed as a minor revision & part of the original proposal. Thus incur no extra fees or restart the process. Is anyone able to verify if this assumption is correct?

Many thanks, SAS I have no clear insight into how they'll react. But they have recently gone very quiet after the initial positive dialogue we had. I can't be certain whether they're just waiting to see the plans or have some fundamental concerns, but think IF they do object it'll be possibly be due to Loss of Light. Hopefully though, it'll be fairly minimal, due to the building orientation and the gardens being south-facing, so the sun won't hopefully overshadow their property too badly (aside from the side of their house, which has no windows). We'll just have to see i guess - but if we can find some online service to check light/overshadowing that would be extremely helpful We've also found a service that does a 'Pre-Application' planning appraisal (for £100+VAT), that will take the basic extension requirements and assess the likelihood of PP success the the local Planning Authority (based on previous applications in the area). I'm not sure if this is just gimicky, but this sounds like a valuable service, to increase (not guarantee) the likelihood of PP approval

Cheers, NFW - tbh, i like the sound of Planning By Design, as they seem to offer services throughout the whole process. Arguably, an online service perhaps doesn't have the ability to see things 'on site'. But we've struggled with getting local architects on board (a lack of engagement, when we've tried to contact them). With a larger company like this, the service is likely to be less-bespoke - but at least we're likely to always have someone to hand! While cost is a factor, having a team there every step of the way is equally vital (especially, as we think getting PP approval from 1 of our neighbours might be tricky). I have noticed a number of side extensions in our area that don't appear 'subservient' to the main building (ie - they are flush with front elevation & in some cases roof continues at the same height). Seems like council rules are 'malleable', if you know how....🤔

For anyone still keeping tabs on this thread (and i wouldn't blame anyone for not doing so! 😆) Has anyone had experience of using some of these big name architect companies, like: Arkiplan Homz Planning by design They seem to be more of an online service, but appear to have a wealth of services to offer & can provide a comprehensive 'all in 1' package for several £k cheaper than others we've had quotes from. We definitely won't skimp unnecessarily at this step of the process, but likewise would be happy to try these companies if folks have had positive experiences with them For the record: we are still hoping to use a local architect if possible, but been let down recently & so exploring all options to try and push ahead Cheers, all Shadow

On another front, one of the architects replied to me, stating his party wall surveyor friend says that it's 'an unwritten rule' that exploratory pits generally don't require a PWA in place I've no reason to doubt him, but couldn't find anything around this. I definitely won't be rushing into anything, as its likely he's not privy to their potential location They would be within 1m of the boundary & approx 3.3m of the adjacent house