TheMitchells

Success! after trimming the foam, there were hardly any draughts and the temp was much better. I still need to add sealant to the very fine gap alongside the vertical trim. But happy with result. 😁 And it was this cold! Our gorgeous Lab still enjoying her walks at aged 13 1/2!

i think thats the one the window installers used. they left me some when they'd finished. but i used it up on our renovation.

thanks, will get some of that for all future work. i used Polycell expanding foam polyfilla, as I didnt know any different. Did try to find something that didn't expand too much but there was not much choice locally. As usual, the description sounded like it would be ideal.

thats the one. small screen but otherwise, no complaints.

I love my current house but every winter we suffer from cold rooms and draughts. Most of it come from behind fitted units in the kitchen and other places where there is obviously penetrations. But the OH refuses to remove the cupboards so we can insulate (I agree it would be difficult so understand his reluctance). The heating is blown warm air and it is quick to warm up but also quick to lose heat. The build is timber, with some (not much) insulation, membrane then plasterboard on the inside, brick facade on the outside. I have watched the YouTube videos of Mindsparx, and it looks very similar to how he builds his place, but without the second layer of insulation. It was built by Americans for their Air force personal with good sized rooms, but I wish they had added the extra insulation and taped the joins.

For ages I have felt quite cold sitting next to our patio doors🥶, but I love sitting there to watch the birds outside. However, i finally really looked today and after feeling a cold breeze/draught in the corners, i got out the thermal camera and found in the actual corner, it was down to 1oC, its minus 5oC outside. So I pulled back the carpet and trim and found large gaps at the side. I watched the guys instal the doors in 2019 and saw them spraying in expanding foam around the frame itself so thought that should be okay. But it must have left some gaps. I have been out and bought some Polyfilla expanding foam and sprayed it into the gaps. I shall let you know how much of a change it is, after it dries and I get it all trimmed, ready for the carpet and trim. 😁If it works, i may have to look for more areas to fill - dont want to waste the majority of the can and I hate draughts!

If i recall correctly, the system has a 2 year warranty which shuld cover any problems I have. We have noticed water dripping from the inside of the unit most days, with fairly damp concrete below the unit. I have told them and someone is coming ouot sometime to check. the boss said its probably just condensation. there is a pipe which goes to the outside drain from inside.

Our records indicate that your Air Source Heat Pump is due to be serviced in December 2025. Yearly servicing of the heat pump is essential to meet the needs of the warranty and prevent breakdowns. Our maintenance contracts include the below: • Heat Pump annual inspection and service • Hot Water Tank annual inspection and service where applicable • Check System is operating within optimum conditions to maximise efficiency • Check electrical components are wiring • Clean Filters and Coils • Check and lubricate motors and bearings • Telephone support Monday – Friday 09:00 – 16:00 hours The charge of the yearly maintenance contract is £250.00 plus VAT It does seem rther a lot for inspection and a little cleaning of the filters and coils, and lubricating of bearings. As they took nearly 3 weeks to get the settings correct and provide adequate heating and hot water after installation, I just do not have confidence they will do anything correctly. Think I'll go elsewhere. There has to be others around. Thanks for the comments.

After finally getting the ashp system installed and working, I have been sent details of the companies servicing quote - £250 plus vat. Is this a normal cost? I have emailed several local firms asking if they do ashp servicing and how much, but only one replied to say they dont do them. Before I accept the installers price, I'd love to hear if its about right. After all the problems we had getitng the system working properly ( nearly 3 weeks of call outs and promises that it will work fine now - it didnt) - I dont really have much confidence in the company that installed it. I'd rather find anothe local company that could come and do it. cheers.

Just been listening to a podcast with the founder of One Zero Energy company, Howard Johns, who has ideas for making as many houses as possible more energy efficient, quickly without having to pay huge upfront costs. He reckons he can do ashp, battery, solar, cavity and loft insulation in 2 weeks for around £21k (less the BUS grant). But he wants to do lots more, including arranging better finance for those who dont have that money but still need the equipment. Listen hear or read the notes, https://www.houseplanninghelp.com/hph366-could-a-home-energy-transformation-pay-for-itself/ Sounds a very interesting chap with plenty of experience and a real committment to helping as many people as possible. wish I lived closer to him 🤔would certainly be interested in his ideas.

Are you able to give a rough idea of total cost in building the garage? I think it looks great.

I cannot recall exactly but it may have been this company https://www.hes.co.uk/electricaire-c-251.html Their sticker was on the unit and I know I rang them. They also do parts. I miss the old heater. It was so quick to warm the place up when turned on. I doubt it was very economical but it worked and was easy to use.. Good luck finding some help. We took it out and kept the bricks, broke up the rest and took it to a scrap metal dealer. I think we got £8 for the metal. The insulation was pretty horrible. I bagged it up and it went to the local refuse incinerator.

it was full of fridge gunk! I doubt it had been cleaned out for ages. Thanks for all the comments, will move it further away from the wall and will get that trunking on the pipes. I need to do that to all the new radiators in whole house as all of the pipes come down from the ceiling/attic. But thats a job for the New Year! Too much choc to eat and bottles of wine to drink for the next week!😄 Merry Christmas everyone!🎄🎅

While the ashp was installed at parents place, the warm water pipes dropped down behind the fridge to the under counter kickboard heaters. (It is a tiny kitchen so we were restricted on what could go where.) Then this week, Dad reported problems with ice at the bottom of the fridge. On checking, the condensation drain was solid ice so all the moisture was running to the bottom of the fridge and freezing. After defrosting and cleaning the drain, i checked and water was draining away well. My question is whether it is the warm pipes at the back that is causing the ice to form? Or was it just coincidence that we noticed it now (several weeks after the install). Should I cover the pipes with insulation? Thanks.

Could you not line one wall with cork tiles? They are ideal for absorbing noise??

The Commissioning chap came round yesterday, checked the system and listened to our tales of woe. He said that the flow temperature was 10oC lower than recommended and the water temp was only at 44oc when it was specified at 50oC. But apart from that, all was okay. After some tweaks to correct the temperatures, he left. The house is warm enough and Dad seemed to listen to his advice re maintaining a fairly constant temperature, rather than trying to turn off things then expecting them to warm up when turned back on. (Even though I had explained the same several times before - but then I'm just his daughter! What would I know........) So we spent £7k, plus a £7.5k grant from the Government, and from start to finish it took from 11th November till 3rd December to install and make it all work satisfactorily. Not really the best advertisment for ASHP's but if it keeps the old folks warm enough and saves some money from the old system, then I'm happy.

I should have known it wasnt going to happen. The Commissioning engineer is now coming next week to give the company time to sort this all out. Which is a good job. The electrician was moved to today (wednesday) as the new Honeywell thermostat was arriving yesterday. However, when i arrived this morning, the electrician was resetting the programme on the old one! He assumed I was not intelligent enough to programme the correct temperatures!🙄 Despite being one of the two who had left it on the factory set schedule, for those out at work all day, not 85yr olds sititng at home all day!! Grrrr! Then i found out, he had not been told about the new thermostat, and questioned why we wanted a wired in version and not wireless😖😩 He left shortly after, saying he'd be back tomorrow with the new thermostat to wire in.........

The owners of the company are on the HousePlanningHelp podcast number 362 for a talk on making Passivhaus easier. https://www.houseplanninghelp.com/podcast/ They do say that initially they will limit the number taken on to 6 per year but hope to increase slowly, should the demand increase. And really, its only for Aberdeenshire. But hopefully others will follow suit if it takes off.

Have just received details of Coldwells new concept of turnkey Passivhaus designs. Pick your design and they'll do it all for you or build to weather proof and you finish off. https://www.coldwellsbuild.com/ Initial thoughts are that they look like a good idea. But cannot see a plant room in the plans. Are they calling it a utility room? I like the Argyle. 🤔😁

Thought folks may be interested in our recent stay in a Passivhaus B&B near Malvern. I wanted to experience the environment of passivhaus with MVHR and see if i could convince the OH that retrofitting and adding MVHR could be something that we should do; particularly if/once we move into our new place in 2025. It was a fab place and I would certainly recommend it for anyone who doubts the improvements from building Passiv. I loved the peacefulness, warmth, even when next to large windows, and the low bills they say they have.😁 I hoped it would give me a better sleep but I'd need a few more nights to see; particulally as they had turned on the en-suite towel rail for a while in the evening and it was too warm for me. i ended up opening the large patio doors during the night. The owners could not have done more to make us welcome and we had an educational talk in the Plant Room from Andrew. I found them on the Passivhaus Trusts website event which holds Open Days, usually late in the year. https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/ It is called Woodlands and is at the end of a long lane, with super walks right from the doorstep. And the Oak frame was amazing.

If you look carefully there is a box which controls the hot water timetable, but just to the left of it, is a simple switch in the OFF position! that supplies the power to the box.......

Thank you, our system does have Weather Compensation so hopefully that will help. And yes, I have set it to be on most of the day at a general temp of 21oC only dropping to 16oC at night. The programme left by the electrician was for 21oC between 6.30 and 8.30am, dropping to 16oC till 4.30pm, then on again for the evening and off at night. Obviously not suitable for two 85 yr olds at home all day! while there yesterday (Sunday) I insisted that the company boss came out as there was no hot water and even when boosting the thermostat to 28oC, it was barely reaching 19! When he came out, and checked things, including speaking to the electrician who was there Wednesday (his business partner), we eventually realised that the switch controlling the hot water was turned off!! You couldnt make it up! So after turning it back on - the water started heating up and when they rang me later in the day, the place was warm enough. I do wonder if the probelms occurred when the 2 electricians were rushing to get everything installed and running on the original Friday, when they wanted to get away by lunchtime. 🤔 Tomorrow an electrician is coming to replace the wireless Digistat with a Honeywell Home wired thermostat. Then Wednesday the commissioning engineer will come to check everything and commission it! Hopefuly by then, I can report it is all working to perfection and the company have sent mum a large bouquet to apologise for the week of incompetance. 😄 Fingers crossed.

Would you like to explain that so i can understand?

So today I went over to the house and while it wasnt cold, it was not warm either. The Digistat said 18C and I used the App to increase that to 22o while I took Mum to her hairdressers and Waitrose shop. Having agreed with ProDaves comments, I rang and asked the electrician who did the install to finda simple wired thermostat that Mum and Dad have a chance of being able to use. He suggested a Nest thing but I said I wanted wired. After a while, he sent details of a Honeywell one, whichis the exact one they had for the old system. Perfect. I am now waiting for them to say when they will come and move the old one - its still on the wall but as its quite close to a radiator, it will need moving. They didnt seem keen but I think its the only/best way. Back at the house, it seemed warmer but still not up to the 22oC. Also the hot water was only lukewarm 🙁 I changed the actual Digistat to increase the temperature to 21oC all day with 16oC at night. The house is certainly not cold but I dont think it was up to 21oC when i left. We shall see what happens next. Poor Mum and Dad are so tired of all these problems (as am I) and I do think it would have been much easier to put radiators and a gas boiler in. Its a shame I have principles and wanted to do the 'right thing'. 😒