TheMitchells

Looking at this one. https://www.laddersandscaffoldtowers.co.uk/scaffold-towers/diy-scaffold-towers/home-master-diy-scaffold-tower We have a roof ladder to lie on the tiles and work on the roof itself so just need something to give good safe access. So ideally something with the floor of the platform at guttering height. Does the claimed height refer to the top of the scaffolding or the platform height?

Wondering if someone could help in a question about access towers? we need to do some work along the ridge line of the house - the cement is cracked and missing under the rood tiles, and we have some water in the roof space, aound the back corner of the roof. We think the roofing felt maybe perished but need to have a look. taking up the first couple of tiles and maybe replacing the battons and felt. We have been trying to hire an access tower for a couple months but no one seems to have any available and so are now looking to buy our own. Can anyone advise us as to what height we need? We thought 5 m would be enough to get to the guttering and a little higher but the photo's dont look like it will be high enough. Shuold we be aiming for a 6m? Luckily the OH is good at heights.

I tried to get a quote from Octopus but they dont yet 'do' my area. And its 'her', not 'him', Nick 😁. I'm the one on the left of the pic.

I did suggest increasing the size of a couple of rads and removing the one in the porch which they accepted. However, they are still suggesting a 10kW heat pump and the cost has increased to £14,487.00 with the Govenment £7.500 to be deducted. And they still insist that the heat pump cannot go at the front of the property. But we dont want to put it at the side or rear as it would then require moving when we do the extension. I Could apply for planning for it to go to the front but that can take 8-12 weeks putting the install into late autumn/winter which would be a nightmare for the elderly parents. And Dad is very concerned that it would be pinched, being so visible to all and sundry passing. 😒 So after pulling my hair out - we think we shall return to the old current system and hope it works for a while yet. part of the reason for replacing it this summer was that the heating and hot water went off so we thought there was a problem - and there was - the off peak main switch fuse was nicely burning away! But that has been replaced and so we are going to turn on the old warm air system and see if it still works. If it does we will limp along with that for as long as we can. And we'll check the fuses regularly, in case there is something causing the main fuse to heat up. Its not ideal but is certainly the cheap option for now; while i consider other ideas.......

We will increase the loft insulation to300mm once the work has been done. and the walls already have cavity insulation, though not with eps beads. Maybe thats something we could look at doing.

I questined the flow temperature and the answer came back that due to the restricted wall space in the bungalow, the flow temp has been increased to meet the heat loss. Otherwise we'd need larger rads which I dont really want. I shall take the measurements and suggested rads sizes tomorrow when i visit and see if we could increase the size of some of them. Would they all need to be larger? Or could i increase a few?

I believe the calculation shows that the bungalow will need 13,350kW to heat the place. But the total electricity used last year for the whole place was less than 12,000kW so is their heat demand calculation incorrect?

I have finally received the heat loss calculations for the 70m2 bungalow. apparently it is suggesting a 10kW heat pump but the installer is thinking an 8kW would be sufficient. he's suggested a Samsumg. I do recall being told that the flow temperature is important for efficiency and lifespan of the heat pump. I can see a flow temp of 53oC - is this something i should ask about? Comments gratefully received. We do need to get this installed soon as my elderly parents feel the cold and are already commenting on the place being cold in the mornings! (we do have a night storage heater that we can turn on till the new system is installed). heatpump-design-calculations.pdf heatpump-system-performance 7 ellesmere.pdf hotwater-design-calculations.pdf room-by-room-calculations.pdf room-by-room-emitters.pdf

It certainly seems the case that they can quote whatever they like. We'll just have to bite the bullet and get it installed before the weather gets colder.

Here's another possible example of Rip off Britian - we just had a quote for supplying a scaffolding tower to access the house roof verge and soffit for painting and repair. One tower either side of the garage with beams across the top - £1500 plus vat. Am I just out of touch for prices or is this silly money???

The second quote I had was for £8500 for materials (this was the Steibel Eltron ashp and cylinder) and 33200 labour, plus the electrician costs to connect theconsumer unit to the rotary isolators.

The original company are coming tomorrow to do a heat loss assessment. They said it can take up to 4 hours. Will report back once I have it.

I like the brick and wood! Why change it?

It would be a swizz if they did insist on a new EPC as nothing has changed since the last one.

Yes, it is nice to know. Another example is my EPC inspector. I had organised for a new EPC as one of the companies who are quoting for the ASHP said I'd need one, our old one was out of date. (I did not check myself - Doh!🤪) Yesterday the guy who was coming, rang to say that my EPC was valid till 2028! So no need for him to come. What a nice chap!

Any one bought this yet? Sounds like it could be useful, particularly for someone like me, who knows only what we are told by the industry. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D6WBGSRV?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aYF2hlRd4NDGeaORD3YlgX2BwaGtVAai_6RILxUYdSapFuQCFknreE9l1gzLdMO6DKdN3ZCdv1areI1Pawtu8OT-F-u1LLCBYCbTjbq3j97Vt_yiRdrBbwtjjqCeC1mjYXMO3q3dWEQQtySXid0QaA.br7hTlYkRRQJq9lzjx5s_Tl-lCABWAjM-hKh5S8XoSI&qid=1718263790&sr=8-5&linkCode=sl1&tag=myhomefarm-21&linkId=f2d6239efb72c296a20c3c2d78a1f177&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

Thought folks would be interested to read this. Copied from the Renewable Heating Hub 27 July 2024. In a significant development for the renewable heating sector, an industry insider has revealed to Renewable Heating Hub that a new heat pump standard is on the horizon. This forthcoming standard, being developed in collaboration with Flexi-Orb, is poised to compete directly with the existing Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). According to the source, this initiative promises to address many of the shortcomings associated with the current standards, offering a more practical and user-friendly approach for customers, installers and manufacturers alike. Full details here. https://renewableheatinghub.co.uk/new-standard-set-to-revolutionise-heat-pump-installations-in-the-uk

Good news! Contacted a company who deals with Electricaire units and they were able to check their register. No asbestos! So we can go ahead and arrange for it to be removed. Phew.

it was a light pen. Similar to one of these. https://www.screwfix.com/p/fluke-non-contact-voltage-detector-pen-1000v-ac/85949?kpid=85949&cm_mmc=Google-_-Datafeed-_-Tools?kpid=KINASEKPID&cm_mmc=Google-_-TOKEN1-_-TOKEN2&gad_source=1&gclsrc=ds However, we think the problem may be solved. An electrician finally came today after booking him Wednesday last week. Once he had removed the front of the Off Peak circuit board, this is what he found. Not good! He has replaced the Main switch and cleaned up the cables going into it and is happy that it should all work now. Particularly as we know the power is coming on during the night. So it wasnt Octopus's meter after all. And, if the electrician who I asked to come at the very beginning (10th July) had come and taken a look, we could have saved ourselves 3 weeks of aggravation. But instead he told me to contact Octopus and the rest is history as they say! So fingers crossed it all works okay overnight. The RCBO next to the main switch is slightly damaged too, but that is for the central heating system which we are replacing next month, hopefully, so that will remain turned off till then. He did say he could replace it but for now it is turned off.

I'll ask him when I next speak to him.. And I guess if it more efficient, then I can make do with extra radiators.

yes, we have double glazing and they arent too bad. The chap did say the het pumps from Stiebel Eltron are more than others but he feels they are worth the expense. We dont have too much loft insulation at the moment, minimum required, i believe but we will add more as soon as it is all installed. All the pipework and stuff will across the loft and drop to the required location, so we can then add the extra insulation on top of it all.

Hmm, the chap wh came to look at the place today was very scathing of such a high HP. He said we'd be looking at a one around the 7 mark, taking the floor at less than 100 square meters and a basic rate of about 70 - not sure what the 70 was but he was looking at the windows/walls and giving a broad estimate. He also siad they onlyuse Steibel eltron who provide the whole system, so it all works well together and has space for expansion should we want to add ufh in the future. have to admit that i liked him - he's local and said straight off that if we went for him, it wouldnt get done till end of September ish. So just waiting to get quote from him now. I did give him all the window/doors sizes and floor plan and he asked me to get an up to date EPC. The current one was presumably done when we bought the place in 2018. CVC got back to me but the quote was far more than the first quote without any deetails from us. So they are out of the running. Fingers crossed that the second guy gives a reasonable quote. 🤞

now we are very confused🤔. Hubby went over and stayed at the property, checking the Night suppy cable at various times. there was no power in the cable at 10pm nor 1.21am . However, when tested at 2.53am there was power! 😃 When fitted, the Octopus fitter said night period started at 1am. So thats strange it had not been on earlier. However, even stranger was around 9am when Mum rang to say they still had no hot water or heating - though we know the power was getting through at 2.53am. 😢 So is it a problem with the night circuit? We have someone coming on Monday to dead test. I am also going to ask him to connect the two units to the daytime supply and we'll just add timers where needed. Hubby came home at 3am so we dont know if it stayed on or turned straight off. I shall maybe stay there tonight and check it throughout the night.

the current windows do not have trickle vents and I would not want them in any replacements. we plan to add mvhr when we do the renovation in a couple of years. The bedroom windows front onto quite a busy road which for me means closed windows. My parents are both going deaf so its not a problem for them. I had planned to have the unit under the front bedroom window. But the company who gave the quote say the regs say it cannot go to the front of the building if it fronts a highway. however, looking at the regs, it says in the case of land, other than land within a conservation area or which is a World Heritage Site, the air source heat pump would be installed on a wall of a dwellinghouse or block of flats if— (i)that wall fronts a highway; and (ii)the air source heat pump would be installed on any part of that wall which is above the level of the ground floor storey. As ours will be on the ground, I read that under the front window would be acceptable. We are not planning ufh yet - thats for the renovation and then we'd have a utility room so hopefully the manifold would go in there? I believe there would be a buffer tank with the hwc. and that is all going into the cupboard in the centre of the bungalow, where the current heating system is. Once we get it removed. Still waiting for the 2 asbestos companies to reply to my enquiry. job for the morning - chase them up.

will get some photo's tomorrow of both consumer units and meter box so hopefully can see. Hubby seems to think there is no main switch/isolator in the meter cupboard.