mickeych

We had chosen to use 2 Nuaire MrBox ECO units with the built in actuators in to keep the amount of ducting to a minimum. Due to a mix up with the installer when we were installing the second unit we realised that we needed an Opposite Hand version of the unit. We contacted the distributor (Fastlec) who told us that there would be a 30% handling fee to swap the unit we had for a correct one. After some to and fro with them negotiating with Nuaire this was reduced down to 20% (£600) as a handling fee (even though we also have to ship it back to them at a cost of £200. Am I being naive to think that, at best, this is rubbish customer service and at worst sharp practise? 2 quick lessons from this: 1. Double and triple check which way you need your ducting. 2. Don't use Nuaire unless you really have too!

I'm also getting close to the reclaim process. A couple of questions. Our build is a barn conversion that has to be invoiced at 5% and then the 5% is reclaimed. We have been working on a cost plus basis with a main contractor who has invoiced VAT at 5% every month. He has provided every invoice that he has paid over the course of the build to substantiate the costs. Does anyone know if I can just submit the main contractors monthly bill or will I need to enter in the invoices that the main contractor has paid (which were invoiced to him not me).

I bought an ex-hire mobile welfare unit from auction and it has been a lifesaver. No need to hire a toilet, (for 15 months) a place for the guys to have some lunch other than their vans, and the gene coped perfectly for the 4 or 5 1/2 days of power outages that we have had since we started where the crew have have run lights and a number of power tools off (not sure how if it really is only charging the battery?) Admittedly after 15 months of 6-8 people on site each day, the toilet door is falllng off and the seating area is now being used to store the guys tools, but even that has been a blessing. Once we have finished in about 3 months, I'll have it serviced (and the door mended!) and resell it for what I paid for it (i hope!)

We've got a total of around 250sqm of internal and external tiling to do and my contractor is wanting to sub it out to his chosen team. They will no doubt be top notch and efficient, but they come at a high price plus we pay our contractor a management fee on top so this really starts to rack up. Does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions as to an appropriate cost for a team of tilers to come in and blitz this place in March? We have tiles but will need de-coupling mat, adhesive and grout to be supplied (or we can order)

Agreed - most of the suppliers give it fancy names like Aragon, or Castille. £60/M for 'real' Portland stone sounds like a steel though

I'll agree with that.

Ditto

You are right Alan. I made an initial payment of 10% as a deposit back in May and then a 25% of the total fee in September for the purchase of materials for an install (UFH, ASHP, 2xMVHR) due to have started in October. You are also correct about the subtlety of this. I am trying to work with the founder on a personal basis to resolve things amicably. Given the choice I would not have done this, but I cannot afford to lose such a significant chunk of money from the budget.

That makes sense. We have one consumer unit in the kitchen/breakfast area and the other covering the bedroom and living area (including the ASHP) so it probably makes most sense to fit a battery in this area as it also has it's own HWC as well as fridge freezers etc. If we really needed to, we could run power to the tanking pump near the living area) via an extension lead.

OK I think that I understand about the slab. So in effect if we heat up the slab at night and it depletes too much during the day we will end up having to run it longer to catch up? We've got 2 CU's one each end of the house and based on modelling, we will only need 2 phases at maximum load at any time (so probably not getting close in real terms!) There is room inside at/near both CU's for a battery as we have plant areas at both. Assuming that since the delivery of electricity from the line in will be AC then it makes sense to go AC (or does this have an impact on our future desire to add solar which may be DC!?) I like the Givenergy units as they were recomended by others, am I right in thinking that many batteries have limitations on the capacity to provide power?

Very interested in this discussion as I am going through the process of including batteries in the energy setup in our build. We have a 3 phase supply but don't currently have solar, although it is planned for longer term, and we expect to use the ASHP to heat the slab and HWC for water at low cost overnight. Working from home continuously using electricity (no gas) and with a fair number of power outages (around 5-6 per year up to 8 hours), with tanking pumps that need to be available in poor weather and with the drop in battery costs, we are looking at the option of including a battery backup. Questions that come to mind: 1. What spec should I really be looking at to deal with the 3 phase? 2. Where should it be located? 3. Do we need an inverter (we are not intending to export it back into the grid at this point) 4. If we are looking at 'whole of house supply' replacement from a battery is this a) unrealistic, b)ridiculously expensive, c) unduly complex - or all 3!😉

With all the rain we have had over the last few days there seems to be a lot of water on our site (again!) Glazing is mostly in and we are insulating the warm roof and floor before adding the DPM and screed. I'm interested in some thoughts on where we are seeing damp appear and how we best deal with it: There seems to be a lot of water on top of the waterproof membrane we have in place (the building has been tanked) - Waterproofing company suggests that this is condensation and have pointed out that we have no water under the membrane so it has to be coming from above. The Builder, (reliable and very capable) also independently suggested condensation although there does appear to be a lot. There does appear to be condensation on the backside of the Cellatex, but the water is only on 1 side of the building which if it is condensation is strange. Am I missing something? What do others think? We also seem to have ingress between the natural stone gable end of the original old barn and the new stone roof of the attached rebuilt stone byre which makes up our kitchen and utility. The builder reckons that the water is tracking down through the lime mortar joints and running down the internal wall between the old and new. His solution is to seal up the stone and mortar with a sealant that will need to be reapplied every few years... This doesn't seem like a great plan, but are what do others think and what are the options on something like this?

Just heard that Air Craft who are based in Chichester and have a stand at the NHBC are going into administration. If, (like us) you have paid them a deposit for an install via a bank transfer you are likely to lose all the money. Lesson to all - pay any deposits on Credit card and benefit from protection under the Consumer Credit Act Section 75.

Does anyone have any experience of installing a fire escape window from a 1st floor bedroom without a window into the ground floor kitchen/breakfast room as an escape route. We have a listed building which we can't get permission for an external window for the bedroom, but we do have permission to create an opening between the bedroom and the kitchen (originally intended as an ensuite). The Fire Engineer seems to think that this might work as the height between an escape window in the bedroom and the kitchen is 2M. There are other means of escape, through another bedroom window (over a non-securable landing) or down the main stairs, and we have agreed to automatic venting through the rooflights and an upgraded alarm system, but the question is whether anyone else has experience of an odd situation like this? I am suspecting that it will come down to BC and how they are feeling about it, but has anyone had any similar experience?

We haven't designed in a specific level of air-tightness to this old stone barn conversion and the target was initially 'just lower than 5,' but we are sold on centralised MVHR for air quality and was hoping for some HR. But reading the advice regarding HR and airtightness correlation, I am thinking that we need to revisit our levels of airtightness. Is it worth trying to improve airtightness with https://www.aerobarrieruk.co.uk/ or is it unlikely to make a huge difference long term?