Bitpipe

Thanks, all three of the larger vendors I've just used came back with VAT invoices, key is remembering to ask!

I'm starting to buy quite a few more expensive bits and pieces from larger eBay vendors (such as UFH materials) and realised that the receipts never show VAT - I'm now contacting each supplier in advance (and chasing those already ordered from) to request a VAT receipt for eligible items. Anyone else had success with this approach?

We have small expansion gaps in the parapets and in the longer soffit / fascia/ guttering runs of alu, they put a small pieces of offcuts behind them to make it less obvious.

So when do you head to the bingo then?

Nick, how you relax on a Friday night is up to you.

We fixed it today and two connectors were definitely required to get two straight connections. Offered up just the one initially for curiosity and the O-ring was definitely not sitting flat on the fitting. Pressure tested using our incoming mains (more that 3 bar) for an hour and dry as a bone so re-laid the floor and all ready for resin on Monday. Thanks for all the help and to Jeremy for kindly supplying the connectors.

In a word, yes. See what you have got before you make any final decisions. Not sure if detailed architectural drawings will help, and I'd advise against ordering off plan, measure the actual build. Most of the alu will be stock lengths and powder coating will take a few days. Our guy was on the roof as the scaffolding was coming down around him (I had warned him) and he did all the rest on ladders. Would advise on getting a supply and fit quote as well as supply only (and DIY) it is a fiddly business and 'on show' so make sure you know what you're taking on

I got quotes from Guttercrest and others off plan initially but the guy I used (Essex based so bit far for you!) came to measure up as well. I was surprised how much on site work was required to get everything fitted - even though the MBC houses are pretty square etc, there were a lot of cuts. Box ends, where barge, soffits & fasica meet were templated and fabed off site. All other angles were mitered on site - could probably have got them welded also at extra cost. If you buy from Guttercrest, keep in mind that they sell stock lengths so there will still be plenty of on site work.

I'd say about 2-3 solid days spread over a few weeks. A bit of pencil chewing along the way to decide plenum positions and duct routes etc. If you have a mate to help with the ducting then it will go faster as quite often the duct gets snagged on the joist webs or struggles around a sharp bend and needs a shove from behind as well as a pull. I put the plenums in first - save all your 50mm batten off-cuts as these are very useful to fix to the top chord of the joist and then fix the plenum to these. You may need to angle them to go through the webs. Give some thought to where downlights will be and make sure you don't foul their locations, if in doubt, locate the plenum further away from the distribution box as it's easy to shorten the duct but hard to extend it. When I'd done this I started running duct from the distribution box area to the plenums, leaving plenty of excess at the box end. I then made the connections at the box - this was the trickiest bit as it got very tight, there was a bit of fiddling with the duct runs too to get them to lay flat against each other as much as possible. I also got all the radial steel duct through the walls ahead of insulation pumping and rendering the outside - the MBC boys did this as a favour. By comparison, the steel ducting is easy enough to work with (buy a cheap jigsaw from Screwfix and a few metal blades) although the insulation used to wrap it is pretty itchy stuff. I made sure to dry fit each section with duct tape to get the bends correctly aligned before glueing and taping. Just the last few runs to the unit itself to do but this is a second fix job! I have loads of 180mm steel radial and quite a few 90 bends, tape, insulation etc left over but used almost all 350m of the duct.

Spoke to a few of the ebay merchants, they only warranty the mats themselves not any consequential damage, which is not a surprise given their low cost. Looking at this 100W system http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390978420207?var=660485134447 as the one you suggested only goes down to 150W.

+ 1 for Byron at Boulder. We sourced our UFH pipe from him and he's also doing the pump and manifold etc, also supports low temp mixing valve.

I've just discovered Quidco and they give a 2-3% cash back discount for Screwfix, Underfloor heating store and many, many more online stores, even the obscure place I bought our illuminated bathroom mirrors from. This is in addition to any cashback you get through your credit card. Easy to register and you just need to click through to the site via quidco to get the cash back. Kicking myself somewhat as there's more than a few quid that I would have saved over the last 12 months but better late than never! I got a Howdens account just by turning up (looking suitable scruffy).

Just met with a tiler who will do the backer board, UFH and tanking as part of the tiling job so I think I will extricate myself from that and leave it to the professionals Just need to make a call on the system - leaning to ebay mats and decent thermostats.

Ah, I'd missed your earlier post with the full story - found another brand on ebay that do 100W systems - will give them a call on their warranty. I'll be laytexing over the mats so can check with the multimeter after that, before any tiles go down.

But if it dies after laying the tiles, do the cover the cost of replacing those?

Thanks all - to be fair, he did use a circular saw with depth stop up to that point but needed the multi tool to just get the last cut in. He was very sheepish as he'd been so careful to avoid the pipes while laying the floor. Anyway, these things happen. The affected area is accessible from underneath as it's just above where we'll be putting some alcove cupboards in the basement, that said do I still need to use two two as that will mean lifting more of the floor. Is this a job to get the plumber out for?

Long story short - joiner laid the plywood sub floor above the OSB in readiness for the resin pour next week. One layer of 9mm glued & screwed with 12mm laid on top. We then discovered a squeak which we investigated today by lifting the ply in the affected area. Looks like the OSB is moving slightly against the joist, it did get wet when exposed over winter. Anyway, that's not the pressing issue! Some of the UFH pipes come above the OSB (to allow them to return over the pozi joists) and one got scratched with a multitool Looks superficial and only the outer layer seems to be scratched not the alu underneath but want to take the correct remedial action none the less. So what to do? I have a bunch of the 16mm->15mm converters so could patch with a short piece of copper, or is there a better approach. Or am I just being paranoid and is it best left alone..? Need to decide quickly as we need to relay the sub floor.

The Ebay system is 150W so more higher than I'd like. Question is really peace of mind and warranty - although whether those are worth the paper they're written on!

We have the same dilemma, current BT comes overheard off pole on opposite side of lane, we redirected the old house connection to the site office prior to demolition (that was a saga in itself). At that time, I asked the OR engineer whether, when it came to new house reconnection time, would they pull through a duct if one were to appear next to the pole. He said that it would be no issue, but it would need to be right next to the pole. While doing the groundworks, we had grey BT duct run from above the basement plant room to the perimeter of the property opposite the pole with a draw string. We've also put in provision for roof level BT termination. Now that we're getting the final groundworks quoted, we've asked for a price to go across the road to the pole. Only issue is that it is in the neighbour's verge - one who has never spoken to us in 5 years, it's in-front of his fence but surrounded by hedging that he maintains, so not clear whether we can dig up next to the pole without his permission.

Hmm, the ebay stuff is half the price... tempted!

And any thoughts on the difference between the mats themselves? I'm inclined to go for an all Prowarm system as the cost differential is pretty small.

Thanks Nick, I found them on-line but they look to be trade only, I might be able to get an account out of them. What quantity would I need to do the various stages of the 3 bathrooms (3, 5 and 7 m2)?

Would this do the job?

Thanks - and any advice on the mats themselves? There's about £70 difference (less when I add the Quidco cash back and remove VAT) for all three mats between mid-range Prowarm and the cheaper Thermoflex. The latter is marginally thicker 3.5mm vs 3mm.

Thanks Nick, UFH SS do offer all-in kits with primer, roller etc but the thermostats are pretty basic so would rather pick it up separately. Just remind me how many times I need to use primer - on the OSB, again on the backer boards and again on the latex prior to doing the membrane? For the standard bathrooms, do I need to prime the latex before the tiler starts their work or leave it to them?