Bitpipe

So I'm now looking at what brand to order for the bathrooms, I need one each of 2.5m2, 3m2 and 4.5m2 mats. Going to go for a 100W system (100mm spacing) and did consider the loose wire but they look fussy to install. Is there any real difference between the value and mid-range systems that the UFH superstore stock? Haven't made a decision on thermostats either, could go for the budget white ones or go all out for the Heatmiser Neos and tie them into the main UFH controller using the hub, enabling wireless control - however this does add a few hundred pounds of cost. Also, any advice on what primer to use under the backer boards and on top of the levelling compound?

Webs, I know you have a challenging window design but for more traditional arrangements the best approach is to prevent the solar gain in the first place through shading. We specced recessed external blinds to our east windows and also put exterior blinds to the east and south velux and it's keeping the house cool at present. The effect of warm air is also really noticeable when a trade leaves a door open.

Just called Impey and they are pretty insistent that the order of laying should be backer board on adhesive flush to the wetroom former, then the membrane and then the UFH on top of this. However this does not feel intuitive as the UFH will then be 3mm proud of the deck - I guess the tiler could make up the deficit with adhesive. Would also need to replace the current 12mm ply with 9mm ply to reduce the level of the former and make it flush with the backer boards. Thoughts?

I'm no DIY expert but I did my own MVHR first fix install using BPC sourced materials - BPC are keenly priced and as there was some uncertainty on exactly where the distribution boxes would go, they sent additional steel and plastic ducting - in the end I used all 350m of flexi and just a few metres of the steel. Got it all in (just) ahead of electrical and plumbing first fix - some tight squeezes, especially where the ducts come together but it's pretty doable.

Nick, giving this a bounce as it was at the bottom of page 1. I currently have 12mm of exposed former (it's 22mm thick, same as is the OSB deck and is sitting on 12mm ply on joists plus additional noggins around its perimeter and along its centre) which is an allowance for adhesive (3mm) + backer board (6mm) + self adhesive UFH mat (3mm) = 12mm. So membrane could sail over all of this (using latex to fill the dips in the mat and bring it flush with the top of the wire) or the membrane could go under the matt (per the Impey recommendation) but then there will be a deficit on the rest of the floor.

I'm up for that approach but was warned that the heat does not spread far from the wire so there was the potential for warm and cold spots in the tiled floor. This is not a space heating solution but just to prevent cold feet.

100 Wm2 seems to be the minimum rating for electric UFH mats that I can find (although I've not looked that far aside from the UFH store). I'm relying on the thermostat to keep it low temp. The Impey installation guide suggests the inverse, tanking first and then UFH mat - although this is in reference to their own AquaMat system.

Thanks Nick Yes but I can take the former out and seal under it - not a big deal as it's only screwed onto the ply at present. That makes sense, if I'm buying 5m2 I may as well use it all as belt & braces. Now, given I'm having 6mm backer boards with a UFH mat on the top, how does that particular sandwich work? The UFH mat will be to the front of the shower (where the door is) but not to the side as there's a bath there. Guessing that it's floor / adhesive / boards / primer / membrane and then mat or are the mat and membrane incompatible?

Ply glued and screwed to the joists, tray just screwed down per installation instructions - it doesn't need Sikaflexed on to the ply, does it?

I don't have an issue in using the membrane if it's the right way to go but I only really need to cover the tray and a small area outside it (around 1m2) as we'll be using a shower screen so a bit galling to spend £250 on the 5m2 kit (their smallest) and toss most of it away Also we're using the AquaDec2 linear waste rather than the off-settable disk but I guess the principal is the same.

So we have our trays in - made the plumber follow your shower tray instructions to the letter and looks good. He was impressed at the method and use of Sikaflex vs standard silicone and the masking tape trick- says he'll do it this way from now on Impey wet-room former also in for the smaller shower, we removed the existing 22mm deck and laid a 12mm ply section - this will ensure the former is flush with the floor once the backer board and UFH matt is laid. The Impey installation instructions required the former to be screwed to the ply underneath - we did this and plugged each screw hole with Sikaflex before screwing in. Now need to decide on what additional tanking products I need - Jeremy kindly donated a 7.5m2 tub (which I initially used to do the shower tray perimeter prior to Sikaflexing it in) so I obviously need to get some of the perimeter strip. Impey assume that you use their wet-room membrane system to go on top of their former but I wasn't planning to do this as we're having a standard enclosure around it so should I paint the former with tanking compound (or around the screw heads at least)? They also advise that the top half of their two part sluice goes on top of the membrane when in-situ, but if we're not using the membrane, do we just assemble as normal?

We have gone with a traditional roller based mist and base coat as the decorator offering that option was 3-4k cheaper including supplying all paint and platforms etc.

We used ARK - was the best quote we saw and beat others by 40% odd. Even though we have a basement, timber frame etc, there was no issue.

I refuse to give in to dog requests as I know that I will become the default carer despite what the kids say ! We also have 6 chickens but they earn their keep in eggs and have no expectations of indoor living.

One other note about MB and RS, they appear to have dynamic pricing so there are small fluctuations up and down on a daily or hourly basis - I was pulling my hair out trying to keep my spreadsheet up to date. This was the euro pricing so couldn't be attributed to ex rates.

Now looking into alternatives such as Karndean or Amtico which are warmer underfoot than tile. Challenge is to separate the risk of cold feet vs actual space heating needs. The basement will contain a tv den / home cinema and the plant room with gas boiler and UVC so i expect there to be heat leakage from those elements, plus modest solar gain from the east and west lightwells (each 2m wide). It's hard to predict what it will feel like when we're done. I was in Tony's basement and it was very cosy with no heating whatsoever.

Currently in two minds over electric UFH in the basement - it's a large area (100m2), essentially 4 big square rooms. Always at a constant temperature. We have a passive slab/box arrangement as the walls and concrete are one structure with EPS under/around them. Wet UFH in the slab was not possible due to the high levels of rebar in there and I also did not want to be heating up the entire mass of concrete. We have UFH under the suspended timber ground floor. We made a last minute (i.e. plaster board was already up) decision to put UFH in the 3 first floor bathrooms and are now faced with the same decision for the basement - seems to be when plaster is hitting the walls that we finally move on something If I was using electric UFH, it would be on insulated tile backer boards (we're tiling the floor anyway) to ensure that we we're just warming the tiles themselves. and it would get us over the levelling issues that we potentially face. Cost (materials and labour) would be the main blocker, plus the need to retro-fit any electrical requirements into the walls where required. That said, I also don't want to lay 100m2 of tiles and feel that we've made a mistake. Hmmmmm

I couldn't get rid of our cat, she's the only one round here that doesn't talk back.

Careful Jack, I'm often told that our kids see how we treat our pets and treat us accordingly. Which is why when our cat's time comes, it will be off for the final trip of a lifetime to Vegas. Or so I'm telling the kids.

Hi Terry, I used to call their German number and asked if I could speak to someone in English (Koennen sie English sprechen bitte?) - I also have the email of an english speaker that I can share with you by PM. However, you should be able to do a dummy order and get accurate UK shipping costs when you go to the check out stage. When we were looking, I had a spreadsheet of the items and tracked prices from both Reuters and MB and also the stock availability. Reuters can often be cheaper than MB and stock allocation varies so you'll be wanting to prioritise the first fix items (Gebrit frames and iBoxes etc). Both firms let you save the basket which saves typing it all in again. Each have a discount system based on order value, MB's was keener than Reuters. MB will also let you split a delivery if you need immediate shipping of in stock items or you can wait for everything to come in and get it in one lump. Note, the courier (Dascher UK) will deliver by pallet truck and our first box was enormous and very heavy so we had to cover it in tarp to stop it getting wet until we had enough hands to empty it into the house.

I don't think the cardboard will survive Dave - our plasterer was fussy about the floor being uncluttered when he's using stilts (fair enough) and there is a lot of water slopping about so the board will get soggy and rip. 3mm Corex is much more robust but obviously not free!

Sadly the ground boxes only come in brown so will get coloured to match whatever colour we make the house plinth - was going for white but other half now looking at black PVC.

We bought 4 and it wasn't an issue for our plumber so I assume it either came with an adaptor or they had one.

Now that is content that needs copied over asap. We're putting our decidedly non passive cat flap (microchip enabled) in the well insulated garage so the cat has a refuge. She can come into the house by appointment. Actually what I need is a cat microchip enabled way of activating the doorbell so we know when to let her in.

You can see the box next to the utility door in the pics I uploaded to the soffit / fascia thread. Gas would appear to be one of those services where the meter needs to be very close to the house, lots of restrictions on the ducting also - worth a read of the national grid website.