zzPaulzz

FYI, I understand Norrsken have been bought by Viking now. Sales guy was fine with me, very responsive and knowledgeable. Ultimately it was the product that let them down. Weird how we have different experiences, feels like luck of the draw. Never came across Nordica! 21degrees have been good though also had pricing errors. It pays to look very closely at everything. Also have thick walls. They did tell me to reduce the frame height to allow for packing to create the fall. I didn’t think to ask them to increase the frame base height! Packing ranges from 6mm to 15mm depending on wall position. They offered to install but the travel distance made them £2k more expensive than a local installer. I might regret that saving if the windows don’t fit.

Exactly!

Yes, totally agree. I can only hope that the greed drives the industry to retrain and retool over the long term so that when the bucket is empty there's enough momentum to sustain the change.

I think this is what's galling me. I can buy the ASHP and tank for £5k. Add your £1.2k and I'm not far off the £6.9k the installer wants.. after the BUS grant. So I can only assume they pocket the grant as pure profit. I guess the sums still work for me, and I get a heat geek registered installer with service guarantee and less of a headache... so this is probably still the way I will go.

Maybe @Beau, though it's really hard to compare. My quote is £7k less but does not include rads and plumbing. Do you feel the extra work was worth £7k?

I agree with your point @Gus Potter I'm writing work packages at the moment and trying to paint as clear a picture as I'm able. I'm hoping this reduces the unknown details that cause the vendor to layer on contingency costs.

Mine is a new build. Just getting out of the ground so no plumber or sparky on site yet

@JohnMo That is so tempting, really.

I went for 21 Degrees. Other than Internorm they are the only vendor offering double weather seals on windows and doors. Unlike Internorm they also offer inward and outward opening doors. Norrsken were a close third but their doors only have single weather seals. NorDan likewise. Rational were good value but a step down in quality.

I posted my question to the FB Heat Geek group and two installers said they’d expect to charge £10-12k for the job before the BUS grant. Seems to be the going rate so at least I have some grounds to push back on my installer. He does seem to know his stuff though. I could go down the umbrella scheme route too. Where would I find such a scheme?

I admit I know nothing about the effort and additional costs involved with installing and commissioning an ASHP so bear with me if this question is stupid. For £5k (excl VAT) I can buy a Vaillant aroTherm plus 5kW and a pre-plumbed 250L cylinder. A local heating company wants £9400 to install and commission it (£6.9k after the BUS). Does that seem reasonable, allowing for a bit of profit? The ASHP will be installed outside my plant room and plumbed directly to the cylinder within the plant room and previously installed UFH, so a really simple install.

This is what UK Power Networks specified for the connection kiosk:

Thanks Nick! I was about to pay £300 more for the kiosk using a supplier proposed by UKPN. This one meets UKPN spec for my three phase 100A supply. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/193638966542

I'm probably doing the same. GRP kiosk with the DNO cutoff and a three phase meter. What size is your kiosk? Did you need ventilation?

I can’t afford to eat real food so I’ll have my gruel before we meet.

I apologise for hijacking this thread but couldn't find a good forum to ask. Does anyone have recommendations for a scaffolding company in our area? I've been quoted over £9k for 10 weeks of scaffolding around my build which seems steep!

That works for me. I’ll be the one obsessively clutching a roll of plans like a drowning man.

Sorry, I'm away on business that week.

I'm with you @G and J - I think I've driven my architect mad with all my revisions. I'm sure they'll have PTSD by the end of this process. Will share what he comes up with, though I hope he meant 'counterflow spiral'.

I finally found a local Heat Geek to take a look at my requirements. His feedback was: maybe use a 5kW ASHP to avoid being capped for DHW on colder days; use a design temp of -3º external and 21º internal; use a spiral pattern to avoid pressure losses caused by excessive bends. Apart from the last one, you guys called it first I'm now waiting for him to quote for me for the design and install. Feeling much more confident. Thanks!

It was all great feedback, I really appreciated it.

Regarding the slab design, this was really stressing me but I've decided to go with my SE's design. I don't want to reopen that debate, sorry.

Clay and lots of trees. 450mm ring all the way around and through the middle too.. Some might say the SE was hedging their bets.

That's a nice strategy. Will mull that over.

Sorry Nick, what is a 'UVC'?