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Thanks @Nickfromwales, I've not had any response yet. My plumber and I have roughly worked out a way to supply all rooms without the need for any pipes crossing over and now just need to accurately measure out the loops to see if it will work with the materials we've been supplied.

Just carried out a quick stock take of the goods we received and discovered a slight problem if we were indeed supposed to be able to follow the design given. Does anyone know of a way to make 100m pipe rolls (the longest we were given) cover distances of 104m, 113m or 117.9m or is this further indication of an error on behalf of Boulder Developments and/or their designer? Another pipe run is shown as 99.4m on the drawing; would you be happy to go for it with a 100m roll? If you didn't laugh, you'd cry!

I emailed Byron today asking him to reconsider his refusal of a refund as I maintain the plan is not fit for purpose. It is disappointing to be in this position as Boulder developments were recommended to me on Ebuild and as much as I would love to be able to recommend them to others, owing to the level of service received to date I simply couldn't. I hope they swallow their pride and offer a resolution, and will keep you all updated as to whether they apologise for the standard of design offered and offer a refund or whether they choose to stand over this design as the quality of service one should expect from Boulder Developments.

You seem to have a strong preference for the timber window Dave, so it would seem the short wait will be easier to swallow than potentially spending the rest of your days kicking yourself every time you walk past a PVC one.

@PeterW I requested the ground floor be split into 6 zones. @Nickfromwales The blue text in the OP was received today at 13.39, signed off by Byron and I have spoken with him on the phone several times in the last two days about it, so I would say he should be familiar enough with the matter. The list of issues is an excerpt from my email to him at 10.33 this morning, sent at his request for me to put my concerns in writing.

Latest fall out is with the supplier for our underfloor heating goods. In short, I paid a £210 design fee and am far from satisfied with the work produced and the supplier has failed to offer any revision in a week. As the materials were delivered yesterday and I have tradespeople queued up to go, rather than get locked in debate with them any further, I requested a refund of the fee today for the following reasons: 1. In the Lounge the pipes are shown as running straight through the chimney breast which cannot physically be done. 2. In the Utility Room the pipes are shown as running under the built in cabinetry; a practice that should be avoided to prevent damage to the units and/or any of their contents that may be affected by heat. 3. In the Boot Room the pipes are shown as running under the cabinetry where the sink is; best avoided as in point 2. 4. In the Guest Bedroom En Suite the pipes are shown as running under the shower tray; a practice that should be avoided to prevent the waste trap from being dried out, which would result in a smell coming from the drains. 5. In the Guest Bedroom a pipe is shown running through the exterior wall on the RHS where the window is located. This is not physically possible. 6. Where the Hall runs North-South on the plan the pipes supplying rooms off the hall are crossed in numerous places by the pipes shown as being laid to heat the Hall itself. The potential for undesired heat concentration and pipe damage in an area of high traffic could have been avoided had more care have been taken in creating the layout. Your suggestion to bury pipework in the insulation layer would create additional, unnecessary work and cost. 7. In the WC the pipes are shown running straight under the toilet, a practice that should be avoided as in point 4. 8. Where the Hall runs East-West to the Living Room every pipe supplying the Study, Living Room, Formal Dining Room and Kitchen is crossed by the pipes laid to heat the Hall itself. Best avoided and unnecessary as in point 6. 9. The pipes supplying the Kitchen are shown to cross every pipe run in the Living Room, another area of high traffic, being the main thoroughfare from the Hall to the Kitchen. Best avoided as in point 6. 10. In the Kitchen the pipes are shown as running under the island, best avoided as in point 2 and confirmed by the fact the pipes are not shown as running under the other cabinets in the Kitchen. 11. No provision has been made for heating to the Pantry, despite acknowledgement it was to be included in the plan on 20/06/16 and its inclusion in the final quote received on 22/06/16. 12. I have clearly stated that my preference for the layout in general was the "reverse inverted"/"counterflow"/"bifilar" design rather than the "meandering"/"parallel" design received as it is well documented to provide a more even spread of temperature across the floor; this has not been actioned. The response I received leaves me far from satisfied, but before I take the matter further I'd appreciate a reality check in case I have unrealistic expectations. Their response is below and the "design" in question is attached. Comments and feedback greatly appreciated. "The plan as requested and supplied is a special order and once started cannot be cancelled in retrospect or be refunded. It has been prepared by an experienced heating engineer with over 20 years experience. It is based on the limited information provided. It is to a standard that will enable any suitably experienced installer to ensure the heat outputs meet the required levels based on the information provided . It is not intended to be and cannot be, due to limited information, an installation instruction. On site considerations are always a factor of designs carried out in this way. The very nature of underfloor heating will require pipes to cross each other or go through rooms." FWIW, the supplier is one known, used and respected by some members here. Layout Plan - 180716.pdf

Cheers folks! There will be a bit more progress to report by the end of the week all being well :-) I initially spoke with David at Sun Renewables, but it was mostly Emer who did the rest, assisted in the early stages by Janine. Communication could be a bit hit and miss, which reminds me I need to chase up confirmation all our paperwork was accepted and the payments are all sorted. Hope you get something sorted!

Another small update as the contractors prepare for their July break. The plasterers have finished all but one wall inside and the kitchen has been completed. We've gone for a slightly different finish in this room, in keeping with the concept that it would have been a converted outbuilding. PV production remains fairly steady and we've almost reached 2000 exported units. All of the door furniture has been fitted to the garage doors and once the ground levels have been raised it should help to settle the building into its surroundings.

Hi Peter, they are the latest version of Sharp's 285W panels and were the best performing available at the time of purchase (according to my sums?). Cost for the 4kW system with Fronius inverter and wireless immersion device was £4850. The stonework was done using reclaimed fieldstone from the derelict cottage we pulled down at the other end of the field. There are a variety of colours, textures and shapes as you can see, but other than the fact it is indigenous to our area, I'm not actually sure what type of rock it is. Perhaps some type of basalt?! Some local stone suppliers and reclamation yards will sell it at about £40/tonne AFAIK. Hope that helps a little?

Thank you :-) The gullies weren't set when the guys were there to fit the downpipes and they wanted to make sure the lengths were right. I'm going to add another bracket about half way up each downpipe just to secure them against strong winds. There's been a little bit of progress in the kitchen again since it became weather tight and the beams have been added to the ceiling. I've also added a photo showing the front from the other end.

Thanks everyone, I'll check out the blogging section properly over the weekend Peter. Render is doing OK, I'll try to add a couple of photos I have on my phone? The garage doors were just fitted today and I've added a photo of the replacement French doors too.

Hi everyone, joining the ranks again having taken a bit of time out. Our build hasn't covered a lot of ground since the ebuild forum went down, but the pace is picking up again and hopefully in time I'll get my blog moved over along with some more up to date content. I hope all your projects, builds and planning battles are making positive progress and look forward to catching up with your stories soon. Best regards Michael