Adam2

yes will try that also. I see the same co does a simpler version which looks like a good replacement for my Wunda which has 0.2 degree differential vs Wunda 0.5. Will get one to test on 26 quid

Hi - UFH has been in and working great. Only issue is that the UFH is in liquid screed (50-75mm thick) and the Wunda stats only have a 0.5 min temp differential meaning if I set 22 degrees UFH will come on at 21.5 and stay on until 22.5. SAs we're running low temp ~32 degrees by the time the UFH comes on and we notice a difference it could be 3hrs later by which time it is much below 21.5. And of course the stat will stop UFH flow at 22.5 and then there is a lot of heat still in the slab so we overshoot desired temp. This is of course not a big deal in the scheme of things but I am wondering if I could swap out some of the stats for more sensitive controllers - I called Wunda and they say the ones I have can't be adjusted to be more sensitive (I already read the manual but hoped there may be a trick as the temp reading is per 0.1 degree granularity). I have 1-0 of these but at least hey are all in the plant room so swapping one out to test is quite easy. Other aspects to consider ASHP and wired temp probes in walls within a vented panel. I do have a home automation system running (Hubitat/Zwave) which I could possibly start to use to support this and maybe could have saved money by not having the stats/temp probes in the first place but I like the idea of the UFH being modular and just left to do its own thing without extra integrations. Thanks for any suggestions.

Our dog is quite excited by ham at Christmas + my daughter will need locking away from it 🙂

Thanks for the additional valuable comments 🙂 Yes @Pocster one day the room will exist, complete with lovely contents, maybe if in time also an iberico leg for crimbo - iris recognition, if you're too drink maybe you'll get blocked 🙂

Nice - could be great, see they have a few options to consider and some v quiet. Min temp is 17 or 18 on ones I looked at but if they can maintain that think I'd go with the easier install as that temp should be sufficient for my needs.

Well I have the space so going down through 300 to 350mm reinforced concrete and our waterproof membrane gives me a bad feeling just writing about it 🤣

Facing NW issue though is when outside temp is 20+ hence need to have some kind of chiller unit. The room is I reckon about 8m3 so pretty small. I guess a cheap AC unit could do this if the control unit goes down to 15 deg. Would want one that is pretty quiet inside and out though. Also not sure if need planning approval for one as have an ashp on other side of house already....

To keep us from going to the offy too much we planned to have a large under-stairs area as a wine room and looking for any clever suggestions on how best to cool this. The area is approx 1.7m deep 2.5m wide and sloped ceiling going from about 2.5m down to 1m. We installed a lot of insulation in walls and ceiling and no UFH of course in that area. The back wall is an outside wall partially below ground and there is no direct sunlight externally or internally into this area. We plan on the front being triple glazed units in a wood frame with PIR installed in any cavities. Idea is to make the door as well sealed as possible so may need a small threshold to optimise this. Target temp will be ~15 degrees and max ambient temp in peak of summer will be about 26 degrees. It's OK if we break the target a little in a few days in the summer - though we plan to mitigate the internal heat with some external shading on the worst days. I'm expecting to use a split AC type unit but looking at "specialist" wine room coolers they get quite pricey, especially compared to regular AC units. Appreciate the specialist ones sometimes also control humidity which I may need to measure and implement some kind of different solution for if I find it is way off. I've seen simple solutions like this which may be too cheap - no idea. Though a single unit I guess is going to be a bit louder inside than a split unit. The internal part does not need to be pretty as can hide the front with a mesh cover and put in a cupboard. Appreciate thoughts on this - not sure what capacity unit I need, would regular AC units be able to maintain a 15 deg temp without working non-stop if not accessed too much? Anyone done something similar?

Just installing "soaker hose" circuits connected to a manifold which runs off a v simple timer type unit. There is also a rain sensor that will skip the watering if it has sufficient rain. Products I used are the hose and clips etc from site linked earlier and Claber controller from easygardenirrigation seems OK - can add slightly bigger holes in key locations if needed but be v careful as a small hole still leaks a lot so think needle not anything bigger. The soaker hose I first got was really durable but same order 1 yr later the hose has a thinner wall thickness for same diameter I used regular hose to connect from manifold to the soaker hose so it starts soaking where needed. For a large garden, may need to have separate circuits in different times to get the required water output which may mean a smarter control system or maybe 2 of the ones I mentioned but set to run at different times (they are cheap and run off batteries so easy install)

Re the steel - we had an issue with an inconsistency between the architect's drawings (30min protection) and some accompanying notes (60 mins). The 60 was apparently stipulated by BCO based on the 4 floor house design (on a hill). I didn't notice the notes bit and had 30 min paint applied. Sh1t hits the fan - architect contracts a fire guru to write a report saying it is OK.... this may be an option for you, at least worth a look. In my case BCO would not accept the boarded/skimmed ceiling below steels with 30 min paint protection was OK as it wasn't a tested "system" - which I can understand and they just want someone else to have the claim that will never happen on their PI insurance I suspect

Ahh I just realised that my search on this topic was not successful on here as I used the singular "pedestal" which didn't find the plural which was used much more! Anyway, have a load of pedestals and cracking on. I bought the extra self-adjusting heads but not sure I really like them as they introduce a small amount of movement when you walk over them. I'm using them on a 3mm rubber mat which sits on a single ply membrane over the EPS all installed to a slight fall. Any thoughts if using these without the self-leveling head is a real issue - looks like there's plenty of material to absorb the level change??? For now I've just replaced 10 pedestals so I have 2 areas and will keep walking on them both to see if I'm imagining the differences 🙂

Well research leads me to these as looking like OK value and reasonably substantial. Plan to use a thin rubber mat underneath each to further protect the single ply membrane.

Need to buy a lot of these so interesting to hear any good products you've used and prices if poss. To be used on sloping terraces over single ply membrane which is laid to a fall. Probably looking like the articulating ones but not 100% sure they are needed

Not sure if right area of forum... Building a waterfall type water feature - using large format tiles 2.5m high and 1m wide, 2 of these side by side. There's a waterfall 1.2m wide reservoir with blade going through a letterbox cutout in the middle of the tiles. So far we're building the supporting frame and have a waterfall I'm looking for advice on the other bits I'll need: Pump - to lift to 2.5m hose splitter to feed into the 3 inlets at the top a hose to waterfall connector - these need a 30mm o/d male fitting but I can't seem to find this So any recommendations on reliable pumps and thoughts on the ~30mm fitting appreciated - not sure if there is an imperial size that is needed (have also asked waterfall vendor but awaiting response). cheers

Well we do have a couple of steels in the roof so may look at the plans and see if we could use them to then build a frame from (using Nicholson type robust waterproofing detail).

We were all set on solar on our flat roof (single ply membrane on insulation on ply) but having experienced 90 mph winds last winter (on top of a hill facing SW with not much between us and the sea) I think really we should have put in some structural elements to fix through into before the roof went on. For us now the risk of either roof damage or worse of a panel lift up isn't balanced by the ROI in 5 or so years (depending on impact of various "special operations")! We pre-planned lots of important aspects but this is one that got away! So just a word of caution for people in exposed locations with a similar thought and time to plan.

Ok thanks will check on that.

Have a couple of nuaire mvhr units and looking at upgrading filters. Would this be suitable to attach into the existing frames? If not any links appreciated.

Gone with 50mm bricks to make up the top course as couldn't find anything else at short notice

Yes will be rendered. Inside was planning thick plastic sheeting +/- the same kind of membrane we used on our basement waterproofing to stop the water / dampness affecting the render. I wanted specifically to know if there are any kind of blocks - or other ideas to get a sloped internal edge to the top course

Planning to make some planters (well design them!) for the front of our house about 650mm high with a planting area about 300 wide. What thickness blocks should we use for the planters? I was thinking bottom 2 courses could be regular 100mm thick blocks and top course could be 50mm thick to give a nicer look (level on outside but wider planting space in inside). We'll then render the outside of the blocks and line with thick plastic sheeting. Are there any kind of blocks designed with sloping top edges that could provide an even narrower top edge say 20mm that slopes inwards? Have had a google but nothing yet

Another nice option for large format tiles is Coverlam. We have some pretty amazing bathroom tiles (3m x 1.2m) Palisandro and corinto from this page - look stunning. Small orders will be expensive due to shipping from Spain in a big pallet but not too bad if buying a few

I too wondered that and suggested not including it but the rationale I believe was to allow faster heating response times in the floor above the UFH by not loosing heat into the concrete floor below the screed containing the UFH pipes - we have 150mm concrete planks. If you have an incredibly low rate of temp change which is more or less uniform across the building then maybe the heat transfer to the B&B would not matter very much so you could save money and headroom 🙂 In the end we put in 25mm and we will never know if this helps or not 🙂 @MMcGill I don't see any real benefit in option 2 - by the time the insulation works it'll be after the heat has passed down through the beam + block floor. It would of course stop some heat transfer to upper floors but that's not I believe the intention of insulating under the UFH. Not sure what thickness insulation you were planning on using on the upper floors?

Is all resin paint equal ? Resin Coat seems to have a 50% off deal (maybe like a DFS sale?).

@saveasteading OMG yes yes yes. That way concrete can be thicker and can go with that which will save money and painting in epoxy paint will be cheaper than tiles. Made my day 😃😃😃😃