Adam2

Yes probably will be OK I guess with the auto balance actuators

To be clear pump is at each manifold. Understand the point re buffer temp needing (generally) to be higher than target flow temp but you can still do this with blending at the buffer ? The issue I suppose could be that with the manifolds serving floors greatly differing in size maybe having higher temp on larger floors would be better? Also keen not to have similar issue to @joe90 as have a similar setup though not with single temp issue

We're looking at the shower options and curious about the huge price differences between things like this Milan option from Victorian vs the Grohe equivalents which are 3 x the cost. Is there a good reason for the price differential? Is the grohe one much better at regulating temperature e.g. if the flow rate changes due to other water usage in the house? Looking at contemporary shower options - overhead rainfall and maybe side accessory spray but not on a rail.

Well this is most fortunate timing for me ? I've got my Wunda UFH pipes in + screeded with the manifolds (4 manifolds, 1 per floor) and am about to press the button on the Cool Energy ASHP package. Keen not to make any mistakes and have a friend as the plumber + an experienced ASHP install company recommended by Cool Energy so feel should work out OK. BUT - my plumber has suggested doing away with the blending valve at each manifold as he thinks this could be done more simply from the buffer so supplying all manifolds with ~35 degree water (will experiment of course with precise temp). I'm away at the moment, suffering 30 degrees in central america (someone has to) so have this suggested change from my wife but will try and chat with the plumber in the next day or so. My assumption is that the returns will go direct back into the buffer and the supply will be set to a common temp just after the buffer. Given this interesting thread - is there anything I should be wary of in this simplification that's been suggested?

just in case you're not aware (or others reading this later) you need to use a non-solvent based product if applying on the EPS, eg the Triton product TT something which is a paint on waterproofing barrier as used by a few on here with ICF builds. Though I don't know if the BBA cert for any of them would cover use in this specific scenario.

Really with just 1 course of ICF below ground you have some options to ensure all is ok with no dramas and I expect with no warranty issues. All compared to those with a basement or 2 that have bigger risk. You'll be fine ?

So we really really wanted a door like the pic below and a double garage door to match. The view of our house from the street is largely the garage and the house is built down a hill so looks fairly modest from the front so we wanted to hint at what lies behind the facade. We can get the front door like the below image but getting the company to do panels to apply to either a sectional or up & over door is proving somewhat excessive on the budget! Especially as the garage door has to be industrial to take the weight! (note it is iron paint applied to wood not actual iron!) So looking at other ways to achieve this and saw the video below from an Aussie company. Has anyone tried applying this kind of treatment to wood? I can get hold of Tricoya which is apparently the go-to base for this. May try and get some samples of the paint etc to see how it goes ? But would be good to hear if any artistic types have done something similar.

Not sure what your Concrete plant will batch at, mine wouldn't at -6 so that may be more of an issue.

As above, warranty provider is key. Ours (Nudura) on a concrete slab with raised section under walls to help restrict water ingress and also helps keep water bar above any standing water. Just keep scaffold boards or something else in top of walls and maybe a few drainage holes if you think needed at wall base and don't forget to fill later ?. Also used waterproof concrete all from BASF. Seems to work so far ? I don't think Sika will warranty for ICF any more.

Shouldn't the bottom of each coil be indicated as an output? You could test having UFH off and see how long the buffer takes to reach temp, possibly setting same ASHP temp as for DHW and see if it seems comparable given the volume differences

Thanks yes agree re carpet tiles

When doing the deal we said we were in no rush to buy and said would be 1y+ but that was of course before covid so inevitably things took longer. We did pay a decent deposit and I don't think there is a minimum time from deposit to install in the contract so not sure what else they could have done. We finalised details in survey 4-5 months ago but they had a delay their side due to the anodising apparently so I guess that compounded the time delay - well that and meant I had to pay to cover up all the openings so we could continue working inside....

Yes that's the default choice but in the past I've had this and it's a bit of a dust trap and hard to keep looking nice and also not very nice to look at/only in black hence trying to find a suitable alternative

Cheers @Iceverge I think that will be a bit of fun after windows are in ?

Not sur really - this LVT is v new to me - I only have bad distant memories of dodgy kitchen lino! The floor base is a liquid screed and appears very flat though I can check it out and maybe a 10mm levelling screed could help even up the thicknesses between LVT and the tiles in other area.

@CotswoldDoItUpper I'm also looking at PV, was putting it off as too long a RoI but with prices of energy going up seems to make more sense now. I was starting to look at sourcing parts etc like mentioned above but stumbled across this kit which looks good to me. It doesn't use micro-inverters so will not be great if you have shading but for me it looks alright as my roof is clear of shading so may go with this - well a variation on it to have an adjustable angle for the panels. In that kit the panels could include the Jinko 325W all black panels so 12 panels would get you a 3900kW setup. Looks OK to me as 2400 ex VAT I'm happy with an RoI - we also have an EV, both work at home, have an ASHP so will have plenty of ability to use day time generation.

We paid a deposit on our glazing ~90m2 which includes 3 large sliding doors about 2 years ago! We of course never expected we'd not have it installed yet! A few things: 1) We paid the deposit across 3 credit cards to ensure we had "insurance" in the event of the company failing before installation 2) We negotiated a discount which we ensured was adhered to when we inevitably tweaked some design elements 3) We detailed the installation aspects and sill sizes to avoid add-ons later on Given current pricing we're happy with this and pleased to say company is still in business and we're getting them installed later this month

Looking into flooring options for room that is approx a 4m x 7m rectangle that will be shared use as a study & gym. probably 1/3 as study area. For the study space I was planning on porcelain tiles to match other rooms (~20mm total thickness inc adhesive). For the gym area I'm not sure what to do. There will be a mix of equipment, rowing erg, bike, weights rack etc. I hadn't considered LVT previously but this seems to be gaining in popularity. It does seem to be a bit thin though and may mark with the weight of equipment? I guess I could use some additional rubber matting below the weight rack area to avoid damage. I'm quite liking the LVT idea as could easily (?) replace any damaged sections, easy to clean and may provide some minor cushioning + lots of style choice. A few questions 1) Floor base is concrete + UFH in a 55mm cement based liquid screed - do you just apply the LVT direct to the screed or is there a separate layer? A separate layer may help make up the height difference with the adjacent tiles but would of course add to cost 2) Can you get thick LVT I can only seem to find up to 8mm thick 3) Is this OK over UFH in a screed?

We've got our roof on and have windows being installed later this month - the installation includes air-tightness tape inside + outside so am expecting this to be pretty effective. House is ICF and we've applied tape around roof connections to walls - hope/anticipate that the main the walls/floor junctions will be fine. Trouble is that we have 3 doors inc the main entrance area (2m x 2.6m) areas that we won't have installed for some months yet but I'd like to see how the air-tightness is shaping up before we put up the plasterboard and if we have issue we can try and resolve while it's relatively accessible. Is it feasible to do this type of testing when our windows are in but with doors missing? At the moment we have OSB over door openings - would it be sufficient to apply air-tightness tape around these or is OSB air permeable? Any idea on cost for this kind of testing? - am in Dorset

you may find that options will depend on local supplies, it was easier for me to get Longfloor - I was initialling looking at Cemfloor. The installer says Longfloor is what they mainly used as plant was only 20 mins away whereas Cemfloor was 1.5hr and they preferred less time in transit. Outcome is pretty good - couple of minor cracks - we poured about 16m3. Regarding cracks, they will use crack inducers but generally not as they usually result in some lipping at the inducer location apparently. They will come back and inspect in a few weeks and fill anything over 2mm. Depth wise - on my concrete slab bases we went with 50mm/55mm as they were pretty true. On the upper floors with precast planks I thought we should go with 65mm to be sure of pipe cover BUT in fact we used dried sand under the insulation (25mm) to ensure no voids which meant the insulation was very flat so could have gone with less. Longfloor & Cemfloor both being cementious screeds. On our pour day we had the bonus of the plant boss + the longfloor rep being there to do some videos - if this wasn't done right it never will be!

Yes agree re a water resistant panel. Good luck, can't wait to see the results, may inspire me ? Worst case can always put another panel over the top!

I'm also considering a Cool Energy ASHP - the larger one. Hopefully they will be around to honour the warranty! I notice you've mentioned pumping to showers - what is the setup you're having there? I ask as I have 3bar where my UVC will be but most important shower is 2 floors up so may lose 1bar+ on the journey up and thinking what to do to ensure good shower performance.

hi @SimonD how did you get on? My neighbour has been using microcement for some tables and a desk - looking really good and doesn't seem very challenging to apply - he was applying to MDF panels. Are you using a waterproof product to build or applying a coating after? I'd be worried about a coating due to possible gaps and then subsequent wear on the surface.

@MJNewton thanks for the suggestion. Not looked at Shelly much - main HA is Zwave based so could use a Fibaro relay here, presumably load is pretty small as it's just a trigger not running the MVHR. This approach could be a good option for future HA enhancement - eg adding boost from non-switched areas like WCs. For this to work then I'd wire the 3 switches in parallel connect to the input on the HA relay and have the switched live output connect into the boost input cable for the MVHR? The HA I could program to provide a timed output which I could easily change and no issues with signal as all wired! nice

Nice to be well informed when I speak with my sparky. Yes I think for HA this will provide a simple solution. Will save my HA excitement for my motion sensor to trigger a welcome message for my wife and request a nice cup of coffee in the morning ?