jack

Welcome to BuildHub. I get the impression that a lot of members don't check the Introduce Yourself forum, and/or stick to sub-forums that interest them. You're therefore going to increase your chances if you ask your question in the MVHR sub-forum: https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/forum/79-mechanical-ventilation-with-heat-recovery-mvhr/ Good luck.

@alfaTom, would you mind if I moved this post to the relevant sub-forum (probably https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/forum/73-foundations/)? As @Gus Potter says, there's a lot of useful information in it, and it's likely to get lost in the Introduce Yourself sub-forum. Thanks.

Welcome to BuildHub @Accent Have you tried searching the forum for Nulok, ordered by most recent posts? It doesn't look like there's been a lot posted about the system in the last couple of years: https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/search/?q=nulok&quick=1&updated_after=any&sortby=newest

Hi Gary. A lot of members don't read the Introduce Yourself section, so you'll get a better response posting in one of the building-related sub-forums. I can move this post for you, but I'm not sure what sub-forum best suits your question. If you'll mostly be doing renovations and extensions, then https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/forum/60-house-extensions-conservatories might suit. One of the construction type sub-forums might do if you plan to be sticking to one of those: https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/forum/24-house-construction/ The Project and Site Management or Building Regs forums might also suit: https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/forum/19-design-architecture/ Let me know which you prefer and I'll move this post there (a link will stay in the Introduce Yourself sub-forum for 30 days).

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum. Thanks for not just plonking down your question in the Introduce Yourself forum. What sort of suggestions are you looking for? How to find a main contractor who'll work with the housebuilder you've likely chosen? If so, then "Project and Site Management" is probably the most appropriate subforum: https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/forum/105-project-site-management/ If you're looking for other suggestions, give us some more detail and we'll sort out the best subforum to post them in.

We considered this but never got around to implementing it. Would have been great for rinsing the dog down. Another thing to consider is a softened water tap if you wash your car a lot (not really a problem we face!) Also consider adding internal stopcocks for your exterior taps so you can turn them off and drain them down in winter. 100% this. Even running armoured cable to points within a garden where you might want a shed, lighting, etc in the future makes a lot of sense. Same with running undergound pipework if you need water a long way from your outside taps. It's so much easier to do when you have diggers onsite doing groundwork. Also consider running generously proportioned underground conduit if you have locations where you might want any form of wiring in the future. I wouldn't be without one. Forgot to put veggies on? Instant boiling water for peas or corn. Late getting the pasta going? Full pot of boiling water in 20 seconds. I think this is a good idea in theory, but we tend to do a lot of washing and drying overnight. I'm a really light sleeper, and with wooden floors upstairs and longish-span pozijoists, I was worried about noise. Jury's out about whether it was the right decision - my partner still thinks we should have found/made space for a washing machine and dryer upstairs.

To be fair, it sounds like you're using your loft as a plant room of sorts.

To be fair, I didn't expect that they'd be used a lot. I read a lot of the classic architecture book "A Pattern Language" before we engaged an architect. One of the tenets in the book is that balconies less than about 6 feet deep will seldom be used. I thought we'd use it now and again - open the door, stand there and enjoy the garden for a bit, that sort of thing. But it really hasn't worked out like that. Our late decision to include a bath in the ensuite is a similar failure. I think it's been used three or four times in nearly nine years. My wife chose it based on how it looks, but it's one of those egg-shaped things, so it's really uncomfortable unless it's full. I don't have the patience to wait that long! I agree that it isn't necessary to have everything in one room, but our plant room is dead in the middle of the house, so is positioned for the shortest (average) runs to everywhere. We actually have a lot of home automation stuff in a separate cupboard, and had I planned it better, I suspect it would have been better to put all the electrics in there. Whichever approach is preferred for the circumstances (or based on personal preference), my warning is really more about my massive failure to plan properly.

It's interested how many points are being repeated (and I experienced several of them). We don't have UFH in the bathrooms. I think this was probably the biggest mistake, at least in terms of being reminded about it every single morning in winter. We've retrofitted IR panels in the ceilings, but it isn't the same sort of heat. I reckon it cost us at least twice as much to do that as what it would have cost us to add UFH mats during the original build. I'd have thought a lot harder about windows. Examples: We have floor to ceiling windows on the two "free" sides of our kitchen diner. Great for views, but terrible for furniture placement. One window is a 5.5m long slider, which if I were doing it again would be replaced by a pair of central doors with windows either side (starting at least a metre off the floor). The downstairs toilet has a window that finishes just above cistern height. Although it opens out onto a space beside the house where no-one generally walks and can't be seen from next door, we do park out there, and it would really have made more sense to have a smaller, higher-set window in this position. The same applies to the bathrooms on the same (north-facing) elevation. Our bedroom window is way too big, and again, floor to ceiling. Some of the windows have opening panes that are too large. This means they swing an awfully long way into the room, making them borderline unusable in some places (can tilt them rather than open them, but sometimes you want to maximise airflow!) Some of the upstairs windows have large opening panes but also start only 500 or 600 mm off the floor. For safety, we should really have stays preventing them from opening, or some form of railing or glass panel. Doing this again, I'd have had a fixed pane on the bottom up to the building regs height, and split the window into equal opening panes (rather than one very large and one small). I would have used a cheaper window supplier. I didn't think hard enough about the kitchen diner layout. We do have space for a sofa but it isn't really a place to spend a lot of time in comfort. We have balconies off two of the bedrooms. They're never, ever used, and all they do is collect leaves and dust (and, we noticed yesterday, a dead bird from some time ago). I'd have left the overhangs (which are only a metre or so) but done away with the balconies. They also introduced cold bridges that we didn't discover until it was too late. I'd have spent less on windows and found the money for a partial basement. One thing we'd really get a lot of use from as a family would be a gym, which basements are great for. We currently have half of the garage taken up with gym gear. It's fine, but it's way too cold in winter, and I'd rather use the garage for other things. I'd have put external venetians on more of the windows. They're hugely effective - it's very noticeable during hot spells which rooms have them. I'd have gone for a larger plant room and, more importantly, thought a lot harder about the layout. We have a lot of awkward runs of electrical conduit and pipework that could have significantly been reduced if we'd thought harder about things up front. It looks horrible.

Welcome to BuildHub! You'll get better responses to your questions if you post them in the relevant sub-forums. A lot of members don't follow what goes on in the Introduce Yourself section. Keeping this section focused on intros only also ensures that useful information doesn't end up lost in here. Thanks.

Hi Wes, welcome to the forum. You'll get much better responses if you post your questions in the relevant sub-forums. Let me know if you want me to move this one to the solar PV forum. Alternatively, feel free to start a fresh topic over there if you'd prefer to leave this post here as a brief introduction.

@marno17, we try to keep the Introduce Yourself section to introductions only. I've moved this to the building regulations section, but you might do better starting separate questions in whatever you think is the best sub-forum for each. Thanks.

@Amateur bob, could you please post your questions in the relevant sub-forum rather than the Introduce Yourself section? Saves me having to move them, plus you get to choose the sub-forum rather than getting stuck with whatever I think is the most appropriate. I've moved this one - let me know if you want it moved somewhere else. Thanks.

That Top Gear episode where they took the piss out of the Chinese motor industry was only about 12 years ago. Utterly stunning how far they've come in that time.

That'd be an interesting tariff, for sure. My concern would be how they deal with the fact that solar generation makes a contribution to ASHP power consumption, especially during the shoulder months.