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I mentioned some of my thoughts above, but firstly personally, I'm more looking at a lightly ground surface. Not the full exposed chunky aggregate of some polished concrete but also not raw powerfloated. Enough grinding to even the surface a bit and get rid of the powerfloat marks. @flanagaj started the thread asking about a more pure powerfloated finish. I don't have a site yet so everything I'm saying is based on early research not a fully formed plan but when I look at budgeting I think I can afford to build a relatively small property conventionally but I would prefer something a bit larger* and one way I can see of doing that is to strip requirements down to get a building finished and livable and then have a plan to build from there to make it nice as future funds become available. I tend to like modernist verging on minimalist architecture and design so if a concrete finished floor makes financial sense then it likely would fit quite well with what I want to do - again with the proviso that after living there for a few years I may want to add a layer on top. Karndean, resin, even tile if I can preserve that option. * all dependent on finding a site an how much I can get for my current place which due to cladding issues has lost a lot of value (which I hope will at least partially recover once works are completed) For reference, my current thought is to use the concria system: https://concria.com/decorative-concrete/ https://concria.com/polishing/ Somewhere between their 3 step and 7 step finish, not overly keen on any of their colours, other brands have better options from what I've seen so nothing finalised. Of course, I'm still at the research phase, once I get a practical project then that is on the list to do. @flanagaj is further along with his project so keen to hear his thoughts.

Certainly true in the past but today when microchips are so capable it's not really an excuse any more. If a multimeter doesn't have truerms it's almost certainly deliberate market segmentation by a company trying to milk as much money from you as possible, find another company.

Thanks for posting @jack lots of useful info here. Apologies in advance for all the questions below! Hope all this is relevant to @flanagaj's original point and I'm not diverting things too far away. Sounds like you actively chose polished concrete over other options for it's look rather than cost. Is that right? If so what guided your decision? Indeed. Do you remember any more details about what you got? Was the screed a normal cemfloor type? Did the mix have fibres? Did they top it with stones/minerals for the look? Or a dry shake? I've seen in torches used non-domestic settings to burn off the stains from the concrete. Is that a possibility that's been mentioned to you? I have no idea if its something thats even an option on a polished/domestic floor and I assume it would introduce the possibility of cracking. I assume the stain seems to have penetrated deeply so repolishing the area is not an option? One of the attractions to me was that concrete is a hard wearing surface and it's disappointing to hear you've found staining to be such a problem. Some of the dry-shakes marketing is around making the surface more stain resistant so something for me to look into further. I'm definitely of the view that you need to plan up front for the possibility of wanting to cover it in the future and set levels to allow it. Meeting the level entry requirements at the same time is tricky but I think doable.

You make very good points. Doing it this way does indeed make many detail points of setting out the slab easier but AFAIK the surface of a cemfloor type screed is still less 'finished' than a good powerfloated finish. If you want the visual change from a dry shake then you would still have to do this + powerfloat on top of the screed and doing so at time of screed means there are walls in the way and it's a tricker job. So it seems to me you may end up spending more to get this than just doing a slab + level and resin type finish or even tiles if self lay them. Everything is indeed a trade off. I don't have a site or final design yet so my thinking has all been based on a couple of conceptual ideas but my focus has been trying to think through how to make each stage involving a contract job as simple and straightforward as possible. Basically, leave the fiddly stuff to me either pre-arrival of trades or after the trades have done their bit. So finding a contractor who's bread and butter is commercial power floated floors and presenting them with a slab to pour that has a big flat area with minimal/no obstructions for services, etc, at least at this stage of my research still seems to win for cost/effort/effect. I've said before, but at least for me, the idea of a powerfloated finish is not necessarily the total end goal. It's something that I hope could be done for a relatively small uplift over a normal slab that is sufficient to live with while focusing on all the other details and then when everything else is done is something that could be overlaid if it turns out too much of a compromise and funds are available.

Voltage isn't measured by the CT at your meter. It's measured at the device, so where your Zappi is. CT measures current. Is there a transformer on the pole or is the overhead line 240V? If the latter, then when I said long wire I meant to the nearest transformer.

Those are some quite chunky drops. Guess thats what you get for being in the sticks at the end of a long wire?

It would help to know a bit more about what your goals and situation is. Why do you want to do this? If thinking about doing in phases, what are the priorities early vs end goal. etc.

I assume you mean readable output. Just had a thought, do either of them have an ESPNow firmware you could flash onto them? If they don't monitor current/power usage at all, then ignore.

Poured resin is what I had in mind. Thanks.

Damn, sorry for tagging you then. I was ~90% sure it was you and couldn't really think of what search terms to use to verify quickly.

I thought microcement was expensive enough (ex labour) that you would really want to have a good level surface before even laying it (so would want the powerfloating in any case). The product itself isn't too expensive but the labour is and all the pricing I could find was >£100/m2 for someone to install it (on top of a decent surface). Like plastering and rendering it looks like a job you don't want to DIY as mistakes are very visible. Someone on here ( @Iceverge ??) used a paint/polymer/epoxy product as floor covering that they were very happy with and IIRC was much cheaper than microcement - much less labour to lay.

I'm always impressed at no matter the subject this forum always seems to have someone who has been there and done that! Thanks for speaking up. Any views on which products to use/avoid? I view it as a base layer to be augmented with rugs, etc, to soften it and hope thats sufficient to offset the hardness.

You can probably get a read out from a smart socket or a variety of other 'smart' devices. The smart sockets that can tell you power usage need to measure voltage.

@James of the North I appears there is a disconnect between what you are asking and the answers you are getting. I want to try an explain why and hope that in doing so will help you get the best value from this forum. Based on your questions you clearly have some knowledge of ufh systems and have done most of the design work already. I think you came here wanting some very specific questions answered and are not really getting those questions answered in the way you want. The reason for this is that your questions imply you have a situation that is far outside what is normally required and the first thought of many of us here is that there must be something wrong in the assumptions that lead to your questions. This forum has a long history of people coming with questions like this that after some back and forth prove to be based on either mistakes or misunderstandings at the design phase and after further work the result is a system that is fairly different from the starting point. It may be that your calcs are all correct and you indeed do have a very unusual situation but if you want to get full engagement and value from this forum help us understand that. Show us your design, floor plans, heat loss calculations, answer questions even if they don't seem valid to you. It will take some back and forth but either someone will point out a mistake/misunderstanding that leads to a different design or you will get people fully engaged in helping you get the best result.

Depends where you are. I've not had a monitor for ages but did have (part of UPS) for a good long time in the past and I think 247V was nominal around here with it varying around that point.

How about Steel? Still looks industrial, easier to install, probably a bit more expensive to buy but depending on your design asthetic might look better. Can either get them with one string in the centre and open sides or strings either side. (Is strings the right word?)

I've been looking at this a bit though no practical experience. The conclusions I've reached so far is that if I went with this type of floor I'd want some sort of dry shake on top and to get a decent power floated finish you might want to look at commercial concrete installers rather than your normal crew as these guys are used to dry shakes and power floated finishes. But these guys might not want to touch a small floor or charge a hefty premium for it. Check out https://concria.com/ they seem to have a more developed/modern solution than others that might have benefits and do have certified installers in the UK. I especially like their solution to polishing (if you wanted to do that) as it just uses the powerfloat to do it. If I get the chance to do this and the costs added up I would always be doing it on the basis of it being a trial run with the option of microcementing (or similar) over the top if it didn't work out well. (Need to plan floor levels around doors, etc, very carefully for that to be an option). Unless you DIY the microcement it looks like it's a pretty expensive option for flooring. Tiling might be cheaper.

It all depends on the depth of the kerb which is easier. I suspect using a wall chaser would cause a decent amount of chip out and wouldn't necessarily look great as a finished product. Agree that stacking layers has it's own challenges. Either way need the kerb to stand up to being driven over by something heavy. I also think that to get the look as shown in the photos you prob need to rebate more than 10mm. (If you want a glow but not to see the source) Hmm, stepping back, the I think we are both thinking of traditional LED (or COB) strips, but maybe one alternative idea to avoid what I expect would be a maintenance nightmare (water will find a way to ruin your day) is to build it in such a way as you can easily shove a rope light in a slot and easily replace it when required. All you need to do is make the slot then. Might not look quite as good than properly done COB strips in channel but a lot less fiddling. https://www.mr-resistor.co.uk/product/15090

I'd guess, though put the cob in a led channel and put a cover on it - thoroughly water proof all the connections). Easier would be to build up the kerb from mutliple layers to avoid the angle grinding. Either way has difficulties (especially for something that needs to last/be maintainable/look neat and professional). In theory it sounds fairly doable but in practice I suspect tricky. Upward facing channels are more common and I'd guess you'd be able to find easier solutions.

If you are in the situation where the butt is overflowing then you may not want more water on the plants, they may well be sodden already.

I like this if you don't plan to cover/obscure the tank in some way and want to keep it looking sleek, but if you do plan to soften the tank with plants/wood/etc then it seems overly complex. If the hole down low leaks you lose water you are trying to hold on to. Thing is the tank does not look great so not sure hiding the pipes really buys you much if you don't plan to cover it.

I think the guy I saw doing the heatpump dryer paid about £100. Benefit vs a fridge setup is twofold: 1. r290 is a much better match for A/C temp ranges. R600a found in fridges is going to get too cold. If you want to break into the circuit and do the maths you could likely regas with r290/propane, but that is a huge amount more work than just taking a working system and bending the pipes around a bit to fit a new use. 2. The heatpump dryers are designed to run continuously while the dryer is running (2+ hours?). A fridge compressor usually has a low duty cycle so and much lower energy (200W vs 3-4kW).

Seen someone take the dehumidifier/AC components out of a 'broken' heatpump dryer to do that with. They are commonly r290 (so no f-gas) and fairly beefy 3-4kw heat output and come in a nice package. Apparently lots of people are throwing these things away when still fairly new because the heat exchangers get clogged with lint and therefore stop working properly but the mechanical side is all good.

Yeh, it's a good colour match (well done), but extending the wood cladding to hide the tank possibly with a small planter/ornament on top would be even better.

Bedroom 3 seemed like the more awkward space as is so would benefit more from a change. Having said that making the hallway wider is a good idea. You are somewhat limited by the window in bedroom 2. Depending on your appetite to make changes you could potentially do as I propose and also do the hall way. First, rearranging the entrance and built in units for bedroom 2 would create a much better space IMO and should be relatively trivial/easy. Depending on the construction (load bearing walls/foundations) it may be possible to move the wall in at the same time creating that wider hallway while stlil having a more spacious feeling bedroom: I should note I've not considered any regulations when proposing any of this. Others here are more familiar, there may be something that that trips this up.