Great_scot_selfbuild

@Russell griffiths it does indeed look good!

Yes - thanks. Just waiting for references from the other quotes. As it is, I think Justin sounds very busy, before considering that at his very rough estimate he’s about £1k more than the other dry screed quotes (of course that is irrelevant if he’s not available).

This is my concern - by the time I find out they aren’t very good it will be too late. Hence I’m asking for references (some of them have little/no online reviews).

The reference to keying in was on a Cemflood liquid screed. The dry screed quote states that they provide the pump - I hadn’t realised that a dry screed would be pumped. Is this normal? (As you can tell, I’ve never seen it done and the only very small amounts of dry mix used so far have just been mixed in the mixer and then used straight away.

Any particular reason? That’ll be us The quote I have is from a recommended cemfloor installer - whilst he said theees no laitance, it does still need keying-in, which is what his £1105 is quoting for. Estimate was iro £4k before laitance removal.

I'm getting quotes for both sand & cement and liquid screed floor layer over our UFH. The depth was going to be 75mm, but it turns out my principal designer failed to take into account that the screed needs a layer of self-levelling compound on top before we lay our LVT, so I've been advised by multiple screed companies to allow for at least 5mm as I can always add SL Compound. Therefore, working back from the FFL and 5mm LVT, with 150mm PIR, we'll be needing 70mm of screed. The initial costs I've had back aren't as different as I expected: Area = 130sqm If cost wasn't a deciding factor, what would you choose and why?

We saw some lithe audio bluetooth ceiling speaker at a homebuilding show. Looked very good, seem to get good reviews but I'm sure there must be some AV geeks in this forum who can provide comment. Purpose: Stream music (bluetooth or wifi) into the kitchen dining room area Ceiling height 3m Area = 50sqm Looking at two speakers that could be configured (I hope) to operate in stereo

Just to add to this, re-read the contract from both your position and then from the perspective of your architect and builder - have they followed the process as to their responsibilities. Knowing it inside out from all stakeholder perspectives is key to setting the conditions for you to be in a strong position to negotiate. (Don't assume they know the detail themselves, even if they behave as though they do)

Sounds like it. I'd agree with this as a holding statement. Don't be pressured into making a decision, especially as you say they stopped work on your build some months ago - they clearly weren't in a rush. Just be calm and measured in your communication (may require a lot of self-control mind) and as long as you are in control of the discussion in a clear and reasonable way then you have a better chance of achieving an acceptable solution. Prepare yourself to have to compromise and not be totally happy (I say this from experience). If you have conversations then make sure you follow-up by email to confirm what was discussed (even if it wasn't for any formal agreement), as it will give you a written record if it's ever needed.

@cjsparkey Thanks for this - I'm thinking about this on and off, weighing up if it's worth paying one of the VAT reclaim people or just DIY it. We're organised in our register of items that are VAT reclaim-able and copies of receipts. Any points to note in terms of lessons (good/bad/would do differently)?

I’m looking at an options of installing an instant water heater at the sink taps at the end of long runs. I have had more than one person suggest such an idea to me and I’m trying to understand the options out there. I’m not talking about instant boiling taps, but rather running only cold supply to the sinks, with an instant water heater at the sink to heat it at the point of use. Willis heater https://www.unventedcomponentseurope.com/willis-jacket-external-immersion-heater-complete-pre-wired-and-fully-assembled.html/ Stiebel Eltron Instant water heater https://www.stiebel-eltron.co.uk/en/products-solutions/Hotwater/instantaneous_waterheater.html We only have single phase, so are looking at the smallest options Has anyone done this, and what does the cost to the electricity bill look like? Noticeable?

Why not? surely the same principle applies to it getting damp / soaked and needing to be able to dry out? both Board & batten and shingle involves overlapping timbers which I understood would need the airflow to avoid mould. I know the area is small (250 x 250) but they're at the corners of the house and will take all the weather.

Will definitely still be insulating to some degree - just with our board & batten or our timber shingle, but it'll still need an air gap behind it. The steel has already been zinc oxide coated and then bitumen painted on top prior to the windows being installed. Finish has come up well in terms of protecting the steel (these paint layers were specified by the SE to match the protection on the steel ring beam).

I’m likely to just cladding timber the same as the rest of the build.

I had thought they were all of this type (push air to the sides as it leaves and follows the ceiling). Just did a search for those that advertise as ‘coanda effect vents’ - £100 per vent!?! https://www.epicair.co.uk/products/air-diffusers-gypsum-performance-circle?variant=48789368701213 @JohnMo all points received - I’ll add some extra columns to my spreadsheet where I’m pulling all this together 😁🙏🏻.

Ok, so I'm revisiting some of my MVHR design and I've found myself circling the following questions, without really finding the answers from any of the manufacturers sites (happy to be pointed in the direction of any reference material): Whilst I mention ender here, I'm not fixed on them as a brand - happy to take advice/ lived experience on performance / noise of other brands. 1. What is the largest number of 90mm ducts you can feed from a single manifold (single MVHR unit - looking at Zehnder Q600 sort of size)? 2. I'm interested in a quiet system; when suppliers were quoting for 75mm they were insisting on twin ducts per vent purely to meet the BR spec. I have now managed to confirm I can fit 90mm (through holes in beams - I had previously worried 90s wouldn't fit, but they do). If I fit twin 90 per vent, will this just make it even quieter by reducing the flow rate per duct even further but still achieving the BR requirement at the single vent? 3. My investigation into attenuators previously was because I was looking into a branch system and needed them to avoid cross-talk; would an attenuator on a 90mm duct as part of a radial system reduce the noise? 4. I have a limited number of holes through the glulam beam, and so it would be preferable to achieve quiet running using attenuator on a single duct rather than running twin ducts. 5. If I had twin ducts feeding into a single vent, is there a single attenuator that would receive two ducts and then go into a single vent? 6. Has there been any study (formal, or just based on experience) into the noise difference between attenuator and multiple ducts. For upstairs, almost all our vents will be wall vents. We have 90mm studs and the duct is 90mm (having offered up, it'll fit). Where we put the ducts in the stud wall, I plan to line the wall with 9mm OSB either side before plasterboard. The studs will have rock wool sound insulation. 7. How much space is needed for the 90degree wall vents? 8. Although the 90mm zehnder duct (off-cut) I have offered up looks like I could get it to work, I would also consider the flat cross-section ('Flat 51' as zehnder call theirs), but note that the actual cross-section is less than 90mm; if I use these, do I need to double up (not according to their spec sheet), but I'm concerned about space and the practicality of bending them into the space available. Thoughts?...

@Nickfromwales I’m trying to picture this but struggling - do you have a photo you could share? I’d be using it externally, as well as possibly internally (though internally I imagine I have more options available to me). Was this alu profile a complete covering or just on the edges to butt up against the window? @JohnMo @Nickfromwales any recommended suppliers of compacfoam? It looks muck easier to work with than aerogel.

@Nickfromwales it looks like compacfoam is an alternative to the aerogel(?). This prompts two questions for me: 1. How do you fix it to the smooth steel column? (I understood @Super_Paulie‘s comment to imply they used a foam as an adhesive - I was picturing something like the foam glue used on my caberdek boards by the installers). 2. Have you used both aerogel and compacfoam? Why opt for compacfoam? (Not a challenge, just understanding why) Thankfully this was where I ensured we got a good quality (50mm) thermal break underneath the column - something I spotted as being omitted from the design.

@Super_Paulie are you saying you attached the aerogel with foam? I have a similar vertical steel column that needs wrapping on the outside (it’s a corner post between two full-height windows).

@NCXo82ike I can empathise. Had similar experience and it was only because I’d done my reading & research that I spotted our cold bridge and managed to get a thermal break in before the steel dimensions were finalised. Close call!

Yes, thanks to this group, this is almost my first question to the supplier. If I’d became clear they didn’t understand modulation (some didn’t), then they ruled themselves out. The Nibe I’m considering does have good low level modulation.

The ASHP market is a bit of a minefield, and I recognise that many will have their own preferences. I’ve done a lot of searching/research and have a quote that I have all-but committed to. The company does also supply and install other makes (Vaillant, Daikin to name just a couple), but they have started to install more and more Nibe. I’ve had Nibe recommended to me personally, and have heard positive reports about their user interface in particular. So, whilst I am still keeping an open mind and will take on board recommendations about other brands, the main reason for this post was as a final check for any reasons why I shouldn’t get a Nibe (installed by an approved installer with a 7year warranty). thanks

Useful tip - TY

I’m looking to put another layer of sand & cement wet slurry mix on our beam & block floor before starting the DPC & PIR. This would just take out a couple of imperfections (fortunately the beam lengths are short, so we haven’t got difficult cambers to cope with). The b&b floor had some slurry put on it initially, but a lot has happened since then and l’m looking for it to help make sure there aren’t any noticeable air gaps under the PIR board. I don’t have a cement mixer and would like to do. This without having to call the builder in for this part. Grateful for some specific practical advice / instructions.

Thanks @Gus Potter, a useful reminder to follow the ‘KISS’ principle. I’ve been wondering about the strength of these pipes once they’re laid (before screed goes down) - some of the spacing is quite narrow, do we need to make sure that no-one steps on any of the pipe once it’s laid? (I’d have assumed that the practicalities of a building site would make this very unrealistic) I’m not doing the loop design myself (I’m drawing the line at buying a windows laptop just to use LoopCAD), and although the suppliers don’t share their designs before we commit to using them, we’ve had some say their design has 7 circuits and others say they have designed for 11 circuits. Are you advising that we make sure we ask for more than one circuit per room for the redundancy (just to make sure they factor it into their design)? Almost always ‘no’ 🤣 Thanks for the reality sense-check