bigreadie

170mm and 50mm screed floor. No tiles yet as I haven't got that far

flow into the manifold is 40 deg and that is exactly how the floor feels!

Just started the readings...as the immersion and heat pump have their own meters so will be able to see what the consumption is. I don't have regular readings but i know that the meters were all at zero when installed so can work out a daily average from that. I'm also planning changing to an always on programme to see how that compares...surely it won't cost any more!!

There's alot on that tread!...I'll go through and see if it helps. another couple of question though...is it normal that the buffer runs out before reaching the correct temp? would switching to heating on all day be more efficient (so there is not so much of a draw when the thermostat signals)?

140ish sqm, bungalow, ICF and warm roof. The heat pump is Nibe F2040 8kW

Hi AliG. Thanks for the reply - much appreciated. Q1. meter reading Q2. ASHP Nibe 2040 Q3. Fires once every 2 weeks to take the temp about 55 degs Q4. 16.68p I'm worried as a) its excessive, b) i haven't got all the electrics second fixed yet (including MVHR), and c) like I said half the house isn't even heated! rgds

..is £820 for the quarter. I appreciate it is winter and the pump works harder but I wasn't expecting that. Lighting wise I have the open fitted with spots (only since Dec) and appliance wise (again since Dec) couple of ovens, hob, 2x F/F and a dishwasher which leads me to think the UFH is the culprit. I have looked at the UFH pump (a wilo 25/6) and found that the setting on this was not correct for the UFH so have change the profile as per the manual but couldn't work out what speed to set so went for the medium. I only have 5 zones from the 10 zone manifold active ( four controlled by a neostat) and one zone (bedroom)that is on but with the little TRV so comes on and off with the open plan. area. Flow rates are set to 1.5ish l/m. I have a 40l buffer but have found that when the heating comes on this drains and before the required room temp is reached it empties and I am pumping cold water around the system. None of the floors are warm (which the wife is most annoyed by) although the house does not feel cold. The UFH pipes etc was installed by the screed company and the water works and pump by a reputable plumbers. I connected the flow and return to the cylinder and when the commissioned that they said there was no issues with the plumbing between the two. I would have called someone out to have a look but I am skint now...any ideas please? thanks in advance

Spot on Temp he pool is approx 5mx8m and 1.5m deep. This will be drilled to allow water to drain and then filled with compacted hardcore. Raft on top.

No strips foundation. The SE said that he will specify a step on the edge of the raft and the ICF will sit on that.

Just had a Structural Engineer out for a ground test and he pretty much skipped away as the ground conditions in his opinion was as good as it gets! We have an old pool that we are building over and he has said that a raft would be the best choice to achieve this...our groundworker said this initially without the SE so it's good they are on the same song sheet. We are not going for a passive raft and my thinking is that the raft is laid, ICF walls built up, a barrier laid underneath the insulation, UFH, screed, job done...Am I missing anything? A lot of the passive raft (isoquick) use the the insulation as a container for the concrete whereas I think we will use the ICF walls? Can this be problematic?

Thanks all. Really helpful as usual. Breakdown of quote is a follows: £350 to visit site and recording infiltration test £1150 - report, calcs and drawings £650 - foul drainage design and then £500 if he submits to Thames water for sewage connection They have also mentioned that any warranty provider might insist on a the test as well as well as a soil sample...do they? Speaking the the GW (who lives down the road), he built the extension to our sellers house and says that the ground is good, no clay and free draining due to its sandy makeup. BC (who lives around the corner) has said the same.... Site layout attached for visuals... Site_Layout.pdf

Hi All, We are almost over the start line to commence our build in Faringdon but the planners have added a pre-commencement condition relating to surface and foul drainage. We are connecting to the sewer in a neighbours property so that should be straight forward but the soak away not so. I am trying to keep professional fees to a minimum but our structural engineer is saying we need a drainage design completed which is costing in the region of £2500. Does anyone else have any experience of soak aways and did you hire a 'drainage consultant' to fill a couple of holes with water and then produce a plan? Comments much appreciated!! Wayne

In my case I would rather pay a low upfront cost than have to wait 7 years to claim some of it back!!

Thanks gents for the responses. We are still in the process of getting the working drawings done (hopefully this week) and then the Structural engineer can do what needs to be done with them. I will mention the PV and mounts to him before he starts and hopefully he can incorporate the additional loading required when he does his magic. It is a new build and I sort of knew the limitations with respect to winter generation and fully expect to use electric for this over that period. I have thought about ASHP but after my wife had a chat with a potential plumber she has gone of the idea. He spun some yarn about poor performance, slow heat up times (which I had already mentioned to her) and generally poor heating output in the winter. I am still working on her with regards to it and have a couple a quotes coming in (first one was for 8.4kW and 200litre Nibe system for £9900 which I think is steep to say the least and I have read bad things about their customer service)...others to follow. Having read through some of the forum posts on the renewables I have been bamboozled by the level detail and knowledge that some of you have and it has left me feeling like I am going in to this blind despite spending hours poring over things in the last couple of months....

Hi, I'm thinking of installing PV's for DHW and UFH in lieu of connecting mains gas on my new build bungalow. We have been quoted £3k for the connection of gas to site and my current train of thought is that with gas prices increasing year on year I should just chin it off in favour of installing PV's instead. The bungalow has a flat roof of approx 140sqm which faces SSW so real estate for the panels, from what I have read so far, seems to be favourable. The only issue I can see is the inclination so would probably need some sort of frame work to mount them at a more optimal angle. I've not really looked in to any incentives for using PV generated power as from most of the threads I have read FIT is done and dusted...but what about RHI? Any thoughts on my basic plan and assumptions would be appreciated...!!! Thanks BigR

Thanks Oz07. We are looking at PM'ing ourselves and are happy to do the subby route. However we have had little success it getting quotes back from them at present. i think it is a case of persevering... Thanks Russell...your comments echo our initial thoughts ref the cost of foundations...our initial budget was £24k, which included a contingency!! We are also getting quotes for Brick and Block and ICF which will hopefully come in cheaper as well. I see your in Glos...do you know if your groundworker covers west Oxfordshire!!!

Hi, My wife and I are embarking on a self build in Faringdon, Oxon. We have managed to buy our plot outright and hope to start building May/June this year. Having major issue with the mortgage and our broker who is literally no help at all. They told us we had been agreed in principle back in Sept and it now turns out that was not the case and we are still in the application phase. We wouldn't have completed on the land if that was the case!! they have now also said we need to build a 20% contingency in to all the figures we submit to the mortgage company meaning we have to budget our build to around £165k which seems impossible. If anyone has any advice on how to fill out a schedule of cost it would be much appreciated!! Coupled to that our initial budget seems way off for pretty much everything we have planned. All of the online resources and books we have read say you can build for £1500 m2 and so far out of a budget we have been quoted £50-56k for the foundations and £54k for the SIPS of a £21000 build (140m2 floor plate for a bungalow). There are no issues with the ground or access and if this is the case then it look like we will fall at the first hurdle of the build. The groundwork's are a particular concern as every contractor we speak to is maxed out due to the development going on in the area and I think this is what is driving the costs up...any idea's? thanks BigReadie