patp

We get no signal here so it would sit totally unused.

The bungalow is 180 sq m and we are doing the plumbing and heating which makes the labour free. Am I right, then, in thinking that we should lay the dpm followed by the insulation then another dpm with the heating pipes on top?

Not if you don't have the photo on there to start with Society nowadays does not allow for those of us who don't have the skills to take photos and load them onto computers. Neither does society allow for those of us who cannot accept texts with codes that release our money or give us access to all sorts of other financial dealings.

Ah that makes sense. It is a large bungalow and the trays would cost us thousands

Easy if you have a smart phone etc. I just use a laptop.

My technical skills for posting diagrams is zero We have just looked at the detailed plans and it seems to show that there is - a layer of dpm laid on the concrete slab.. Then there is a layer of insulation. Then there is a layer of dpm again. Then, we assume, the pipes go down. But surely this is not right? Should there be another layer of insulation for the ufh pipes to sit on? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The flow screed company has sent diagrams showing DPM Insulation DPM He is very keen on all joints being taped with the correct tape. He has not shown another layer of insulation. Do we need it in order to lay the ufh pipes? And does the screed then get poured over pipes and insulation?

We are all find and dandy with the installation of the UFH but a bit confused over the preparation side of it. Do we - Lay a plastic membrane first (tape all the joints) Followed by insulation (tape all the joints) Followed by another plastic membrane (tape all the joints) Followed by the UFH pipes? Do we need upstands of insulation and are they encased in DPM too? Our screed layer has sent us a diagram but he is mostly concerned that we tape all the joints. Have looked on you tube but most videos are about the pipe laying and not the preparation.

Fast response to my email confirms that the Joule heat pump is inverter driven.

As predicted - the rain stopped as soon as the Brickie topped us out! Little celebration. Roofers were already on site and working like men possessed! Solar panels fitted and today will be their last day. All of a sudden we are back to making decisions and chasing up suppliers! We now have to get our house on the market as we are fast running out of money. Anyone want a completely renovated (new roof, rewired, completely re plumbed throughout,) clay lump cottage in Norfolk? Plenty of room to extend

Thanks Mike. It seems that the Joule people have been making cylinders for a long time and now Samsung have used them for a collaboration. Think we might go ahead.

Our best moment was when, having had the third buyer drop out of the sale of our house after we had signed our contract but before they signed theirs, we discovered that the local council were considering allowing our piece of land to be included in the building line!!! We have had a very bad moment, but not our fault, when we found a four inch cast iron water main slap bang under the planned site. £17,000 from our bank account into Anglian Water's bank account was the, very painful, solution

Our local builders merchant has been very competitive, with good quality materials, so far on our build. As we approach the time to install the under floor heating we have to choose an ASHP. They have quoted for the whole system using the Joule Heatpump and Cylinder package. Not heard of this before so wondered if they had a reputation (either good or bad)? When you google them it seems they are something to do with Samsung.

No, we are not claiming RHI. We have been told that Mitsubishi are the best but are happy to listen if someone knows any better?

Why so? We were thinking of those days that happen every now an then when the underfloor heating has been on and the sun comes out and bakes us. A bit like the weather coming soon.

It wasn't a hard decision to just tell the roofer to get it sorted. To be fair he did not argue, just called the carpenter to come back and put them in. Once we had a decision over the "best" way or the cheaper/easier option we went by our mantra of "we are only doing this once" and so have taken all the advice above. It is common for tradesmen to quote what goes on on big sites. It does them no favours because none of us would choose to buy one those houses if we had the choice.

Plumber husband has tasked me with finding him a Mitsubishi Air Source Heat Pump that also does cooling. Does anyone know of a model name/number? Any comments on them also invited.

Cheers, will think about doing that.

All the top soil was scraped off the actual site and sits in a pile. The soil that is left is clay and that is being churned all the time at the moment by a tele porter. I assume that, when the time comes we will flatten the ruts out and over lay with the top soil. Going back to the amount of rain we have had. We have some bricks on a pallet that have sunk so far into the mud that the teleporter can not access them. We will have to handball them all onto another pallet.

I just phoned the designer who said that "nowadays we use valley pieces to strengthen that area" or words to that effect. I think he said that they were smaller as they got near the valley? The roofer has said that no one in the building trade puts valley boards in any more. He said that on one site they were asked to put them in because that builder had experience of aerial installers climbing up the valley. If you look above the building inspector says that the BBA certificate clearly states they are necessary. We have looked at the packaging on the fibreglass trays and there is not anything to say that they need valley boards. Our fibreglass trays are a bit ridged so we wondered if, unbeknown to the BI, they are strengthened in some way? All the trades on site are saying valley boards are not used on big sites. However, as above, we are only doing this once and it is just a couple of sheets of ply, some battens and the labour. Better that now than problems down the line if an albatross lands on the roof!

That's interesting joe90. We have been wondering what to do about the awful mess that the plot is in now. It seems it is best to let it all drain away first then? It makes life so difficult, moving about the plot, when it is just full of huge ruts.

The truss manufacturer does not agree. The designer says that strength in the valleys is designed in nowadays. The building control officer says that on the BBA certificate of FG valley trays it clearly states that valley boards are needed. He explained that, as @epsilonGreedy says, people will use the valleys as ladders. Roofer has gone off to some homework. After discussion we decided that, as we only do this once, the valley boards are going in. Photos will be taken and the inspector is coming back at first fix to check it all out.

I phoned the truss manufacturer who tells me that valley boards are designed in nowadays. I think he called them Valley Pieces? Have referred the building inspector to the truss designer to discuss further as I am out of my depth.

Our building inspector has just visited and asked that we install valley boards on our tiled bungalow roof. The, very experienced, roofer is not in agreement. We are waiting for the carpenter to revisit to get his opinion. They are saying that no one does this any more. There is polystyrene under there and they say this is sufficient. Any thoughts?

Good job I did not hold my breath waiting for the brickie's "mate" to repay the favour Was there ever a worse year for bricklaying, weather wise? If it is not peeing down (the worst for a hundred years) then it is below 4deg C so no bricklaying can take place. Now we have several inches of snow! All this has left us with several inches of water, which turned to ice, inside the build. Pre covid we could have had an ice skating party! Bless our bricklayer he has soldiered on, when he can, even doing Sundays. Good job he did because we finally have the carpenters here to put up the roof trusses and fix the soffits where they can. Just been hearing about their "little job" in Buckingham Palace! The guy we chose as our roofer has been absolutely amazing in organising an electrician to quote for solar panels, the carpenters to quote for the trusses and now he is here, on the day he said he would be here, to fix the felt! The carpenters worked in a snow storm to make ready for him. The only hold up we had was down to the, usually very good, supplier. The roofer even went round to give them a good ear full about some scratches on the fascias and their tardiness in sorting it all out. He missed his vocation as a project manager! It is feeling such an achievement to get the bungalow water tight. Sods Law means that not another drop of rain will fall. Well, not until we start building the garage or landscaping anyway. If you want prior warning then let me know Feeling a bit nervous about the prospect of installing the windows which have been in storage for nearly a year. Roof tiling first, though, so that the scaffolding can come down.

Ah, I wondered why he was so relaxed about our inspections He was very impressed at our foundation dig. All very straight and precise from possibly the best digger driver in the world. Then along came our brickie, who is a legend in our area who we were so lucky to be able to get, so I expect he just comes to give himself something to smile about.